331 20 70359 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I was heading to class and had heard some students talking about the WTC had been blown up. I was in disbelief, I couldn't believe that someone would attack America like that. I wanted to cry, but not at the college. After, I got out of college; I went to get my children and called my husband. It was the last call into his AMSA 44 shop located on NAS Jax Base. He said, he didn't know when he was going to be home because they were on lockdown. I went home and turned on the TV. The news said, that some schools had been threatened to be blown up. I called the school where my son was because these threats were within 30 minutes of my sons school. They said they weren't releasing students and if an attack was eminent that they were getting all students on the bus and taking them home. That night when my husband got home, we took my oldest son into the bedroom and told him that there was a small chance that one of us could be called back to active duty but not likely. My husband is retired and I served 12 years. He was scared but understood that we were willing to fight for our country to keep us safe and free. I just thank God that we have people willing to serve their country for the rest of us who live here. I want to thank all who care and support our troops as well. Thank you Cheryl Post Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story6445.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-12 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 152.163.188.6 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: My father-in-law was dying. He had diabetes, and was off of his dyalisis machine, he only had a few days to live. The morning of September 11, around 5:00am, pacific time, my husband went to his fathers bedside, he watched his father die. He came home, and I was very upset, because he wasn't home with his children when it happened. I left to the store, and came back to see that the T.V. was on, and it was showing that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center, we thought it was a freak accident, then we saw the other one hit. We were devistated. My oldest daughter, she was 12 at the time, was very upset, first to find out that her grandfather had just passed away, and then to witness this. That day will live on in our hearts forever. I just want to say a warm thank-you to all of the firefighters and police families that lost loved ones that day. They were truly heros, also to the families of the plane that crashed into the ground - Your husbands, fathers, brothers, were TRUE HEROS! Thank you for allowing them to follow there dreams of helping people, they truly were angels. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story7114.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-13 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 198.81.17.173 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: My story is similar to most: full of surprise, then shock and sadness, then burning anger. I used to work the night shift for Expedia.com (an online travel agency) and I had slept until 11am on the morning of the attack. Upon awakening, I was reading a Tom Clancy book (The Bear and the Dragon) and I didn't turn on the TV set or radio. At 1pm, I left for work by catching a shuttle to the St. Louis Metrolink. When I boarded the shuttle, I kept hearing strange reports coming over the driver's radio: "Attention all bus drivers! Please check your bus for any unattended packages! Please do this at once!" and "Attention! South County Mall and the Galleria have been shut down....please advise your passengers of this!" I noticed that the bus driver seemed very upset as well. I was very confused; I thought that perhaps there had been another school shooting (!) or something of that nature. Furthermore, when I boarded the Metrolink, I could overhear the (usually quiet) passengers in a stir about "all the things that happened that day" and I finally just asked "what is going on?" to the others. To my shock, they described the horrific events of the day. At that point it was unclear if they were foreign or domestic terrorists. Regardless, I was completely floored. When I arrived at work in downtown St. Louis, they had already evacuated most buildings, and the streets looked just like they do on a quiet Sunday afternoon. I stood in shock for a couple of minutes gazing around at the eerie confusion around me. I entered our office, and only one manager was left on our floor. We began calling employees back to work, and then began the grim task of trying to handle the avalanche of panicked customers flooding our telephone network. Since that day, we have worked non-stop trying to help and advise our stranded passengers around the world. Now we face a slowdown in the travel industry which in all likelihood will mean layoffs, but our mood remains optimistic. Most of all, we remain united as fellow workers and Americans and citizens of the Earth, and we will do our best to make sure nothing like this ever happens again. My thoughts now linger above the rocky hills of Afghanistan, our allied air squadrons raining destruction on the beasts who would sponsor terrorism, our troops advancing toward a victory for all of humankind..... Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story1303.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-08-20 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 63.100.254.238 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I had an interview that day in the morning at 11 am Deutsche Bank across the street from the WTC on Liberty St. I was running late to my current job at Chase two blocks east of the WTC on Liberty St. I was usually walking past the WTC up Liberty to work at 8:40 in the morning. I took my time that day since it was a beautiful day and I was getting focused for my interview later that morning. I thought I might go to the Tie Rack in the WTC for a lucky scarf or something for my interview. My bedroom window in Battery Park City wraps around the room and looked directly north east at the WTC. The blinds were down as the sun was strong. I heard a big boom - sounded like a truck going over a metal plate in the road. My dogs started freaking out. I heard sirens and I went to my living room window which faces the west side highway. I saw fire trucks fighting their way up the highway. I went to my bedroom and opened the blinds to see fire coming out of the north tower. It was the reddest red I have every seen. I thought there was a fire in a kitchen somewhere in the building and I was sure that the fireman would put it out. I thought what a shame it would be to have the building damaged like that and I wondered how long it would take to fix it after the fire was out. I proceeded to continue to get dressed for my interview trying to stay focused. I kissed the dogs goodbye and headed out to the WTC to go to the Tie Rack not thinking the fire in the north tower would effect the shopping area. As I started towards the towers (one block away) the second plane came and slammed into the south tower. I have never felt such an impact before nor seen such a horror. I quickly made my way