372 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 in school and the principle came on the announcements and told us that a plane has hit one of hte world trade centers....everyone was devistated in shock...we didnt know what to do because we were all worried about what was going to happen next. Me and my friends just wished that everyone got out safe and that everything was ok. Then the principle came back on and said that another plane hit the second world trade center! We couldnt do anything else but think why and how they would do this to america. I wish that day would have never happened and i fear that something else will happen to our country and we will be hurt by it!! I pray at night and hope that this never happens again and that america is protected because i dont feel safe sometimes. 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 story8565.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. 2002-10-22 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 66.67.163.198 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 41 year old college student, mother of three 20, 17, and 15, married for 23 years. I was at home preparing for class listening to ABC news in the morning when the first plane had hit the tower. I watched for a few minutes and then headed to school as usual. I was in the hall of the Chemistry floor when the head of the department said a second plane had struck the other tower. Several of us followed him into a nearby lab and began to watch the coverage of the horrific scenes that followed. There was fear, disbelief, and confusion that covered us as we sat in stunned silence, trying to make sense of what was happening. No one accomplished much that day, and we watched helplessly from the Midwest. A fellow student decided that she was going home and removing her children from school to be with them. We cried, prayed, and continued to watch. The reports began to circulate about the possible attack at the Pentagon and the plane crash in Pennsylvania. It is such a blur to remember the sequence of the events, but I remember hanging on every report to try to make some sense out of what was happening. If things weren't at their worst already, the scene of the tower collapse forced us to realize even more that this horrible attack was directed at us...the United States of America. The innocence of the lives lost, and the unimaginable grief of those left behind has changed our nation forever. I will never forget the terror of that day and the days that follow. Little by little, our nation is trying to return to some normalcy...but we try in vain...the wounds are deep and the scars are permanent. We are forever changed by that day. 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 story2661.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. 150.200.66.131 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 listened to the radio all day but I remember not turning the T.V. on until late afternoon. I did not want to see what I had heard about. After seeing the images for the first time, I needed to get some air. I went out on my back porch. I was wondering why we were bringing another life into to such a scary, horrible place. (I was five months pregnant at the time.) How could we explain the actions of such hate to our two-year old and soon-to-come-along son when the time came? I was quite overcome with grief and anger. Then, I turned and looked out into our yard and noticed a beautiful bloom on a crepe myrtle I thought was near death. It had been run over by a lawn mover earlier that year yet here it was in all its glory! I remembered there was still beauty and peace in the world and we would teach our children about those concepts as well. The irony of the blooming crepe myrtle was its name: America. 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 story2884.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. 66.90.197.151 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: How did you witness history on September 11th? Share your experience. Turned on the radio. Many radio stations said two planes hit the World Trade Center. Has your life changed because of September 11,2001? If so, tell us how. Made me be more patriotic and be thankful to live in a free country. What do you think should be remembered about September 11th. The public services people (fireman,policeman)so willing to save other people. Did you fly an American flag after the events of September 11th? Have your feelings about the American flag changed as a result of september 11th I bought a flag within the week of September 11th.Yes. 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 story8748.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. 