335 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: The Morning of September 11th I was in school. It happend during 3rd period,but i didn't hera about it untill 5th period. My 5th period class is history. I remember my teacher Mrs.Downing yelled "Kids be quite this is history in the making." At first I didn't know what was going on. I didn't know what the Trade Center Towers were untill the terrorist attacks happend. My fellins for this tragic accident was that when I finally realized what happend I cried in class. Just the thought of thousands of wives,husbands,moms,and dadsgone felt unreal to me. It took me a while to cope with this terrible thing. I don't know how people could go and kill that many people. In my opinion I think that it is the governments fault,they could of stopped 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 story6447.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 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 first heard about the 9/11 event at home before school. I turned the t.v on expecting morning cartoons, but instead I found myself viewing a live broadcast of a terrorist attack. I did not know what to think or feel but I did know that it was going to be a very different day. The news spread rapidly and the topic was discussed everywhere, especially at school. Despite the horrible scenes shown on t.v., heart breaking announcements made by the school principal, and the loss of civilian lives, it was heart warming to see the concern of Californians for the fellow American lives on the other side of the country. The same weekend on the week of the attack i just got off work. I saw civillians waving the U.S. flag on the streets of Beach BVLD wearing "i love NY" shirts. I remember turning left onto Beach BLVD and saw a guy in the middle of the street with an American Flag. He waved it at me expecting a honk as a sign of patriotic acknowledgement, so I honked...he nodded..and turned to the car behind me. I drove off feeling patriotic and knew America is "still standing." 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 story8254.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. 2002-10-02 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 209.79.81.236 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 woke up early on Septem,ber 11,2001. I was feeling very excited because I was involved in my first political race ever. I was running for one of eight seats on the Newton School Committee. I was running from my district but it was a citywide vote (pop.80,000). The preliminary election was necessary because 4 people were running from my district for 1 seat. I had worked hard since July 4th, getting the necessary signatures and trying to connect with voters during the summer. It was difficult to get people to vote in a local election with only one citywide race on the ballot. I had lined up family and friends to cover as many of the polling areas as possible (21) and sent my children to friends houses so I could leave the house before they left for school (an unusual occurence). At 7:00a.m. I was on my way to hold a sign at one of the elementary school where voter turnout was expected to be high. My very supportive husband had left two days earlier to go to Zurich in order to testify in international court for a client of his. I was feeling a little lonely but optimistic. At 8:40a.m. he called me on my cellphone to wish me luck. Because of the time difference he had just finished testifying and he said it had gone well (it was a first for him as well). I told him it was a beautiful day, the air was cool but the sun was strong and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Twenty minutes later, as the voters streamed by, several voters stopped to tell me that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center. My first thought was that a small private plane with an inexperienced pilot or a traffic helicopter had hit and there probably wasn't a tremendous amount of damage. Within minutes, other voters told of a second plane. I left the school and traveled to my next stop, Newton North High School. I still didn't know the enormity of the destruction. David called again, and inquired, "What's going on there?" I told him the little I knew. I stayed for a few minutes holding my sign until one passerby in a car yelled, "Haven't you heard what's going on? Why are you standing there? Do you think anyone cares about that candidate?" Well, I didn't know how to react, but I did get in my car and drove home. As I watched the television coverage, my heart sank, and I felt like ducking. I felt as though something may fall out of the sky at any minute. I resisted the urge to pick up my 2 middle school children, and my 8 year old. They would be upset soon enough. Less than 6 months earlier my son had lost 3 friends in a school bus accident and the feelings were still raw. While I was at home, one of my friends called to say his wife couldn't hold a sign because she was worried about her brother who worked in Tower 2. He amazingly survived after freefalling 30 stories in the elvator and somehow prying open the doros. Less than 5 minutes after he left by ambulance, the tower crumbled. When I heard the planes had originated from Boston and were on route to California, I worried about my neighbor. He had told me he was leaving before 7:00a.m. that morning for California and wouldn't be able to get to the voting polls. Later that day when I called his house, his wife told me he was originally scheduled to be on one of the planes that crashed, but he decided to take a later flight so he could walk his daughter to school and vote. On his drive to airport he heard on the radio about the crash and discovered Logan airport had been closed so he turned around and drove home. The governor appeared on tv shortly after 10:00a.m. and announced that the elections that day would not be cancelled. The immediate threat to anyone in Massachusetts appeared to be small. After my children came home and I spent some time with them, I turned off the television coverage and took them with me to the farmer's market, a Tuesday afternoon event that take place in the nearby park. The market was crowded as many people had been sent home from work and they really didn't want to be alone. I sent a few voters to the polls and then I went home. Later that night I went to city hall to get the results. At 11:00pm they announced that I had come in second place and would be on the November ballot. I was as excited as I could be given the days' events. It was certainly nothing like I had anticipated. I went home exhausted and sad, and very concerned about my husband flying back to the U.S. He was scheduled to return that Friday, and in fact made it home by Saturday afternoon. On Friday he stayed at the airport in Zurich until someone let him on an American Airlines plane that was flying its crew back to Chicago. Saturday morning he flew to Hartford and rented a car for the last leg home. By then, my stomach was really in knots but our life started to return to normal. It's definitely a day I will never forget but the goodness that ensued was inspiring. That Saturday, my 8 year old daughter and her friends had a spontaneous yard sale for the victims and raised $1000.00 in 4 hours. People were overwhelmingly generous and it felt good to be able to contribute to Tikkun Olam (the repair of the world). Susan Edelstein Rosenbaum Newton, Massachusetts 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 story6435.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. 