back into my apartment building to get my dogs out as I was now in a total state of shock wondering what was next. I stood with my dogs and everyone else in my neighborhood as the towers burned and the people jumped to their lives. It was the most horrendous site I have ever seen. Not being able to come to their rescue was very frustrating and upsetting. They waved what looked like towels or shirts. I started to wonder whether or not the buildings were going to come down and I seriously thought they would. I didn't know where to go or what to do and neither did anyone else. I made my way south with no real destination. While standing on the esplanade in front of the holocaust museum the north tower came down. People were running from all directions screaming with their shirts over their faces rolling on the large lawn. Many people had children on their shoulders from a nearby nursery school. Many people jumped into the river. I threw my bag with my cell phone - wallet and everything for my interview - and I picked up my dogs so they wouldn't get trampled. Two small pugs. I threw off my sunglasses and my suit jacket and I ran south. I ran into a building across from Battery Park. A policeman had broken into a Starbcuks in the building and he was handing out water. I met a buy from Deutsche Bank and he convinced me to continue heading south. He helped me carry my dogs. We ended up at 1 State Street. He decided to get on the ferry or train and leave. I didn't want to do that, I was afraid to go underground on the train and I didnt know a soul in Staten Island. I made friends with Eddie Dowling who was working the front desk of the office building at 1 State Street as well as the other men on staff. I called my parents from a newspaper stand in the building -- they told me that the bridges and tunnels were closed. There was no way off of the island of Manhattan. I stayed with Eddie and his boss Richie who was the brother of the head of fire safety at the WTC. He made sure that the guys put a makeshift bed together for me and my dogs in an air-conditioned room in the building as we were covered in dust and my older pug was having a hard time breathing. I think Richie knew his brother was dead. He still remained calm and made sure we- total strangers- were taken care of. One of the guys, Jack Sullivan, gave me a pair of his work pants as my skirt was ripped. He also gave me a bar of ivory soap - to wash my face. He was a former marine and made me feel safe. Another guy on the crew gave me $10 which I put in my shoe for later. This was survival. I stayed up all night hanging out in the lobby with Eddie Dowling as the fireman walked back and forth with their heads down - covered in WTC dust. Eddie told me his life story and that his daughter was a stewardess and his son was a NYC Detective. He was calm and positive and made me feel safe. He was a very sweet man. We sat and smoked cigarettes. I realized at some point that my best friend, Kate, worked for Deutsche Bank across from the WTC and she might very well be dead. A young man came to the building to charge a battery for a golf cart he found at the WTC site. He was on his first day of work as an EMT. I think he was 18 or something. I was one of the few resident/civilians around at this point - it was midnight on 9/11. I told him about throwing my bag in a bush and he offered to take me on the golf cart back to Battery Park to look for it while he taxied some doctors to ground zero. We took the cart and there I was on the west side highway - across from my apt building and a block from ground zero at midnight on 9/11. The highway was covered in metal and ash and wall to wall trucks. It was a very scary scene. All of the lights were out in my neighborhood. It looked as though it was gone - dead. I asked him to take me back to 1 State Street. I slept on the floor of the office in the building on cushions collected from couches in the building. I woke up at 5 am and said goodbye to Eddie I needed to get to my parents outside of the city. I had an absolute nervous breakdown at the Staten Island ferry terminal where they had triage set up. I couldn't get anyone to take me out of the zone - 14th street to the battery - and I was exhausted and disoriented. An official with Fire EMT came over and asked me why I was crying and told him I just wanted to go home to my parents. He had two fire EMT workers drive me home in a burned out EMT SUV. It was a horrifying and exhausting experience. A woman who worked for MCI or AT&T (I think) in the WFC found my bag that day and dragged it home with her to Brooklyn over the Brooklyn bridge. She called me and told me and I went to get it that following week. Everything was in place and she apologized for going through my bag to get my info. She was an angel. I wish I still had her name. That time was so confusing I lost her information. My older pug, Bianca, ended up with severe eyes injuries from the fiberglass and was hospitalized with ulcerated corneas. She ended up dying in April 2005 from severe lung disease. I blame 9/11. My younger pug, Cammie, had three cancer operations in 2005 and 27 weeks of chemotherapy in 2006. I blame 9/11. I wonder what is going to happen to my health as a result. I guess we just wait and see. I hope we never have a day like that in America again. But I fear that we will. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story20639.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2006-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 207.237.242.77 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: It was just before 9am 9/11/2001 when my wife called me to inform me that a plane had just crashed into the World Trade Centers. How lucky I was..My last day working at 2 World Trade Center was 6/8/2001. I had worked for the prior 4 1/2 years on the 74th and 62nd floor of 2 WTC. For the 6 1/2 years prior I had worked across the street at the World Financial Center. My first job out of college was on the 96th floor of 1 World Trade Center...12 1/2 years at or around what would become known as "Ground Zero"...How lucky I was. My thoughts immediately turned to my friends and colleagues who were not as fortunate as me and were still working in the Trade Centers. I had access to CNBC on my computer and sat dazed and in shock. This funk would hold for the next 3 hours. I was horrified, confused and emotionally devastated. After the call from my wife I turned on the coverage, only to witness the 2nd tower being hit. I did not see the plane from the angle of the news coverage, all I saw was the explosion. I could feel my heart grow heavy as I felt helpless...all I could do was watch the events unfold in horror. When the first tower gave way (2 World Trade Center - the tower in which I had recently worked) I saw the sudden cloud of smoke and was convinced it was just a large explosion, my colleague said no, the tower had collapsed..I could not accept that...soon, what I had denied in my mind was confirmed on the screen...who would have ever thougth that one of Americas great symbols could be destroyed by such a cowardly act...this would not be the end...as if one tower collapsing was not horrific in and of itself, 1 