2002-12-16 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 216.54.14.84 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 will never forget that day, as probably no one else will. I live and work outside of Boston, and happened to be in the women?s lounge when our receptionist popped in to say my husband is on the phone and it?s important. So I very quickly hurried down the hall to a phone. He immediately asked if I was watching the news because a plane had just hit the trade center. I was one of the first people in the office to hear of anything happening. I quickly asked out loud across a room of cubicles if anyone had heard the news and proceeded to ask my husband for more details. You see I had immediately assumed he was talking about the Trade Center in Boston! (Located on the other side of the harbor across from Logan Airport.) At that point he said ?No the WORLD Trade Center in NYC? I was speechless and fell back into the chair. I told him I?d call him back once I found out more. Quickly I logged onto the Internet and asked someone to turn on the TV in the conference room. I?m a native New Yorker born and raised with family all over the city and long Island. I have cousins who work at offices in the business district, who are firefighters, and policeman in NYC. This was big news- but no one was prepared for what was unfolding. I still at that point only thought of it as an accident- when the Internet froze, I ran to the conference room. People from the office started gathering and we watched in absolute horror- a second plane had already hit and we watched the buildings collapse. I know the WTC very well, we make yearly trips to the city and it?s always a stop. I?m an architect and engineer so buildings are of particular interest to me. We?ve done silly things like standing against the side of the tall WTC building with our cheeks pressed to the side of the pillars staring up to see if we get dizzy. I remember walking the marble patterned plaza many times and gazing at the sculpture like it was yesterday. I remember riding up and down the escalators and taking pictures in the lobbies. But the only thing I kept remembering while watching the news is ?50,000 people on any given day working there? It?s crazy to think about- so many lives forever changed in one little moment in time! I broke down and cried- in front of everyone and just kept mumbling- ?all those people?- over and over again. I was more than just shaen up. In Boston the biggest building is Hancock Tower or the Prudential building. What many people didn?t realize was that each tower is at least TWICE the height and THREE times the area. That?s equivalent to FIVE Prudential buildings collapsing in the center of Boston. Incomprehensible! We closed the office early. The ride home was surreal- there was no music on the radio only news? The rest of the day was spent trying to make phone calls and watching the news- learning about where the planes came from and who was behind this. Not knowing if it was over with? learning about the Pentagon and Pennsylvania. Thankfully also learned that my relatives that are so deeply connected to the WTC area are all safe- shaken up too but safe. As the anniversary fast approaches and our lives move on, the years will go by but we should never forget whom and what was lost, or how fragile we truly are. We should never forget the good things around us- our family and friends. And to take time to do those silly things in life like pressing your cheek against the side of building and staring up to see if you get dizzy- the opportunity might not be there tomorrow. I will try to live today a little better than yesterday. 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 story1324.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. 141.154.106.162 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 name is Rob, and have been in the US Navy for nine years. I was graduating from a school that morning. I left the base and was heading for my new home that i had set up prior to going to school. I was a newlywed of about 9 months, and found out about three weeks earlier that she was leaving me. I took it as best i could knowing that i would try to change her mind apon my return. I left the base about 8:30A and started to here the incoming news. All i knew to do was drive and call the one i LOVED. I contiued on and drove around the east side of Washington DC. The lingering black cloud over DC was so scary and sobering, that i was forced to call again. I continued on and tried to believe that i could change her feeling, but like the attack, i was not able to change what was going to happen. Today i am trying to understand all that has happened in the last two years and am unable to. I would like to say that i feel for those that have lost family or freinds, but know that those of us in the service are here to protect your freedom in which so many have died to protect. Including those of 09-11-01. BLESS THEM 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 story8605.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. 2002-10-31 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 207.5.205.23 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: Well, I was in my 1st Period class in 7th grade and the teacher told us that the world trade centers were being attacked. I never really new what the towers looked like before but when I walked into my second period class I looked at the tv and saw the last tower falling!!! I couldn't believe my eyes. I just stood there! I was confused and scared because then I heard that the Pentagon was hit too. I Called my mom and she told me that she was going to take me home because we had to find out the my dad was lucky he left earlier in Washington! He just had a meeting in the part of the pentagon that got hit! Im so lucky! 