206.40.165.66 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 school, when a girl ran into my second period class saying "An airplane just hit the Twin Towers in New York!" We were all shocked and stunned. My teacher turned on the news and we watched what was happening. It was horrible, I dont understand how people could do something so cruel and inhumane to the United States. My sympathy goes out to everyone feeling what I'm feeling, for everyone that has lost someone on September 11th, for everyone who has to deal with this pain everyday of their life. In a time of need, we all pulled together and showed our support. Our country is stronger then ever, and we showed that no one can change that. Even though many of our loved ones were taken away from us on that horrible day, they are watching down on us from above, they are now safe from harm and they will always remain in our hearts. My heart goes out to everyone. 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 story2267.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. 64.18.33.4 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: Around 8:45am, I went to grab some coffee from a street vendor near my office. On the way back into work, someone in the lobby told me that a plane had hit the Pentagon. When I returned to my desk, all of my co-workers were standing at one computer, and I asked if they had heard. They said they had heard a plane hit the WTC. I told them about the plane hitting the Pentagon, and we all stood there in silence. Clearly, it was not a coincidence. We watched the footage on-line of the planes hitting the buildings in NY, and were then told that there was a bomb threat next door. We moved to another side of the office, and were trying to decide what to do. I had heard from various people via IM that there were bombs going off all over the city. Fortunately, all of the rumors turned out to be false-but at the time, we were afraid to leave the building. We waited a few hours, and then decided to walk out of DC instead of taking the Metro. I walked down M St, towards Georgetown and across the Key Bridge. I could see smoke billowing from the Pentagon as I crossed into Virginia. 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 story887.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. 2002-07-12 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 207.2.164.203 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: Solidarity in a War Zone By Robert W. Snyder In the blasted bomb-scape outside the World Trade Center yesterday, it was the courage and kindness of ordinary people that saved lives. I know because a crew of McDonald's workers pulled me out of the choking smoke. My day began as normally as a New York City day can. I voted in the primary, then caught the downtown Lex?headed for my usual stop at Fulton Street, right near the World Trade Center. I normally get off there to catch the PATH train that takes me to Newark and my job teaching journalism at Rutgers. The train was running slowly, and I thought it was just ordinary train trouble when it skipped Fulton and stopped at Wall Street. I walked up to the street, oriented myself, and headed north on Broadway. Crowds were milling on the sidewalk. From a distance I assumed that it was something to do with the primary. I walked uptown, looked up, and saw the World Trade Center in flames. > I thought out loud, "One of my best friends works up there." Then a huge explosion of gray smoke erupted from the building. Like everyone in the crowd, I turned and ran east, away from the World Trade Center. Some people screamed. A few fell. I wanted to help them, but I wanted to live more. I kept running as fast as I could. I wanted only to get home to my wife and children. Any second, I expected to be crushed by falling debris. Then the smoke caught up with me. All went dark and silent. I felt all alone. > > I could not see one inch in front of my face. I could barely breathe. The air was so thick with debris that my every breath felt like I was sucking in gravel, > I heard someone say "Stay low". I bent over into a crouch, but I didn't want to > go onto all fours. I was afraid of being trampled if the crowd started running again. > > I could barely breathe. I started to wonder what it was like to suffocate. In the end, do you just fall asleep? > > I took off my hat, held it over my face to filter the air, and took a few breaths. I looked around and saw nothing. Then I buried my face in my hat to take a few more breaths, and looked again. It was still deathly quiet and gray. I thought about my wife and children and how much I wanted to see them again. > After a while the dust settled enough that I could make out streets and buildings. I started to head east, toward the East River. I figured that there were fewer tall buildings that might come down and the chance of better air to breathe. I headed east, following the lay of the land. Lower Manhattan looked like Hiroshima after the atomic bomb: Gray, silent, smoky and sunless. People stumbled down streets and sidewalks. > > I saw one dazed man as alone as I was. I locked arms with him, and said, "Come on, we're going to get out of here." I saw another and said, "Come on, we're going to get out of here alive." I figured with three of us supporting each other, we would have a better chance. > > We were staggering east down a street that I did not recognize when the side door to a building opened. Some McDonalds workers pulled us inside. The air was cleaner in there. We could breath freely again. We spit the dust out of our throats, coughed, and rinsed out our eyes. A woman gave me a wet towel to wrap around my face and filter the air. They loaned me a telephone. I called my wife and told her I was okay. Then I called Rutgers to say that I wouldn't be in for work. > > We made up some cups of water, carried them out onto the street on a tray, and gave them to people trudging by. When they were all gone, I started walking north towards home. I asked a police officer for advice, and he told me to get out of lower Manhattan. I did. I?m a historian, and I?ve given many walking tours in lower Manhattan. It was strange to walk through streets I love and see them dense with dust and debris, to look toward South Street and see the masts and spars of the Peking through a haze of smoke. As I passed the Brooklyn Bridge, I felt the ground shudder. Some people around me looked nervous. I joked that it was probably only the subway passing underneath. Looking back to see an apocalyptic scene of smoke and destruction, I knew I was probably wrong. I walked north, feeling like I was part of a column of refugees. When I reached Chinatown, things started to look normal again. Outside a Roman Catholic Church, a work crew continued to lay down a sidewalk. A family that looked like it was dressed for a first communion stood next to them, smiling nervously. In Little Italy, I walked into a deli and asked to borrow the phone to call my mother in New Jersey. Everyone looked at me oddly: they were there to buy cold cuts. But the woman behind the counter dialed my mother?s number, our connection was made, and I reassured my mom. Trudging up Second Avenue, covered in dust, I was angry and bewildered. I wanted a rifle and I wanted to get even. I was also very thirsty. At the Pescatore Restaurant, I saw workers sitting inside looking at the passing procession. I knocked and asked for water. They told me they were closed and refused to open the door. I walked up a few doors to Jameson's pub and stepped up to the bar. Before I could hail the bartender, a customer slid his drink over to me and said "Take this, you need it." I know which establishment I will return to on my next night on the town. At 54th Street, I hailed a cab and rode the rest of the way home to 81st Street. I hugged my wife, picked up my son at school and hugged him. Then I went to the park where my daughter was playing and hugged her. Sitting at home, I startle when I hear airplanes flying overhead. The roar of the subway makes me nervous. I can still hear the screams of a woman who fell while we rushed away from the explosion. I can still feel the smoke that covered me in a deathly silence. And I think about the McDonalds workers who pulled me and two other men out of the dust so that we could breath again. Terrorists tried to bomb the life out of New York City, but ordinary people saved each other. That is our strength, and that is what will preserve us. 