World Trade Center shortly followed...Oh the horror. While in shock, all I could think of was how lucky I was to have taken on a new job only 3 months to the day (6/11/01) after 13 1/2 years of commuting from Southern Connecticut to Wall Street. I did not know what to do...shock...finally around 12:30pm I left the office to be with my family. My wife and youngest son were home. When I walked in, I realized that life had forever changed. My son Kyle 4 1/2 years old had seen the news coverage and was on the portch recreating the events with his legos and a model airplane...how inocent yet disturbing. I looked at my wife and decided I would go up to my older son (7 years old) Matthew's school just to let him know that I was OK (not being sure he would realize that I no longer worked in the World Trade Center). When I got to the schools office they asked if I was there to take Matt home, I said "no, I just want to let him know I'm OK". They proceeded to call him to the office over the school's intercom...well, that's when my emotions hit me. They built like a tidal wave and when I saw him I couldn't help but hug and kiss him as tears fell from my eyes...Yes, the world had changed forever. Well, like millions of other "human" beings I sat in shock and remained in shock for what seemed like an eternity. It is now 369 days later and the horror of those events are still fresh in my mind. They are no less vivid and troubling. I can only wish and pray for better times and things to come for my wife, my children and all of humanity. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story7432.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-14 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 152.163.188.6 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: It was a quiet morning--most are around here. South Dayton Presbyterian Church is rather small, and not much happens on Tuesdays. The only other person due in the office had just arrived when he received a phone call from his wife. He disappeared into his office to take the call, and I phoned my mother-in-law regarding some mundane family thing. She told me that she had just got off the phone with my father-in-law; he was watching a breaking news story from New York. The World Trade Center had been "hit." I thought immediately of the 1993 car bomb attack; I was startled, in a rather distant way. A million images of a nation prone to violence flickered in my mind. Just before I filed this one away, however something told me that I needed to find out more. This one would not fade so easily. The church has no radio and only one archaic TV in the building. I went to my coworker's office to suggest we check an online news service for a possible big news story. I poked my head into his office. His tear-filled eyes met my surprised ones. It did not occur to me that he was distressed over a personal crisis or an unrelated matter. The tightness in my stomach told me that this was a disaster deeper than I could yet fathom. He confirmed something worse than my worst fear--a plane has slammed into EACH of the Twin Towers. The information reeled in my head. I only dimly heard him say "hijackers" as I struggled to process the information. We scrambled to snatch the old TV from a back room. We plugged it in right in the church lobby. The grainy screen revealed all--smoke billowing from gaping holes in the giant structures, frantic newsmen relaying the breaking story from the sidewalk of a terrified city. We barely had time to take it in before we saw the first tower begin to crumble. We both talked at once. "What happened?" "Is that an explosion?" "How much of the building fell?" For me, the worst moment of the entire ordeal was the moment, as Jonathan and I both squinted through the debris-filled screen, I realized the first tower was gone. Not mostly gone. Gone. In that moment things I never could have imagined five minutes ago were now completely, terribly possible. It was the moment I accepted the fact that far worse could, and in fact would, happen. We barely spoke for what seemed like years. We watched in shocked silence the fall of the second tower and the endless stream of horrifying information before our eyes. We were alone with our own thoughts, yet sharing the experience as fellow Christians, fellow citizens, fellow humans. We did share our thoughts--as soon as we could make sense of them ourselves--and took comfort in the fact that we stood on very common ground. Things did happen around us--the phone rang, a nearby road worker stopped in--but all swirled around one topic, one tragedy. The everyday things that consumed so much of our time became foreign and unreal. We endured it as long as there was immediate news to report. As the dust swirled around the ruins of the World Trade Center, and the stories began to emerge of individuals both dead and alive, we looked at each other once more, and silently agreed. We were going home. Our thoughts fled to our loved ones. Jonathan's thoughts were of his wife and son; mine sought my husband. This was a long way from over, but in that moment we took the first step towards healing. We parted in the best possible way; we prayed. To this day, the one thing that comes to me in remembering the tragedy of a year ago is what came to me then. God help us all. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story3510.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 199.35.244.31 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I had started the day as normal, checking in to work as an airport shuttle van driver at about 3am. I was expecting a fairly normal day as the late summer season tourists were winding down their vacations. I had picked up two couples in Kent, a suburb of Seattle, and had started for the airport. As I recall, both couples were headed to Europe for some vacation. I had the radio on low, as I usually did, to listen for traffic reports from one of the local news-talk stations. Even though it was a quarter to six in the morning, traffic could get nasty even then. We were having a friendly discussion of vacation spots, when I heard the "Breaking News" sounder in the background. I quickly turned the radio a little higher, just in time to hear that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center. We were all quite taken aback by the news, and I related to my passengers that planes flying into buildings was, sadly, nothing new. As we continued to listen through the top-of-the-hour news, we'd figured that somehow, someone made a wrong turn, and the whole thing was a terrible accident. The radio station was simulcasting a New York radio station, so we were hearing what the folks in New York were hearing. At about 10 past 6, we heard about another explosion on the other tower. I said that it probably was from debris from the first tower, and my guests agreed...for all of about 30 seconds...because the next thing we heard was the report of the second airplane. When the story of the second aircraft broke, I felt a cold chill in my insides. I knew that this was a disaster, but I now also realized that it was deliberatly done. Surprisingly, my guests seemed unconcerned. I was within 5 minutes