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 story8567.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. 2002-10-22 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 65.33.186.175 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 TRUE NIGHT OWL, SO I WAS UP ALL NIGHT. I WOKE UP AROUND NOON AND TURNED ON MY TV IN MY BEDROOM SO I COULD WATCH MY SOAP OPERA. WHEN I SAW THAT THEY HAD BROKEN IN ON PROGRAMMING, I THOUGHT "OH, WHAT NOW?", BECAUSE A LOT OF TIMES THEY BREAK IN FOR THE LEAST LITTLE INSIGNIFICANT THING. WELL, NEEDLESS TO SAY, I WAS IN SHOCK. BY THE TIME I SAW THE REPORTS, THE TOWERS HAD ALREADY FELL, AND WHEN I SAW THE NEWS FOOTAGE I COULDN'T BELIEVE WHAT I WAS SEEING. I THOUGHT THIS MUST BE SOME KIND OF MISTAKE. THIS COULD NOT POSSIBLY BE HAPPENING HERE IN THE USA. IT LOOKED TO ME LIKE SOMETHING OUT OF A HORROR MOVIE. I STARTED TO CALL MY MOM, BUT THEN I REALIZED THAT SHE, MY UNCLE AND TWO OF MY AUNTS HAD GONE OUT OF TOWN TO VISIT MY GREAT AUNT. I HAD NO WAY OF GETTING AHOLD OF THEM, BECAUSE NONE OF THEM HAVE CELL PHONES. THE TRIP TAKES ABOUT 4 HOURS EACH WAY. I WONDERED IF THEY EVEN KNEW WHAT HAD HAPPENED. I IMMEDIATELY STARTED PRAYING. NOT ONLY FOR MY OWN FAMILY, BUT FOR ALL OF THOSE CONNECTED TO THE TRAGEDY. IT TURNED OUT THAT MY FAMILY WAS FINE, THANK THE LORD, BUT I CRIED FOR DAYS AND WATCHED CNN AND MSNBC NON-STOP. I THINK RUDY GUILIANI IS A WONDERFUL MAN, HE NOT ONLY KEPT NEW YORK TOGETHER, BUT ALSO THE NATION. I HAVE TOTAL RESPECT FOR HIM AND PRESIDENT AND LAURA BUSH. JUST KNOWING THAT THEY ARE CHRISTIANS GAVE ME PEACE OF MIND. THERE WERE 2 HUGE SONIC BOOMS AND I THOUGHT THE WHOLE COUNTRY WAS UNDER ATTACK. WHICH, ACTUALLY, IT WAS. AND I AM SO THANKFUL FOR ALL OF THE BRAVE PEOPLE ON FLIGHT 93. I'M SURE THAT PLANE WAS HEADED FOR THE WHITE HOUSE OR SOMEPLACE THAT WOULD DO THE MOST DAMAGE. THANK GOD FOR THOSE BRAVE SOULS, THEY ARE TRUE HEROES!!! I DIDN'T KNOW ANYONE PERSONALLY WHO DIED IN THE ATTACKS, BUT I FEEL LIKE I KNEW EVERYONE OF THEM. I AM SO PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN. THOSE TERRORISTS THOUGHT THEY WOULD CRIPPLE OUR ECONOMY, GOVERNMENT, ETC. BUT AS WE ALL KNOW ALL THEY DID WAS TO UNITE THIS COUNTRY AND MADE US EVEN STRONGER. GOD BLESS AMERICA!!! 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 story8371.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. 2002-10-05 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: It was about 6:00 a.m. my Dad woke me up as I was sleeping so soundly... needless to say I was a little upset that he had woke me up. He told me you better get down here (our house is a 2 level house) and check out whats going on with our conutry. I was confused, so I went down stairs to find what had happen. My Dad tried to explain it to me as much as he could. It was so early in the morning no one really knew what was happening. My Dad described to me how he had thought that he had turned on a Godzilla movie. Because it seemed so unreal. For the rest of the day we all watched to find what was going to happen next. I will never forget the feeling I had when I relized what I was watching for the rest of my life. 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 story5496.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. 24.120.13.223 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: As I was driving to work, at a nearby dental office, I started to see cars pulled off to the side of the road. It didn't appear to strange at first, but then more and more people were pulling over. At this time I started to wonder if something was going on and turned the radio on. The station I had on often did little skits and when I started to hear about what was unfolding, I did not believe it and changed the station. I then learned what all of us learned that terrible morning. I got to the office shortly after and everyone was in the Dr.'s office watching the T.V.. About this time we all witnessed the pentagon attack and the second plane hit the towers. The doctor I was working for this day was a friend I sometimes help out on my days off from my full-time job. He is a native New Yorker with several of his family members working in that part of Manhattan. It was difficult to handle what was unfolding in front of our eye's, but even more difficult to see this wonderful man in tears trying to find his lost family member's. I myself was very concerned for the life of my younger brother you was in the Navy, on a ship in the Persian Gulf, at the time. I called my mother in Vegas, waking her up, so that she could call my brother's wife and baby, since they were asleep still and let them know what was happening. We also had family in New York, Washington D.C. and Virginia (in the Navy). We are one of the fortunate family's who can count our blessings for not losing any family member's. But all of our lives, along with the lives of all our countrymen have been changed forever. The most difficult moment for me was when my 6 year old asked if the bad men where going to drive a plane into our house. At this time I told my little girl no, that we were all safe. When in my heart, I wanted to be able to ask the same question, and prayed that my answer to her was the truth. 