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 story72.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. 2002-02-21 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 146.96.92.54 Annotation Annotations to this item. Environmental/Health Impact Personal connection to someone at site Police Officers Rescue/clean-up workers/volunteers Struggle to get home U.S. retribution NY:2 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: I was in my car with my two-year-old daughter around 9:45 in the morning on September 11, 2001. We were on our way to her Acrobatics class, listening to a Christian music radio station. I heard them announce that a plane had hit the Towers, and I heard something about a mall, which now I know they said National Mall. My daughter's class started at 10:00 am, so we went inside. I told some of the other moms about it but they hadn't heard about it yet. We got back in the car after class and I continued listening because at this point I feared we were at war. When I got home I turned on the television and watched in despair. Though I didn't know anyone that worked either in NY or in DC, I was overwhelmed. Then there was the fear of what would happen next. My husband was at work. My seven-year-old son was at school. I tried not to panic as long as I could but I finally called his school to make sure everything was all right. I asked them if many parents had come to pick up their children. The receptionist told me that quite a few parents had come and if it made me feel better, it would be OK for me to come and get him. So that is what I did. I live in a rural area and didn't really fear anything happening out here, but I really needed to see and hug my little boy. We watched the news for a while together when we got home. I wanted him to remember what had happened that day, but yet I hated for him to see all the destruction. After a bit, I called my husband, just to hear his voice. I think my story is pretty typical of the general public. I didn't lose any of my loves ones, and for this I have been blessed. I am so sorry for those who lost family and friends. We were all affected greatly by this. I think we all did remarkably well in getting on with our lives while at the same time mourning those who were lost. God takes good care of His people. He was truly with this country on that day, as He is with us always. 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 story3371.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. 67.226.228.43 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: When I awoke on that horrible morning, I turned on the TV so that my children could watch their morning cartoons before going of the preschool. When I had turned on the TV the first images of the planes hitting the buiding were on the screen. I thought to myself that these were great visual effects for what I thought was an action movie. I checked the TV guide to see what movies it was. I then realized that it was really happening. I sat shocked and amazed that something like this could happen on American soil. I called my husband, who is a newspaper reporter for the local paper, and asked if he had seen or heard what had happened. My husband gave me all the details that had come in over the wire. I just couldn't believe this was happening. Shortly after that, the towers stared to collapse. I had never felt so helpless in all my life. People were dying and there was absolutly nothing that I could do about it. I decide to go online and see if there was anything that I could do. I went to the website listing missing persons to see if I could possible help make any matches between people lost or missing and people found. I was so overwhelmed by the number of people on those lists. I did not personally know anyone who was lost or had lost a loved one in the terrorist attacks, and for that I am grateful. Through my husbands reporting job, we have met many fireman and rescue personnel ans well as people who's lives where sadly changed by these events. I could never in a million years, understand how they feel. The closest that I have come to being directly effected by this is know that the plane that crashed in Somerset, PA, was turned around over Cleveland OH were my family lives. We have recently moved to PA, not to far from the crash site. It is a humbling experience to know that people were so brave as to risk and lose their own live to protect millions of others. It would be naive of me to think that we will never have to go through this again. I know that there are evil people out there who hate us for the freedom and liberty that we have in this country. I am proud to be an American. I have taught my three preschool aged children to be proud of what we have and what we stand for. I have also taught them to never take anything for granted and to live life to the fullest. That's all any of us can really do. 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 story1682.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. 2002-09-03 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 152.163.188.195 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 11th, 2001, was a very tragic and emothional day for the united States of America. What started out as a normal everyday Tuesday, turned into a day that will be remembered in U.S. history forever. As a twelve-year-old, most people do not think about the horrifying lives and tragic deaths that other people in other countries may experience every single day of their lives. On the day of September 11th, those types of expreiences became reality for the people of the United States. That Tuesday and the following days were lived in fear, confusion and sorrow. The lives of the others that we had never given one thought to, suddenly becaome ours. As we grow older, we tend to forget things that have happened in out past. September 11th will be a day that everyone will remember forever, while the other memories slowly float off to the past. The way that I witnessed September 11th may seem a bit coincidental to some people. When the first plane hit the first building of the World Trade Center, at 8:48 a.m., I, along with 29 of my classmates, were walking doen the stairs from math class to a bus-evacuation safety drill. As we got on the bus, everybody was really wild adn goofing off because we did not have any idea of what had happened. While the bus driver, Ken was trying to get us to quiet down, we continued not to listen to him, because we thought, "Oh this is no big deal, we have done this a million times." I can still remember the words Ken spoke when telling us of the horrible thing that had just occured. He said, "Boys and girls, if you think bus safety is an issue to be