of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SeaTac) when we heard news of the second plane. By this time, the sun was up, and it looked fairly normal as I drove into the airport's ticketing area. I wished them a safe journey, collected my fare, told them to make sure to check with their airlines, and pulled out. Not 30 seconds had passed when our dispatchers sent out the message that the airports were closing. A driver called in "Which ones? JFK? LaGuardia?". The reply came back "No, ALL of them!". Another driver: "All New York airports, right?" "Negative...ALL airports, nationwide. We've just heard from the Port Authority that SeaTac is now closed." Until that point, it was just a horrific news story. Now I was scared. Dispatch had said to continue to our next runs until further instructions were received, so I headed north through Seattle proper, all the while listening to increasingly disturbing reports from New York. As I was approching downtown, what seemed like the hundredth "Breaking News" sounder fired off... "It gets worse. We have reports that a plane has crashed into the Pentagon." I screamed "Oh my God!!" to an empty van. I pulled off at the first exit where I knew a payphone was located close by. I called my wife to tell her what was happening, but she'd been awakened by the clock radio, and had simply kept listening to the horrible news. I told her that I wasn't sure how long I'd be working, but I'd let her know. I continued north to the area of my next pickups. I stopped at another payphone and attempted to call my guests to ask if they still wanted to go to the airport. Some hadn't heard what had happened, and I told them. Not surprisingly, everyone cancelled. When I got back in my van, Dispatch made the call "If you've got people inbound to the airport, take 'em home." It was at this point that we heard the news of the first tower's collapse. They then instructed all vans to return to the airport holding area to await further word, assuming the airpiort closings would be only for a few hours. I started back south towards SeaTac in a traffic jam that was unusual for that time of day. While listening to radio reports, creeping along in traffic, I looked out to Seattle's Space Needle. I wondered if I would witness a plane flying into it..or if the whole skyline would suddenly flash white as a hidden nuclear device went off. I had figured if two planes could fly into two skyscrapers, anything could happen. I made two more trips from the airport, taking stranded flyers back home, before I was sent home early. I arrived at home around noon Pacific time, and my wife had the television on. It was then that I finally saw the horror that had transpired earlier that day. We spent the rest of the day watching TV, calling friends and family, and wondering what the next day would bring. When I finally got to bed late that evening, it was more from sheer exhaustion that from a desire to sleep. And sleep I did...but it wasn't peaceful. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story1506.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-08-27 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 12.82.138.10 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I had traveled two hours that morning to Portland from my home in Hermon, Maine to visit my mother who was a resident at The Barron Center Alzheimer's Unit. Arriving around 10:00 am without listening to the radio in the car, I went directly to my mother's room to visit with her, staying with her until around 11:45am. As I left the building to get lunch, I noticed a television in another unit with an image of dark smoke. I walked into the unit and saw a replay of the WTC on fire and asked the nurse there what was happening. She couldn't believe that I hadn't heard about this already and told me that the WTC had been hit by suicide planes and that the Pentagon had also been hit. I'll never forget my reply: "Well, they didn't get the Pentagon." And, of course, she said they had. I immediately went out to my car and turned on the radio to find out more as I traveled to the Maine Mall to get my lunch. I kept hearing about suicide planes and envisioned the WWII kamakaze type attack until the announcer finally said something about airliners. Of course the towers had already collapsed and I didn't really hear about that either until later. Even now I know that I do not comprehend (even after seeing hours of coverage on television) the extent of the damage done that day. As I was eating my lunch at the Mall, I heard lots of sirens going in the direction of the Portland Airport. It was then that I believed I needed to get away from the Mall and the Airport. I returned to my mother seeking shelter with her, both physical and emotional. It was not until later that evening that I actually saw the television images of the disaster. Today, on September 11, 2002, I am processing the grief of losing my mother earlier this year and I am remembering her tenderness and love and the sense of security I felt being with her on that day one year ago despite the illness that took her from us. Watching the memorial ceremonies today and hearing the words of kindness and support from the families who lost so much that day, has been extremely helpful to me as I process my own grief. May God bless and keep us all. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story4026.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 205.188.209.38 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I was woke up to my husband yelling to me from the living room, "a plane crashed into the WTC!" I jumped up and ran to the TV and was horrified by the sight of the immense flames and smoke. I remember thinking,"how will they put that fire out? will they have to let it burn? are people getting out safely?" As we watched in amazment, it wasn't too long until we were struck by terror wen the other plane struck the second tower. I knew then that it was no accident. From that point, I was shaken and crying. I was supposed to drive 2 and half hours that day to conduct an interview in Ukiah, CA. I didn't want to go to work. I wanted to watch these historic events unfold. I remember I watched the NEWS until I had to leave and became any later for work. But I remember getting angry at the news announceers and reporters because of their comments. When the first towe began to fall, I freaked out. I was balling and my heart was breaking from the horror I was witnessing. I remember the announcer, calmly and matter of factly saying "oh, it looks as though they have decided to blow up the building to demolish it..." I couldn't believe his ignorance! I didn't understand how he could not SEE than the building was falling on its own! I was really struck by his comment fo rsome reason. Maybe I jsut wanted to be mad at someone. I eventually left for work, and my day was full of more human interactions and sights that I have never experienced before. When I arrived at work, my boss was so surprised that I had not left for Ukiah yet. I apologized, and I think I was more surprised that she said that to me since everyone had been watching TV or listiening to the radio throughout the offices. Obviously, no one was ready to get back to the daily routine. For about 1 and half hours or more of my driving time, I got no reception on the car radio because of the rural location I was driving to. I did see many American flags posted on mailboxes, barns, diesel trucks and tractors as I drove through the Mendocino County hills. The day was a somber day and it felt like it would never end. I didn't want to leave Sacramento that day, I was fearful for my family and friends and the city. I dreaded that drive that day and was praying and crying the whole time I was in that car. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story7205.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-13 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 216.190.22.150 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I was sitting at home because I am a stay at home mom to twin boys. I was watching Good Morning America on ABC when the news broke. Like most people, at first I thought it was a terrible accident when the first plane hit. Then, as they were filming the WTC buildings, on the right side of the screen, I thought I saw something flying through the air. It looked so small, I thought it was a bird. As it grew closer, I realized what it was, another airplane. I was sitting there watching this unfold and saw this horrible incident, live. I couldn't believe my eyes. In that instant, I realized, America was under some kind of attack. For the next several hours, I just stared at the TV like many in disbelief, fear and anger. My husband called me immediately after it happened. He works in Staten Island, New York and saw the second plane fly overhead. He saw the entire thing unfold. We were both in a state of shock. We both grew up in the NY Metropolitan area. He in Staten Island and myself in New Jersey. We are both in our thirties and these towers have been around almost our entire lives, and within hours, they were gone. It is such an erie feeling to drive into New York and see the skyline and not have them there. They were such a permanent fixture in our lives, or so we thought. I have many friends and family members that worked in the WTC area and of course I was very concerned for their safety. My sister-in-law worked in WTC building number 5 and she used to walk through building #2 to get to hers. She was in WTC2 that day when the first plane hit. And luckily she was on the concourse level and was able to get out quickly. Another friend takes the path into WTC to get to her job. She was running late that day, and decided to take the ferry instead of the path. She was on the ferry when she saw the second plane fly over. I know people that lost loved ones and friends due to this tragedy and in my town of Middletown, New Jersey, we lost approximately 35 people. WE WILL NEVER FORGET!! Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story6312.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-12 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 4.23.161.50 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I was riding to work in my car on that beautiful sunny day, listening to the radio on September 11th. An emergency broadcast came over the radio telling about the first plane that had hit the World Trade Center. The announcer thought it was a joke and went back to playing music. When I got to work, I asked my boss if he had heard anything about it. He said no, but it would not surprise him if it were terrorist. I quickly turned on my computer and went to the internet. As I was watching a live broadcast on my computer, the next plane flew in and hit the second tower. I just sat there in disbeleif. How could these people be so evil? Needless to say, I then heard about the plane that had crashed in Pennsylvania and the Pentagon. I went and took my kids out of school and went home. It was a very upsetting day and as we were sitting there watching this on the TV, our neighborhood lost their electric. I was in a little bit of a panic with everything that was going on. It turned out that there was an accident down the road and the plant had blown a transformer. I felt so bad for the people that were in those building and sorrow for their relatives. 911 is a day I along with many others will never forget. By the way, that radio announcer was fired. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story11715.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2005-08-12 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 69.250.12.242 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I live only 5 miles from where United Flight 93 crashed in Pennsylvania. I was in my 10th grade English class. We went to the internet lab that day to do research for an upcoming project. When I arrived to the lab, my teacher told us that we would not be researching due to the day's events. She told us that we could look up information on the WTC and Pentagon if we wanted to, though. I had no idea what she could be talking about, so I immediately went to CNN.com to find out. When I got there, the headline read, "Planes Crash into WTC & Pentagon, One Tower Collapses." I couldn't believe my eyes! Just then, one of my friends turns to me and said, "I think you need to refresh your page." He must have hit enter to go to CNN just a split second after me, because when I refreshed the page, I saw "Both Towers Collapse." Well, I was so worked up by that time that I was shaking really bad. When I went to my next class, my teacher was watching the news on TV. We were supposed to take a test that day, but I think she was going to let us watch the TV instead. She informed us that in addition to New York and Washington, a plane had also crashed in Shanksville. This made us even more upset than before because Shanksville is less than 10 miles away, and it's even closer to my house. Well just then, every TV in the school turned off. That really made me worked up then because I thought, "What could have happened now that they won't let us watch the TV?!" I later found out that they didn't want us to know about the crash in Shanksville. My teacher then made us take the test. Luckily, she put Mozart on the cd player. This soothed me enough so I didn't fail the test. Parents then started pulling there kids out of school left and right. It ended up that school got out early. On the bus ride home, my sister approached me. She said, "Why did we get out of school early? Was there a bomb threat?" I couldn't believe she didn't know. Apparently in the Jr. High School, the teachers wouldn't let the kids watch TV. I explained everything to her and she was shocked. When we got home, we found my mom there. She had gotten off of work early due to the events. Our phone was ringing off the hook all night. Relatives, who heard that a plane had crashed in Somerset, kept calling asking if we were all alright. When my dad arrived home, he wanted to know everything. He knew the basics of what had happened, but since he works in construction, he didn't know all of the details. He then informed us that he was working outside of Shanksville and he heard Flight 93 fly over. September was truly an unforgettable day for the people of Somerset County. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story859.