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 story6794.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. 63.187.128.62 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 still asleep in a small California Town North of Los Angeles when the Attacks on the World Trade Centers and the Pentagon took place. It was about 7:oo a.m. when my radio alarm came on, "America is under attack," anounced a popular morning L.A. radio talk show host, confused and bewilldered I attempted to hit snooze when the talk show host continued on with the horrible news of september 11th, I then proceeded to turn on the television, to find the pentagon in flames. the news then aired the horrific photographs of the planes crashing into the world trade centers. After watching the horrible news for a while I proceeded to go to work. The hardest thing about september 11 was to be at work. I work at an elementary school as an aide, as I walked on campus that morning classroom televisions Reapeated the Collapse of the Twin Towers. Many of the older children were emotional and worried, while the younger children were confused. The children asked several question that were quite hard to answer, some wanted to know what happened to the people who jumped out (they viewed the people falling from the buildings on television), many were concerned about the children in the schools in New York. Most of them were scard they thought that our school was in danger, alot of children were kept home where the parents felt they were safer. I just want to know one thing, how do explain hate to these kids who know nothing but innocence and love? How does someone teach a child not to settle things in violence when the television repeats WAR!!! ? 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 story4202.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. 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: The Pentagon Washington, DC 09-11-01 BNN Page Arlington: Plane crash/vacinity of 14th St bridge/George Wash Pkwy/Arlington units have witnessed an airplane crash very close to the Pentagon?further details as they become available/ BNN 624 MDT Group 12 9:45 am 9/11/01 I left for work on a sunny Tuesday morning at about 6:50 am?as usual and stopped for coffee at Starbucks?as usual. For no particular reason I bought a piece of coffee cake not knowing it would be my breakfast and lunch. Arriving at work in Old Town Alexandria at 8 I was greeted by my fellow employees also beginning their days. For the past month or so I have been taking my portable radio and scanner into the office to suplement the old Radio Shack model I use to monitor the DC Fire dispatch. This allowed me to also keep tabs on the Fairfax Co Fire channels with my GE-MPD radio and scan the Alexandria and Arlington 800mhz frequencies with the Radio Shack Pro 39. Sometime around the 9:00 hour a fellow worker informed me that she had heard that an aircraft had hit the WTC in New York. I instinctively switched on the radio in my office to WTOP-AM , a long time source for concise information and news. Through the AM static we listened to the reports from New York with updates almost constantly. A second plane hit the tower #2 and the staff became engrossed in the scratchy reports. While answering the ?E? mails that had accumulated over night and listening to the radio I kept a close ear on the scanners. The local reports were the usual BLS calls, accident with injuries, etc. Around 9:30 am I caught the Arlington Co Fire dispatcher shouting to?I think?a Battalion Chief that ?there is a plane down at the 14th St bridge !!! ? (the site of the Air Florida crash in the 80?s) Too much to be a coincidence I jumped up out of my chair, grabbed my radios, announced the news to the office and left for my car. I drive a used Virginia State Police car, a 1994 Chevy Caprice?equipped with 2 mobile Trunk Tracking radios, a Motorola 16 channel Radius to cover the 460 mhz range and the two portables I use in the office and while on foot. On the way out I felt an obligation to inform the local TV producers whom I work with from time to time of the incident. Speed dialing from my NEXTEL I called WRC-4(NBC), FOX ?5 and WUSA ?9 (CBS). While on the phone to Ch 4 I heard the Arlington dispatcher indicate the crash was in the Del Ray area, next?Crystal City?next the Navy Annex and finally the area at the Pentagon. I informed the Fox news desk of the crash and the young lady who answered shouted the information all over the newsroom. Traveling North on Rt 1, knowing my urgency and conscious of the city traffic I turned on my headlights, activated the emergency strobe tail lights and began to use the air horn to make my way to towards the crash. As I approached the overpass into the Del Ray area I could see a massive cloud of black smoke behind Crystal City to the North. Rt 1 divides at Rt 395?right to DC, left to Rt110, which runs adjacent to the Pentagon. I sped along 110 until I found a median cross over, made a U-turn and proceeded up the wrong way an exit