taken lightly, just listen. A few minutes ago, aplane that left from Boston, heading toward the West Coast, changed direction and crashed into the World Trade Center Building at full speed." I was sitting next to my friends Caitlin and Aj when he told us. We turned to each othe in disbelief. We thought Ken was just making up this cruel story to make us quiet down and listen to him. When we got off the bus and back into our school, we knew something was seriously wrong. Most of out teachers were crying and the students around us were all confused and scared. We went back up to our math class adn our teacher, Mrs.Tanona, turned on the television to the news. While watching the news, I realized that the awful fact had suddenly become my reality. By the time we had gotten back up to the school, the second pland had already hit the second World Trade Center building at 9:03 a.m. We heard the news about a third plane hitting the Pentagon, at 9:43 a.m., witnessed the collapse of the south World Trade Center tower at 10:05 a.m., a fourth plane crashing in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, and witnessed the collapse of the north tower at 10:28 a.m. The rest of the school day, needless to say, we did not do any schoolwork. Our teachers were very helpful and conforted us. They answered any question we had and told us that everything was going to be okay. Our day at Marlborough Middle School was one filled with sorrow, stories about New York City, and confusion. After school, I had soccer practice. Soccer praactice was similar to my day at school: questions, answers, and comfort. When I got home, my mother, stepfather, brother, and I had discussions about the tragic day. They had answers and facts I had not heard before. That night, at home, we received countless phone calls from family and friends to make sure we were okay. My father and stepmother live in Oregon, my stepfather's family lives in Canada, and the reast of my family is spread out across the United States. My stepfather works in New York City at the Cornell Medical School. He comes home on weekends and sometimes for a week at a time. I am so grateful every single day my stepfather was in Marlborough that Tuesday instead of in New York City. My life has changed a great deal because of September 11th, not just as a person, but as part of a nation, and asd a friend. My values have also changed. During the last school year, there were many events I learned lessons from. School, friends, parents, teachers and even sports have taught me many valuable things. September 11th, 2001, was by fat the most life-changing event last year for me. On September 11th, many people thought it was going to be a normal day. It turned into a living nightmare. People young and old, black and white, perished out of hatred and jealousey. None of those people deserved to die, but they did becaose of the envy someone else felt for the United States of America. Because of the great loss an September 11th, I not only feel sorrow, but I also learned some very important lessons for life. The first lesson, or virtue that I have taken to heard and soul is to be grateful for what you have. Although the people who did this terrible deed devastated the UNited States, they also taught us to be grateful. One may assume the people responsible wanted to give us a little bit of what they go through every day of their lives. As citizens of the most powerful country in the world, we do not realize the harships and tragedies other people go through every day. Our concerns are more centered upon whether or not our outfits match or "I need some more CDs because I love this one song on this one CD". Our concerns do not even touch the subject, "Am I going to get to eat tomorrow or will I have to wait another week?" We do not need to question whether we are going tohave enough food or water to survive the rest of the week or if we have enough clothers on our bodies to survive the winter. In many nations world wide, people are starving, thirsty and cold with no clothers or electricity to warm them. These basic necessities are part of most of our daily lives. Although we may take them for granted, there might come a day when we do not have those things. So, as a lesson to have for life, be grateful for what you have and never take anything for granted. My second lesson is never miss a chance to say, "I love you", for there will come a time whe ntomorrow never comes. Many of tge people who died, probably did not ge to say "good morning" or "goodbye" to their loved ones. They probably thought, "Oh, I do not want to wake them up, I will se them later". Or, their loved ones may have been angry and did not say "goodbye" or "I love you". Just think, has there ever been a time when you were mad at your parents, friends or children and you never said "I love you" and "goodbye" to them? Then, the next thing you know, your loved one is gone and you did not take that little moment to let go of your anger just enough to say "I love you". I think a lot of people take their families for grated and are even sometimes wanting to get away from them as soon as possible. But then when you think about all of the people in other countries who have no parents because we bombed their country of went to way with them, I wonder how anyone can take their families for granted. I think to myself how lucky I am to have two parents and two stepparents and a family who loves me and will support me in anything I do. If you have ever thought you were unlucky to have parents or thought they were overprotective, you should just think about how much they love you and how luucky you are to have parents who care about you. The second lesson I learned was no matter how angry you are, opr even if you are not angry, just take the time to say, "I love you". The third, and maybe most important lesson, I learned from September 11th, is respect, honor and bravery for yourself, others, the environment and your country. All of the people who dies should go to their graves with honor and respect. Some people perished our of hatred, while others perished from trying to help save the life of someone else and for that I honor them. I wish that in this world there would be more people who would act with the same courage and bravery that the rescuers and heroes displayed. They died trying to save the lives of others, while many other people did just turn and run in horror. The heroes also dies to try and help our great nation. This showed they had respect for others and their country. Those people are heroes acted with respect and bravery and for that I honor and respect them. So, the third lesson I take to heart is respect, honor and bravery for yourself, others, the environment and your country. Although many people perished and were hurt, the people all around he should should have learned something from it. People, families and our nation were torn apart because ot someone else's hatred and envy. For the people that stood a little above the others to try and help, thatnk you, I owe you freatly for the lessons and virtues you taught to me and to the rest of the world. September 11th wa a bhit of a wake-up call to people of the United States. It showerd them the world is not just made up of people that have everything they need, like most of the people in the United States have. Because of September 11th, I have been thinking about these kinds of things a lot. If you believe for one minute you will always have everything that you need, I believe you should seriously reconsider. Just because you have it now, does not mean you are