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-07-04 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 63.147.4.94 Annotation Annotations to this item. Internet Somerset, PA Students/Teachers PA:2 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: September 11, 2004--In Rememberance I woke up that morning and got ready to go to school. I was a junior in high school, and the 11th was picture day for the students--just imagine how hard it was to find something to smile about that afternoon. I said goodbye to my mom and sister and left for school, no one had turned the television on that morning because we were all in a hurry to get going, so there just wasn't time to watch anything. I got into my car and headed toward school. If I would have had my radio on in the car, I would've known about the attacks but instead I was listening to a cassette tape and just thinking that it was going to be a good day today. I was late for my first class, US History, so I quickly hiked up the stairs to the classroom. I remember that as I entered school, the staff who check I.D.s and check visitors in and out were talking about attacks somewhere, but I didn't pay too much attention. Once I got into class, the teacher was talking about what had happened and what this might mean for our country. I didn't cry, not because I wasn't affected, but because I was in shock. After the teacher finished talking, she turned on the television that was in our room so we could all watch what was going on. I don't really remember too much, but I remember that I just felt sick to my stomach and really confused. After class had let out, the hallways were unusually quiet and everyone just kind of wandered their way to their next class. Once I got to second period, which was a study hour for me, I got on my cell phone and called my mom. We talked for about an hour, and that's when I finally broke down in tears. Once she had to go, we agreed to both leave our phones on all day and to call each other if anything else happened and to just check-in once in awhile to make sure we were doing okay. Again, at the end of the class time, the teacher turned on the t.v. so we could get updates on what was happening. At lunch time I just went outside of school and sat on the steps and talked to my mom again. She said that she had gotten a hold of my sister to see how she was doing and what time she would be home. I don't think there has ever been a day before or since when all I wanted to do was go home and never leave again, especially not without my family. Being home at night was even more surreal than what had happened during the day. See, we live by the airport in Minneapolis, just about a 5 minute drive, so it was eerily quiet that night with the no-fly orders in effect. The only sounds you could hear were the usual night-time crickets, the freeway traffic, and the fighter jets flying in huge circles over the metro area. That no-fly order went on for a few days, but seemed like much longer. It was so bizarre to not see any planes in the once busy skies, and not even hear any at night. What brought tears to my eyes that day, and what deeply affects me still on the anniversaries, is when flags and signs are hung on bridges and walkways over the freeways throughout the Twin Cities. Just today, on my drive to work, there were 3 flags and a sign that read "We Will Never Forget" on a bridge; these are always little reminders of the fear that will always live within me because of September 11th. There are in fact times when I will forget what happened, and live life as though nothing can touch me or harm me, but I am always reminded by the flags raised at half-mast. I had always hoped that my generation would have been the first to not have to grow up with a war going on, but that is obviously not the case, but I will hope for peace for my future children and will continue to hope for every generation after that until there is finally a child who does not have to grow up with fear in their hearts and the memory of complete chaos and disbelief--for that is what I wish for myself as well. To this day whenever I drive by downtown and look at the skyline, I cannot fathom what it would have looked like in New York that day. I hope to visit Ground Zero and Pennsylvania one day, just to get some more closure and pay my respects, and because I feel that every American should go to both of those sites. I sometimes wish that I didn't have a memory of those events from 3 years ago and I wish that I didn't have to have lived through that, but I also do not mind that I still vividly remember because with those thoughts comes the recollection of the connection that brought every true American together in the days, weeks, and months that followed. I would use the word patriotism to describe it, but that gets over-used and thrown around too much now; what we all felt was deeper than that because we all lost something that day (in addition to the lives that were lost). Our country and the people who call America home lost the sense of innocence and security that we used to feel, and though I have moved on and lived my life just as before, I will never feel as safe or protected again as I did prior to 9/11/01. And I guess that is just a fact of life now. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story10934.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2004-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 65.194.215.130 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I was sitting in a computer training course when the news broke. Every single person in that room immediately went to a News webpage on their respective computers. The class was finally dismissed, as no one could concentrate or learn anything with our hearts filled with so much sorrow. I was 1100 miles from home, and found it very hard not to be able to go give my family a hug. The reality set in later that day. I faced the dilemma of getting back on a plane to go home, or spend 24 hours driving home. By the time Friday came, many airports were still not operating, so 4 of us crammed into a small rental car and began the very long silent trip back to Iowa. The 4 of us got to know each other very well thru the tragedy, and none of us will ever forget the trip!! My next big decision came on Sunday afternoon, the day my next business trip was planned........do I climb back on a plane, or call my boss and tell him I can't do it? I decided not to let the evil terrorists ruin my life, and climbed aboard the plane........I was one of 3 passengers on that jet that night. Since then, I continue to travel for work every single week, and slowly, the air travel has picked back up to normal capacity. There is hardly any empty seats on the flights I take. I look at that every week and smile.......that is a sign that America, as a nation, decided to thumb their nose at Osama Bin Laden, and we continue to live our lives. My thoughts and prayers go out to every single person who lost a loved one on that very tragic day!!! God Bless You!! Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story8578.