ramp to the parking area. I covered the 4 plus miles in 5 minuets. I could see the evacuations well under way and hundreds of people milling around the Pentagon lawns. As I rounded the ramp up to the fire I began to think about where to leave my car! I noticed a burgundy van parked on the grass at the ramp merge and pulled along side out of the way. A newswoman was preparing her Fox microphone and her cameraman was setting up his tripod. Now it was time to GO!! What to take!!?? I fumbled with a spare battery for the Sony HandiCam, hung my IDs around my neck, turned off the lights and flashers and popped the trunk. Out of the car I grabbed the Sony, 2 spare Hi8 tapes, the Nikon FM-2 with a 35mm lens, a 60-300mm zoom and 3 rolls of film. Jamming it all in my pockets I took OFF! The first thing I shot was a man in a suit examining parts of the wreckage strewn all over the street approximately 150 yards from the impact area. Next, the sheer spectacle of the Pentagon on fire with the thick black smoke rolling over its face to the South. My mind was racing and I knew I had to prioritize the visual overload of the scene. Stressed over and over by my best friend Tom Yeatman, also a freelance videojournalist, shoot the action first, the scene last?there was action everywhere! Moving along the West face of the building toward the impact area I found medics treating a dozen or so victims. Shooting that I moved further along to a burned man being loaded into an ambulance. With the burning building behind him he pleaded with someone to tell his family that he was all right. Moving again I focused on the impact site?trucks, hoses, volunteers with backboards, clergy, fire and smoke everywhere. I heard a helicopter over my right shoulder, turned and was able to shoot the U S Park Police helicopter landing to fly out the first patients. The scene was surreal with scores of emergency vehicles in the background. The ground crew motioned for someone to come forward and, looking to my right I shot a severely burned man being rushed by on a gurney for a fly out. Distracted from that scene by a crunching thump I turned again to the building in time to shoot the end of the collapse of the upper 3 floors. Just about then I was told by an ATF agent that ?you might want to leave?a second plane is 10 minuets out !!? I moved across the street searching the sky. All that I could think was what an opportunity it would be to get it on film! That mindset usually sets in when I acknowledge that events are completely out of my control. Hearing what I thought to be another explosion I looked across the Potomac for another plume of smoke and to see if the Washington Monument and the Capitol were still there! Later I found out that it was a sonic boom from the F-16s arriving from Langley Air Force Base in Virginia to protect the Capitol! As some order settled in and more and more police arrived we were pushed back to perhaps a quarter of a mile from the impact site. Helicopters began landing behind us and we were again moved to a Citgo gas station about a half mile away where the balance of the coverage has taken place. As always, Tom Yeatman was in touch by cell to advise, direct and assist. He and I have had a remarkable relationship over the past 15 years shooting color prints for ourselves, 35mm Black and white for AP, UPI, The Post and the Times to, now, video. Keeping the local producers apprized of my progress and shopping my tape, Tom was indispensable! Over time we have established credibility with the local stations by bringing in only what we think they can use. WRC ?4 was anxious to see what I and and asked that I take it to their live truck for dubbing and / or feed to the station?it didn?t work. By this time I was well over a mile from my car! I asked the authorities to back track through what now had become a crime scene and was refused. Moving West up the hill to the to the Navy Annex I hopped a 4 foot brick wall into Arlington National Cemetery and walked the mile plus through the gravestones. Scaling a 12 foot fence just inside the yellow police tape I hopped into the car and off to the stations; 4,5 and 9 in numerical order. At 4,an NBC affiliate, the local producer looked the images over and called the staff from MSNBC and Dateline to the dubbing room. They all bought it. Fox?s man on the desk took counter notes to highlight the best segments for his producer. Channel 9 ran it with a voice over before I even got home. Finally, at home after the most remarkable 8 hours I have ever spent, sore, exhausted, hungry and a bit dehydrated I watched it all unfold on the TV. It seems that everyone used almost everything I had, either with a voice over or background for lead stories. As it turns out, so far, my tape is the only one showing the victims, close up shots of the fire and the events unfolding within minuets of the impact. As one of what were probably dozens of photojournalists there, I was fortunate to shoot the tape of a lifetime! I guess I was lucky and in the right place at just the right time. Tom tells me that it wasn?t luck?it was being prepared. I credit Tom for teaching me the logic of a spot news shoot, a long-term relationship with the local stations?and a lot of luck! Bob Pugh BlindSpot News Services 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 story459.