always going to have it. Your life can change in the blink of an eye. You can have everything on moment, and nothing the next. All of the people who were affected by September 11th had their whole lives changed in a split second. They lost loved ones, money and some even lost their spirit to live. The people around me have also changed because of September 11th. September 11th opened the eyes of everyhbody whether they realize it or not. I can defenitely see a change in the way a lot of people live their lives and how they view things. Because of September 11th, 2001, I feel that my life, personality and values have chnged drastically. There are a lot of things that should be remembered about the morning of September 11th, 2001. I do not feel the sorrow, such as the number of people who dies, should be dwelled upon the most. It should defenitely be remembered, but I do not think 50 or so years from now people should be saying, "on this day, 50 years ago, .... people lost their lives". It should be a day when people remember the actual people, not the number, that had their lives cut short. It should be remembered that everyday people, such as you and I, lost their lives because of somebody else's anger and envy. The thousands of innocent mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, children and so forth died. Just think, normal, everyday loved ones. One may think this was a massacre and it never should have happened, but they should then also think about the other countries where things like this are happening every day. Did most of is feel sorry for them or even think about them before Septmeber 12th? Or is it just when something happens ot the United States, that we wake up and think about it? September 11th, should also be a wake up call to the United States and other countries that war is not the answer to things. Thousands of people have been victims of ways, and have had their lives cut short and their families torn apart. Although it is impossible to stamp out terrorism and war, I hope governments and leaders will realize and try to talk to others and settle things peacefully, rather thatn just saying, "Oh that made me mad. Let's go drop a bomb". Does that seem like the right answer? I do not think so. The things that should be remembered about September 11th are the ordinary everyday brothers, and sisters who had their lives cut short because of the anger and envy of another person or group of people targeted at the United States of America. September 11th, 2001, was a day of sorrow, fear, and confusion. The way we, as a nation and as people, are coping with those emotions, and obstacles, are helpin to shape who we are. Whether we it be together or apart, we as people of a nation must realize that what happened, wa not justtargeted at one person, group of people, or government, but at the United States of Ameica. It was targeted at us as a whole, not as individuals. As the most powerful nation in the world, I think we tend to get a bit conceited or overconfident. Sometimes I feel our nation thinks only of itself, rather than all countries of the world. Sometimes I wonder if the United States thinks about what effect its actions will have on other countries of the world, or if it just acts without considering anyone else. But now we know, as we should have known before, anything can happen. The United States can bhe the target of teeorism adnits people can be hurt. The way in which we respond to that shapes who we are, as people and as a nation. We must come together and act as one. We must remember our mistakes from the past, so we will not repeat them in the future. We must remember September 11th, 2001 as a lesson to shape how the future United States of America will handle things and make decisions. We must remember. 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 story8479.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. 2002-10-17 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 24.60.58.139 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 on my way to school when the radio said... "There has been a terriorist attack on the united states." I looked at my dad and we both sat there shocked. They then went on to say that the twin towers both have been struck by airplanes. I then got in class and started to talk to my friends about it and we started to watch it on tv in class. When i saw the people jumping out of the building. I then felt for all the poeple who had died or was dying and immediatly feared for my dads friends that worked around the twin towers. I felt sorry for all those poeple that had died and hatred towards the pepole that had done this to us. 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 story8234.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. 2002-10-02 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 209.79.81.226 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 a sophomore in Okemos High School. It was the beginning of second period - U.S. History class. It was before my teacher, Mrs. Glicksman started her lesson, so my friends and I were just talking (I believe the subject was about how we get too much homework). While we were chatting, the phone rang. My teacher went to get it, and we continued talking. It was nothing unusual for her to get a call during class. Since my desk was right near the phone, I was able to hear the tone of her voice, even though she spoke softly. It sounded frightened, and when I looked at her face, it certainly matched her voice. She got off the phone in a matter of seconds, and when she did, rushed over to the television. As she was changing the channels she explained to us why she was just called. It was her husband, a professor at Michigan State University, had called to tell her that something horrible had just happened. A plane hit one of the World Trade Center towers. Confused, we all turned to the TV screen, turned on to CNN. Sure enough, we saw there was a huge tower on fire. But after looking at the picture on the screen closer, we noticed that both towers were on fire. Had the fire spread over? No... it was too far. Then another question popped into my head, what caused the plane to run into the building. I figured that it was just a helicopter or something that lost control and ended up running into the tower. But there was no video of the plane hitting, so I wasn't sure. The news soon cleared our confusion by saying that the second tower had just been hit as well. They even had footage of it: A large plane running straight into the tower. The plane didn't look like it was out of control at all, it flew without ever waviering. Also, as I said before it was big. It looked like a passenger plane. We all stared, some of us literally with our mouths open, at the screen. Nobody moved except for an occasional glance to the person sitting next to them to say, "Oh my God, I can't believe this is happening." As we watched, there was a phone conversation going on between a TV broadcaster at the CNN headquarters and one at the Pentagon. All of a sudden, the broadcaster at the Pentagon stopped talking. A second later, he reported that he had just felt a rumble inside the building and was being exacuated. We later found out it was the third plane crashing. My fellow students and I started to get scared. What if they were more planes still out there? Class got out and reluctantly we left our chairs to go to our next class. Surprisingly, not everyone in school (it was around 9:45 am) had known about the tragedy. I told many of my friends in the hall, and I noticed others doing the same. I rushed