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-10-26 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 67.0.87.204 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I remember that day as I was awakened at 7:00am (Pacific Time)by my neighbor Carolyn Lux in apt. 202 banging on my door repeatedly saying "Carol, wake up. Our country is being attacked!!!!" I woke up in a daze and when I opened the door and saw her crying and all of a sudden she threw her arms around me and hugged me. She said "Start praying!" I proceeded to turn the tv on and when I saw the second plane go into the WTC, my heart dropped and I thought I would go into hysterics! The emotions I felt at that point I cannot describe in words. I really felt that the world was coming to an end and that God has finally started the Revelation and it has come to pass. I started praying for my family, friends and all those people who were already gone. From that day on, I do now look at life differently. Each day I try to do something good for someone and I also decided to move back home to be with my mom and spend some quality time with her after 20 years. I do not feel as secure as I did and I know that this is the way it must be from now on. To all my brothers and sisters and friends in America, please pray for our country that GOd will forgive and that one day we will once again have PEACE. AMEN. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story4507.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 66.84.234.120 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: Almost everything I remember about September 11 has to do with smoke. I live in Park Slope, Brooklyn, and I take the B67 bus to my office in the Transit Building in downtown Brooklyn. On that day I stopped to vote in the City Council election, but the polls were crowded and I couldn't wait. I jumped on the bus and was reading the paper, as always. Traffic seemed heavy, and after the bus passed the Long Island Railroad Station at Flatbush and Atlantic Avenues I checked my watch -- it was almost 8:50, and I was sure I would be late for work. Then I noticed a column of grey smoke to the west and thought "wow, that must be some fire!" I thought it might be in Downtown Brooklyn, and my next thought was a rather gleeful "yay! hookey day!" figuring that the disruption would make it hard to get into my office building. But there wasn't a fire downtown. I got to my desk and looked out the window and was puzzled to see more grey smoke. What was really odd was that there were hundreds of pieces of paper floating in the smoke; at first I thought it was a flock of white birds. Then my office-mate's wife called to say that a plane had hit the World Trade Center. We ran to the balcony of the building on our floor, and, indeed, we could see the tower on fire. Until, all of a sudden, we couldn't see it any more -- there was just a cloud of brown and grey smoke. Someone had a radio on, and we learned that the building had collapsed. We heard about the planes at the Pentagon and in Pennsylvania, and rumors of a bomb at the State Department. I called my parents in the Midwest to tell them I was OK, but I was wondering if I also was saying goodbye to them. I thought it was over for this country. A cop ran down the hall ordering us to get out. We evacuated, but it was chaos downstairs; people were crying and trying to figure out what to do. I saw my boss arrive, covered in dust; he had been on a subway in lower Manhattan and had fled a cloud of smoke and debris and flying shards of glass by running across the Brooklyn Bridge. I decided to go back upstairs and provide what assistance I could; the secretaries had gone home, so I answered phones and helped out for the rest of the day (I'm a lawyer and I make a lousy secretary). At about 7:30 my boss told me it was OK to go home, because things were a bit calmer. I walked down to the Brooklyn Heights Promenade to look across the river at lower Manhattan. It looked as if the world had come to an end. There was charcoal grey and black smoke belching up, lit by the setting sun, which gave it a surreal rosy undertone. I could see a portion of the Trade Center grille facade, leaning at an angle. It was strange -- I couldn't really remember where the building had been. It was never something you had to think about; it had been so prominent in our view. Just south of Manhattan island the sky was entirely clear; it had been a beautiful day and we were seeing the last of it. What I also remember was the absolute silence, except for an occasional siren. The FDR Drive was deserted, except for patrol cars with blinking lights parked at intervals. It was the apocalypse. Our beautiful city was in flames. I took the F train home. As it emerged from the tunnel after the Carroll Street stop everyone crowded by the windows to look at the skyline. Again, everyone was silent. When I got home to Park Slope the wind had shifted, bringing the acrid, stinging black smoke swirling through the brownstone streets and into my apartment. The day that had begun with smoke in the distance ended with smoke in my nostrils and my lungs. I smelled that smoke for months every time the wind shifted and every time I went on the subway near the site. One day, I noticed that I didn't smell it any more. The fires were out. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story135.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-03-05 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 170.28.128.100 Annotation Annotations to this item. Environmental/Health Impact Rumors WTC, pre-911 NY:3 Feature Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: The day was sunny. Hot. A day you would wish for on the weekend. My destination was the World Financial Center via the WTC bridge over the West side highway. There are many with this same story. We saw first hand the day the world changed. I was running a few minutes late. I decided that, instead of going underground through the concourse, I would travel topside through the courtyard, past the big gold globe, along the north side of WTC north tower. A pretty routine decision. I walked down the north side of WTC to the bridge entrance. There had been a display set up along the bridge path for "Quebec New York". Curious name. I continued on the bridge when about three quarters through, I heard a loud BANG! I turned around and thought that maybe one of the displays had fallen over. They were large enough to make such a noise. I didn't see anything down the bridge that would have caused the sound. I dismissed it and kept on going through the revolving doors to the Winter Garden enclosure. Elapsed time: less than 30 seconds. When I got through the revolving doors I heard another loud BANG! This time when I turned around to see people screaming and running down the bridgeway. And fire alarms had began to sound. I had decided that it was best not to go up to the office until the alarm ended. There was no indication of a long term situation - until I went outside. Hundreds of people had gathered out in the marina area and were looking up at the twin towers where WTC north was billowing black smoke from about two thirds up. Asking around for the cause, I heard assumptions of generators expoding, small plane crash, and fire. It was time to find