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. 2002-04-24 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 207.141.113.200 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 worked on Wall Street and I was there that morning with my mother. She and I survived the entire thing. We were both stuck on the train platform on Wall Street and Broadway. We were trapped there for four hours while both buildings fell on top of us. We went to work dressed in black and we both walked the bridge back home dressed in white becuase of all the dust and debris. God must have been with us that day because we made it out safely. 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 story9054.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. 2003-02-13 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 162.83.141.91 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: How did you witness history on September 11th? share your experience. I was sitting at home on Tuesday morning, September 11th, and ready to go out. And a friend of mine called me with the horrific news and told me to turn on the TV. I did, as it recently unfolded, I saw the film of the towers going down. I called my mom in New Jersey and told her and then I turned on my car radio to the talk shows which were talking about it. I listened as much as I could. Following the news reports, I watched it that night and everyday afterward. I felt sad for the families of the deceased. Has your life changed because of September 11, 2001? If so, tell us how. I'd say my life has changed since then, even though I didn't know anyone personally who had died or was affected by it. Other than what I learned from news reports and reading, I noticed that in general, myself and others just reasessed what is important in life and that how we treat families and friends. Our families are precious and its a reminder how precarious our lives are. People go to work and are annihilated. It's truly and unexpected tragic event. We really need to appriciate the love that we have in our life. I think it also affected me, people are kinder, whether its traffic, or something else. Also, dealing with people in general. I really noticed people are kinder in the past year. Traveling is much more difficult in the past year. What do you think should be remembered about September 11th? I feel that mostly the families of the deceased need to be remembered. Our nation needs to support them financially and emotionally in some form. We never can fully support them. I think we need to remember the heroic efforts from those who helped stop the terrorists in Pennsylvania. The efforts of the firefighters and policman when they rushed in as the towers were burning. Then the hard work of all the workers in New York City who helped rehabilitate those who were wounded . Politicans who helped uplift spirts as well as our leadership in the United States. Our government steadied the nation's course. Anothter thing that should be remembered is those who fight for America. Did you fly an American flag afer the events of September 11th? Have your feelings about the American flag changed as a result of September 11th? We flew one by our mailbox and my husband purchased a decal which I fixed to my car. I've always had strong feelings about the symbolism of the flag. But my feelings have changed. I feel more passionate toward our flag. It symbolizes that we will not be defeated. 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 story8816.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. 2002-12-16 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 216.54.14.84 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 submitted a story yesterday and am not pleased with the way I wrote it. Please accetp this one instead. Thank you This was submitted to the Library of Congress? September 11th history on 1/12/04 I was a United Airline Pilot getting ready to go to the airport and go to work. It was about 5:30 am and as my usual habit, I had just taken a shower and was flipping through news channels and the weather channel in preparation to go fly. I was scheduled to do one leg from Portland Oregon to Chicago O?Hare and be finished with a 2-day trip. I live on the East Coast so I was going to fly home after arriving at Chicago. Being on the road as an airline pilot can be quite lonely at times. We spend much of our time in hotels rooms at airport locations where there?s not much to do. I was feeling particularly lonely that morning. I had just turned on CNN when I saw the picture of the first tower burning. The whole image just didn?t register at first. I couldn?t believe an airplane would have actually hit the building unless something mechanical had happened and the pilot couldn?t control it. Pilots JUST DON?T deliberately crash their airplanes. Or so I thought. The news commentator was talking about a commercial airplane that had somehow lost its navigation ability and hit the tower. I knew this was not true since those things don't "just happen". I also could see the extremely clear conditions that existed