to my AP Statistics class to continue watching the TV. Of course, it was already on and many of my classmates were already there watching. But when class started, my teacher turned off the TV and continued with her scheduled class plan. This made me a bit angry. Something this important and historic was happening and we had to learn about the probability of rolling a six on a dice. I could tell other students were equally frusterated, but what could we do? Fourth hour orchestra and fifth hour literature composition 10 were about the same. Those teachers did let us watch TV near the end of class though. I was mainly surprised at my fifth hour teacher because her son and daughter-in-law lived in New York City, both of which worked relatively close to the towers. Wasn't she scared for them? She didn't look like it, she looked exactly as pacifistic as she usually was. But I believe that she was trying to hid her feelings so not to worry us. Sixth hour Biology, we only had busy-work to do, and the TV was on all hour. My only male teacher was glued to the screen, I don't even think he moved the whole period. After school, I went to cross-country practice. We ran only a short distance, maybe four miles that day. I believe that our coach undrestood we all wanted to get home to our families as soon as possible. My mom picked me up from practice in our blue mini-van. I hopped in the front seat. She was usually quiet, and I could tell she was upset. I talked a little about it with her. She was at the mall when she heard over the radio. She was mostly bothered by the rumors that people were spreading around. I even remember one ridiculous one about us being bombed. Unlike the usual pop songs on the radio, it was turned National Public Radio (NPA), not a station that we usually listen to. They had discussion on what was happening and also sounds from ground zero. It was all screaming. Constant screaming. I arrived home to my 12-year old brother and my one-year old nephew. We were babysitting my nephew for my half sister that day, thank god. He was so happy that day. He would just giggle and gurgle. My mom would just hold and hug him. I believe he was a huge comfort for her. My brother was rather impartial. I don't think he really understood the magnitude of the disaster. My dad came home around 5:30 from work. He's a ob/gyn doctor in Lansing. My mom usually works in the office w/ him, but she was taking a day off that day. My dad is from Bolivia, my mom is a straight desendant of the first Pilgrims who came to America (the Whites). Even though my dad usually showed more loyalty to his native country, on 9/11, he was surprisingly patriotic. He wanted to go out and get a flag as soon as possible and would barely leave the tv screen. I did my homework (i only had a bit) and watched TV until 10. I was exhausted, mainly mentally, but physically as well. With so many feelings rushing through my head, it took a while to get to bed, but I finally did it and finished off the worst day in my living 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 story2257.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. 198.109.168.234 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 sky was clear and blue on the morning of September 11, 2001 in New York City. Walking down Park Avenue in midtown on my way to work, I noticed pedestrians looking in a bank window. I stepped up and looked in at the TV displayed through the window and saw the World Trade Center Towers. One had smoke pouring out of it, but it wasn't clear what had happened. When I finally arrived at work (at a midtown investment bank on Park Avenue), I found out what happened. I need to first note that the office I was working in had cable-TV situated in the collective work area, so my entire team was watching the events when I arrived. I was told that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center Tower 1. It wasn't known yet whether it was an accident, or what. As we watched, Tower 2 exploded. My first thought was a bomb, while others thought it a side effect of the Tower 1 crash. The TV station then replayed the video, revealing a second plane crashing into Tower 2. It suddenly became horribly clear this as all deliberate. We watched in amazement as one, then the other tower collapsed. Word then came in about the Pentagon, and the plane in Pennsylvania. A coworker couldn?t understand why a plane would crash in the middle of nowhere, and I guessed that the passengers somehow found out what was going on and brought it down themselves (later on I was surprised to find out how accurate that was). Our boss announced without a second thought that we should all plan on leaving the office and going home soon. As we were preparing to depart, the news announced that all traffic going in and out of the city was stopped, bridges were closed, and public transportation and trains were halted. I called my girlfriend, and arranged to meet with her on 3rd Ave and 41st street, to then walk home to Park Slope, Brooklyn together. As I waited for her, it became clear that all pager and cell-phone service was non-functional. People were lined up using payphones all over the streets. The sidewalks were incredibly crowded with people leaving work and trying to get home. I could see the immense column of black smoke against the clear blue sky, and could start to smell it as well. My girlfriend and I found each other and proceeded down 3rd Ave, then switched over to 2nd Ave, which was less crowded. As we walked, she kept 1010WINS (NYC news radio station) playing on her Walkman headphones, giving me periodic updates. I think it helped give us both a little sense of security. One thing we found out was that all the radio and broadcast TV stations using the tower at the WTC were now off the air. Only those using the tower at the Empire State Building were still on. The traffic dwindled down to none on the avenue, except for the occasional EMS, police, or military vehicle. As we walked by Bellevue, there was a group of medical staff waiting out front, obviously expecting to receive a large number of injured. As we waled, any sound of an airplane overhead made us nervous. We reached Canal St, and found a huge sea of people migrating from uptown and downtown, merging to cross the Manhattan Bridge, or find a different path home. We crossed the Manhattan Bridge, and could see downtown Manhattan enveloped in smoke, with absolutely no traffic or people visible on the streets, and all buildings dark from the power being cut. The column of black smoke from the WTC site was stretching an incredible distance out over the water, with the acrid smell just getting stronger. Most of those crossing the bridge did so silently. At this point, military aircraft were starting to patrol the skies, which I found reassuring. When we reached the Brooklyn side of the bridge, we were greeted with a contingent of medical personnel and others with water bottles to attend to those in need. To me, this was a great example of how New Yorkers pull together when push comes to shove. After the 3 hour exodus we arrived home. 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 story9696.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. 24.90.0.9 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 bossier and my mamma call me and my aunt and told us that we was in war me and my aunt we to get the kids from school and we went back home and we watch the news and my mamma was in new york when all of this came up then oh 9-15-01 they came home but they was okay and i was happy that tey was okay 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 story6454.