my coworkers and figure out what was going on. I looked around the crowd, sweeping back and forth, looking up more than looking for collegues. I thought I saw a familiar face in the crowd and narrowed my focus to be sure. When it turned out to be someone else, I turned my attention back on the twin towers. Then I experienced the most horrific sight I had ever witnessed. From the right side of my periphery, I saw an airplane fly into my view, behind 2 WFC - blocking the bottom two thirds of WTC south tower from my view - spraying debris and black smoke out the other side of 2 WFC. I stared, dumb-founded for what seemed like an eternity. My hands clasped my mouth in bewilderment. There was panic and mass movement back towards the ferry docks at WFC and along the Mercantile Exchange and 1 WFC. I stopped there to make a plan. How was I to get home - back to Brooklyn - to my wife. I stared at the towers and the billowing smoke from now two flaming columns. There were papers floating everywhere. And people...jumping...they were jumping. More than one. More than one at a time. I can't even imaging the decision that would have to be made for that event - the state of mind. I had to get home. I started to travel up the West Side Hwy to see if I could get to a bridge across the east river. My pager went off. My wife. She must have been going out of her mind! I walked into SoHo and lined up for a pay phone. I borrowed a quarter from a good samaritan as I didn't have any change. My turn came on the phone and I got a hold of my wife. She was relieved to hear from me. I knew that it wouldn't be enough to tell her I was okay. I had to get home and prove it in person. The events of the rest of the day happened as heard on the news. I was in Greenwich Village when the first tower fell. I only hoped that as many people as possible got out beforehand. It took me eight hours to get home. My wife held me for what seemed like an eternity. It still wasn't long enough. To this day, there isn't a day that goes by that I don't see that second UA plane plunging into the WTC tower. It is etched in my soul as a reminder - like a branding from hot metal. It plays in my memory with such clarity, unfaded by time. It is my scar to bear in rememberance of the men and women who died that day in New York, Washington DC, in Pennsylvania. To all that lost loved ones on 9/11, my condolenses. And to those who lost some of themselves, I share your sorrow. You are not alone. Godspeed in your life. And may this be the heaviest event that weighs on your soul. One story of many...Rob Davis Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story9597.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2003-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 64.134.59.213 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I was in math class and was doing work. My teacher was talking to another teacher and she said that they hit the first tower.So we went into his room and started to watch the T.V. But then we saw another plane crash into the other Tower and I thought it was not real but then I saw i tlive on the screen.I was so shocked and I couldn't believe it. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story3344.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 65.33.161.253 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I remeber I was at work and as I was walking out to go to break, one of the guys I work with said the Twin Towers had been hit by a Plane, I figured it was a terrible accident and when I came in people were standing staring at their radios and some were on the internet looking at the news. They said a secound plane hit the other tower and that America was under attack. I went and turned on my radio in time to hear the Pentagon had been hit also I was just in shock and disbelief, who would do something like this to us? We are the country who always helps people and welcomes people with open arms. Then came the news of the other plan that had been highjacked and they were not sure where it was at the time. Then the sad news of it crashing into a field. It was just to much to comprehend. I was scared and crying and just wanted to leave and go home and get my daughter from school. I called my Fiance' he works construction so I figured he hadn't heard about it yet, but they had and he was telling me to settle down that our daughter would be allright and not to panic. I called the School and they said they were keeping the news from the children at that time and they didn't want to scare them and they didn't want a rush of Parents comming to the school and getting their children because of panic for the children that would be left there. So, I decided to wait awhile and see how things were going. When I left work on the way home I cried for the Mommies and Daddies and the Children who would be left alone. I cried for all the people lost and hurt and confussed when I got to the corner by my house the Gas station was at a near panic cars were lined up into the road getting gas and the gas staions were jumping there prices to 2 dollars a gallon it was awfull. When I got to my daughter I grabed her and held her so tight I didn't want to ever let her go. We watched in horror that night on the television of all the days events. I still can't believe that something this horrible could ever have been done to us. It's been a year to the day, and I still cry for all the victims those dead and those left behind to try and pick up the pieces to regain thier lives back. But, how can you regain the lost of a loved one? There are still people who are unaccounted for who's family's will never be able to lay them to rest. It breaks my heart. I watched a special on T.V. about one woman who's husband was on the plane that went down into the field she said her husband called her 4 times and the last time he called is when they tried to regain the plane from these monsters and then she said the phone went blank. She held onto that phone for 3 hours untill his battery on his cell phone went dead just waiting....... This is my story of how I remember September 11,2001. Catherine Collins.A proud United States Citizen. May God rest all their souls and be in the Hearts of those left behind. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story4687.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 205.188.209.38 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: On September 11th in Bellevue Ohio when the firt\st plane hit. I was at the bellevue junior High school in second period in Mr. Mars pre algebra class. i was very scared. I did not know what to do and i was majorly shocked. All of the channels were forcused on this tragic incident. Everyone was scared and shocked. We were scared that the planes would hit davis besy. i was very worried for the families of the lost ones. I was also scared for the people on the planes. We as a nation have bonded and came closer to one another. This is an excpirience that will never be forgottn and will go down in history. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story6489.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-12 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 156.63.116.140