so I knew that an experienced airline pilot would not just happen to fly into a building. I assumed that a private pilot had been joy riding and had somehow been blown into the tower from winds close to the structure. Even then, my mind was not allowing for an event like this. I saw the extensive damage and it didn't register that the hole would be from something bigger than a private airplane. As I stood there watching brushing my teeth, the second airliner hit. My mouth dropped open and toothpaste began to slowly drip out onto my chest. My mind still wouldn?t allow for an event like this to happen in my country. Even though I knew was watching an incredible event, I continued to get ready to go to work. I just knew it couldn?t affect me all the way out on the west coast. We left for the airport and I thought that it was just an east coast occurrence and had no bearing on me. Little did I know how much it would then and later. Several passengers asked if the flight was still scheduled and I told them as far as I knew it still was. So we (the Captain and I) began to prepare the airplane to go flying. While I was on loading our navigation route into the computer, news of the Pentagon came to us and the reality of the situation finally hit in a very big way. The only thing I could do in my fury was to beat my fists against the walls of the airplane. My watch came flying off and a flight Attendant was standing there sobbing silently. I tried to hug her but she froze in place with a look of panic on her face. That?s when I realized my life was never going to be the same again. I walked down the jet way stairs, out to the tarmac and it was probably one of the most beautiful days I can imagine. The sunshine and fresh air were abundant and the mountain views were spectacular. However, overcome by emotion, I sank to my knees, buried my head in my hands and prayed. When I looked up, a passenger was staring at me through the terminal's windows. I gave her a smile and a wave and got one in return. I knew I had to keep it together for many reasons one of which is because I was in uniform. I joined my fellow flight crews in Flight Operations and we all watched in stunned silence. There were no answers to this one. Noone knew what to say. There were the usual false bravados at first. ?Let?s go bomb them right now with our 757?s?. But those eventually died away. I was fortunate enough to be able to get through to my family by cell phone. I contacted everyone I knew to see if they were all right. I contacted my father (my mother is dead) and before our conversation was through we were cut off. I didn't hear from him again for the rest of the time I was trapped in Portland We got back in the van and started the ride back to the hotel. It was silent except for me repeating over and over, ?those motherfuckers?. We were all starting to try and absorb what was happening to us. Stunned disbelief, shock, fury and extreme sadness all took turns. Since we were stuck at the airport location hotel, I coordinated the flight crews and got them to our downtown location where I knew the rest of the flight crews were. I felt like I and therefore the others needed to not be isolated at that point. The hotel staff was great and set us up with our on suites, fed us three meals daily and gave us anything we asked for. My colleagues and I spent much of the time over the next few days watching the news, discussing the impact of this event and what we could do about it. The extreme sadness and fury took turns. We all felt guilty even trying to enjoy ourselves knowing so many had lost so much. I usually try to do something physical when I?m on the road to stay in shape but I even felt guilty doing that. It was pointed out to me that I flew a 767 out of Boston the night of September 10th to the west coast. 15 hours earlier, it could have been me. I still don?t have much feeling about that since death has come close to me so often in my aviation career. I was a Naval Aviator and several of my friends and acquaintances have died in aviation accidents. The Captain of the 757 that crashed in PA was a co-worker of mine when I worked at the Unite Training Center in Denver. He asked the regular Captain of that flight if he could take it to maintain his flying currency. We speculated and we waited and waited. Finally the call came at 4 am on the Friday following to man up the first UAL flight out of Portland. I was eager to get back to work. I didn't know how emotional this event would become. We got dressed, went to the airport and got our jet ready to go to work. I went outside to do the pre-flight and there were 6 mechanics standing shoulder-to-shoulder with American Flags in their hands. They stood silently just looking at me. I went up to each one of them and just shook their hands. With tears streaming down our faces, we began the process of getting the airplane ready. When the passengers came onboard, I greeted every one of them with the same message. ?You'll be safe today?. I obtained a small American Flag and stuck it out the cockpit window where all the passengers in the terminal could see it. I got quite a few waves. We started up, taxied out and took off into the same kind