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. 216.77.166.182 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 couldn't believe what happened yesterday. I still can't believe it. I feel as if I am having a nightmare. My head is a little cloudy and fuzzy. I am walking around in a daze. You know when you get up really early in the morning, and turn on your light you feel a little dizzy and light headed. It's kind of like you're sleepwalking, but you're not. This is reality. Now, wake up! Yesterday was September 11, 2001. I was in second period when the phone rang. That's normal; all of the teachers call each other. Mrs. Capen walked over to the television and turned it on to CNN. Everything was normal up to that point. When the television was turned on, I thought we were going to watch a movie. But, we weren't. The news was showing a plane crashing into the World Trade Centers. I didn't think that this was really happening. I thought that this was some kind of computer-generated joke that she was playing on us. A very cruel joke. I wouldn't think that she would just go and put in a movie of something cruel like that. The week before that we were talking about Osama Bin Laden and the Taliban, and that was why I thought that the incident with the World Trade Centers and the Pentagon was just a joke. Then the second plane crashed into the World Trade Centers. At that time I was in shock. I didn't care if Mrs. Capen was playing a joke on me or not. Thinking about that, even if it wasn't real is enough to shock you. The average citizen didn't hear any warnings about anything like that happening. We didn't know that something might happen to us on that day. The time that I realized that this was real was during third period in art. I was shocked and ashamed that I really didn't think that what was going on was real. I was ashamed that I actually thought that Mrs. Capen would ever play that dirty of a trick on us. Then, another shock came during third period. A plane hit the Pentagon. I was scared to death. We live near a power plant, and the people (including me) were scared that a plane was going to crash into that. There were people jumping from the windows high up on the World Trade Centers to try to save their lives. We all started to pray. That was something that I never thought would happen. People were praying that don't even believe in God. Then came fourth period. That was when the inenviable happened. The first tower hit by the plane came crashing to the ground. I thought that I was going to die. Throughout that day none of our teachers made us do work. They wanted us to sit there and watch what was happening. Well, they didn't have to want us to sit there and watch it, because we already were. I didn't want to leave any class because I didn't want to miss anything. I was in a hurry to all of my classes, too. Sometime during that day, people in a plane that was headed toward the White House took over a terrorist and got the plane to head away from the White House. They crashed the plane into a field in Pennsylvania. I am very proud to say that I live in America where the average citizen went running into a building that a plane crashed into to save people. They risked their lives for complete strangers. The police and firemen and women also were very brave to die for strangers. The K-9 dogs should be recognized for their help as well. Brittany Vanderwalker 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 story725.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. 2002-06-06 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 168.169.8.37 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 way going along as any other-books checking in and out, patrons asking questions etc- then people trickled in with shock on their faces telling us that a plane had crashed into one of the towers of the World Trade Center in NYC. Everyone wondered if it was an accident, until a short while later others came in saying that the other tower had been hit and possibly the Pentagon and another site in DC. As librarians, we are usually the ones to give others information, so this situation was unusual because we were without contact with the outside world as far as radio and television as concerned. All we knew was what we heard from patrons coming in. Within a few hours, panic-stricken people (many of whom had never been to our library) were coming to the library to try contacting relatives in NY & DC by e-mail on our public access computers; many were on their phones at the same time. Usually this is considered rude in a library, but for this tragically special day no one complained. Most people were very understanding and sympathetic to those trying to find family members. This was heartwarming as many times people are very firm about not letting other cut into their computer time. One of our own librarians had 2 children in NYC and a daughter in her 9th month of pregnandy in DC who worked across the street from the Pentagon, so we were all aware of how this tragedy could hit home from afar. We did everything we could to help people throughout that day and did not close early as did many other businesses. Many who came into the library were shocked that we had not shut down and gone home, but we felt that we needed to provide a place for people to use the internet and that some people may not have had anyone else to talk to that day. It was also said that if we closed, we would be giving in to the terrorists who wanted to see this country crippled by their acts. Later, when I got home from work around 6pm and turned on the news all I saw for hours were "talking heads." Peter Jennings, the ABC anchorman, kept saying that people had been seeing pictures of the the event all day. The media people apparently thought that the whole country had shut down as well. It wasn't until nearly 9 pm that I finally saw what had happened. It was horrifying. I became as shocked as the people who had been coming to the library all day. I sat and cried as I watched the films that people had taken as the events unfolded. The next day at work, my co-workers were discussing what they did when they got home. All had family to hold and share feelings with, which made me all the more aware of how difficult it is to be alone in a crazy world. I was unable to reach my mother or adult daughter by phone and my cats were undaunted and unconcerned with the world or my feelings- there was kibble in the bowls so they were fine. One woman at work said how she sat in her husband's lap and cried all evening as they watched the news. I left her office and had to take a short break, as I was struck by loneliness along with the fear everyone else was feeling. Even after all these years of women's liberation being thrust upon us, strong arms to hold you in the midst of tragedy can still be a great comfort. 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 story4088.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. 169.244.21.145 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 husband and I were getting ready to take my little one to preschool. He was watching TV and called to me in the bedroom that a plane had hit the WTC. At first, he and I, probably like other Americans thought that I was a mere accident. A few minutes later when the second plane hit, we knew it was no accident. We were stunned. Then as the news unfolded about the third plane in Washington, I wondered "When is this going to end" and really started to fear for my family and my country. When we dropped my little one off at preschool, the moode was very somber with all the teachers. Amazingly, the children who are the future of this country were playing and having a good time, not knowing and understanding what was going on around them. During the next few days and weeks, there were pleas of donations being made over the television. My older son, who was not quite 7 years old at the time saw this on TV. He was aware of the situation as the teachers discussed it in school. My son wanted to go to his wallet and send his only $2 that he had to his name for a donation! I was touched by that and thought that anyone who is directly affected would appreciate this little note of story. 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 story4290.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. 65.80.112.203 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 am a Californian and I was 31 on 9/11/01. I am embarrassed to say that if you had asked me, prior to 9/11/01, I would not have been 100% certain that the World Trade Center was in New York. I moved to a new home in Malibu, with my son and my husband, the last few days of August, 2001. We have a Great Dane and the house didn't yet have a fence enabling me to let him roam the yard to find the perfect spot to go to the bathroom, and because he is a skittish Great Dane, he hadn't gone to the bathroom in 2 days due to the change of environment. I had been walking him while my son was getting ready for school and my husband was running. My dog had just gone to the bathroom and I was overjoyed. Suddenly, my husband drove around the corner, fast enough to barely miss hitting us and he told me he just heard on the Howard Stern Show that a plane had hit one of the Towers. I didn't know what that meant. What kind of plane? How is that possible? What does it mean? We ran in the house and turned on the television. My husband, my son and I watched the television in awe, in horror, in silence. This was inconceivable. My generation lived under the assumption that the United States was untouchable. We knew about Pearl Harbor, but look at our response to Pearl Harbor? Who would put themselves in that position to welcome the kind of revenge that is characteristic of the United States? I was born in 1969. I am too young to have any memory of Vietnam. My life was not changed by Desert Storm. We didn't know what would happen next. This wasn't the usual kind of aggression that is expected in war. I couldn't imagine who we were at war with anyway. Had I missed something in the news? While I was so embroiled in moving to a new home did I miss some vital information going on in the world that would explain this? I knew there were rules in war. Civilians are never supposed to be the main target. Who would do this? I didn't cry for days. In fact, it wasn't until weeks later that, while watching footage of the events that took place that day, that I broke down. I cried for hours and on and off since that day. My initial reaction was one of horror, anger, and fear, but the long term reaction has been one of such sadness and grief. I have spent months trying to come to grips with the reality of it. In fact, on this one year anniversary, while my family and friends have shied away from media coverage, I have saturated myself with it in hopes of trying to understand, or at least, to allow myself to accept the reality of it. I like the analogy of the United States as a family that argues within itself, but when faced with an insult, bands together and forms a shield of righteous dignity. I have been so touched by the outpouring of grief across the world for a nation that has made freedom in every nation one of it's primary goals. I understand that the strongest will inevitably be resented by the weakest, and I am so proud to be a citizen of the strongest nation in the world. 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 story3252.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. 66.214.93.128 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: When this happen I felt very sad. I just felt like crying because when ever my family and I would go to New York we would always go to the twin towers.I also felt very bad because so many peolpe had died and the day was so sad.Because I was at school and my mom wastring to get me from school and could because she was in trfic.It was very sad. 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 story11449.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. 2005-06-10 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 206.158.3.10 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: The morning of September 11, 2002, like many other mornings, began with my husband rocking me gently awake. Only this morning, he had the phone in one hand and was quickly reaching for the television remote with the other. "Amy, wake up" he said, "we're being bombed." He had been woken by the phone call from a friend. In the coming hours we learned that though we weren't technically bombed, our beloved nation was under serious attack. My husband and I clung to each other for hours that morning at we watched the horror unfold on our television. At the time we lived in an apartment attached to a college dorm. My husband, Brent Tallman, was the resident director of Hills Hall on the campus of Olivet Nazarene University. All classes were cancelled that day, and students began to huddle together around television sets, cell phones and tissues at hand. Brent and I watched this group of young students in America as they tried to make sense of the world as it spun and changed around them. Later that afternoon, I had to go to work at a daycare center where I cared for 12 infants. Something changed in me as I held those fragile babies that afternoon. They would grow up in a world that was drastically different from what I had grown up in. They would hear stories and see pictures of how their world changed forever on September 11, 2001. I was not covered with dust that day. I did not have to wonder if my loved ones were alive. I did not see, smell, taste, hear or touch the horror as many did. But I was changed. May God continue to save and heal our nation. May peace prevail. May pray be a priority. May we cherish those around us today, knowing that tomorrow is not ours. May we never forget...to remember. 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 story4048.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. 12.21.76.12 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 started out as any other day in a hospital setting. Answering phone calls from pt's family and friends and doing patient care. One of the empty patient's room had on "Good Morning America" and all of a sudden one of my peers call for all of us to come and see what just happened to the Twin Towers. None of us could believe our eyes. An airplane just hit the North Towers and smoke was bellowing out from the windows and where the plane entered.. We at first thought it was just a plane that was having problems. When all of a sudden the South Tower was also hit. They interrupted the broadcast and said that there are possibly more highjacked airplanes out there. I never in my life have been so scared and wanted to be with my family which was impossible at that time. This incident has made me appreciate every day and everything that GOD has given me. Life is like a fragile piece of crystal and is to be treated carefully and cheerished. Sandy T 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 story5429.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. 209.206.150.56