of day as September 11th. As I keyed the mike to report our airborne status to the Departure Controller, I was so overcome by emotion, I could barely speak. Through tears I reported us airborne and got to work. One of the most striking memories of that day was the way I perceived the voices of the Air Traffic Controllers. Their voices had just utter dejection in them. Totally defeated. I suppose they took responsibility to a certain extent for what happened also. Or maybe they were just feeling like me. The frequencies were totally quiet. Hardly any of the usual chatter and certainly none of the banter that you usually hear. We knew that the nation wide moment of silence was going to occur on while were airborne so I made an announcement over the PA so that passengers would be able to do what they wanted. When the time came, I simply said, ?it?s time?. Almost immediately, the Captain of the airplane began to sob. Up until this point, he had remained rather stoic to the point of being unfeeling about the situation. But I guess his emotional limit had been reached. We entered the O?Hare airspace and began our final vectors into the airport. Normally, the Air Traffic Controllers practically drive your airplane for you. Speed, headings and altitudes are given in rapid succession and are expected to be followed immediately with no questions. When we were within 30 miles of the airport (the Federal Air Regulation minimums for this type of maneuver), the Air Traffic Controller cleared us for the ?visual? approach meaning we could determine how to get to the airport anyway we wanted for a safe landing. The Captain and I just looked at each other in disbelief. Once we got on the ground, the controllers once again surprised us. Usually they are as directive as the Airborne Controllers. This time the only thing the ground controller told us was not to cross any runways. As we taxied to the gate, I stuck my flag out the window and just let the air stream it back. Practically everyone who saw it stopped and waved or pumped their arms into the air or some other gesture to let me know they had seen it. As we pulled into the gate, I was once again faced with many mixed emotions. Part of me was never so glad to be done with a flight. Part of me felt like I was ending one phase and beginning another. The terminal was a ghost town and as I boarded my flight, the rage came rushing back once again. My seatmate was a record company executive and thankfully he was very easy going. He and talked and he told me later he could sense the rage I was feeling. Ground Zero was still smoking as we flew over it on our approach into LaGuardia and I was still wondering how all of these events would affect me. A funny feeling hit me after I had been home for a couple of days. I wondered if I could ever fly an airplane again after September 11th. I was actually feeling for the first time since I was 9 years old that I didn?t want to fly anymore. I wondered where those feelings came from until a friend of mine told me that as a pilot, everything about what I do is under tight control. And September 11th changed all those rules. That immediately changed my mind about being able to fly again. Still, it was spooky the first time I flew an airplane from the east coast to the west coast from Newark. It was spooky the first time I walked down the jet way that the highjackers used to board the airplane that morning. It was spooky the first time I did a preflight of a 767 at night and in the eerie night-light I looked the length of the airplane?s belly and imagined seeing it coming at my office window. There were some things I changed about my life after that. I stopped speaking to my Father. His absence during the week I was stuck in the hotel room was on a smaller scale, a reflection of our entire life long relationship. And I didn?t want to put forth the effort any longer. It became clear what was important in my life and what was not. I ended some other relationships and renewed ones that I had abandoned. Working at the airlines eventually became too onerous and I left to find work in the Test Pilot world. It?s much better now. I still get emotional thinking and speaking of those events on that crystal clear blue day. I still feel the rage, the loss, and the disappointment. I still speak with all the friends I left behind and get regular updates. We all move on. 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 story10321.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. 2004-01-13 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 208.20.220.69 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 the field with my Footballteam. We were practicing for the next game at the weekend. Soma time later one of our Cheerleaders came on the field and told us of the first plane hitting the WTC. So everyone ran to the front office and watched the news. Somewhen I went home an went on watching the news. I was completely shocked. I still ask myself why things like that happen! I will never forget that day. I pray for the victims and thair famalies! Tobi Goorissen 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 story8950.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. 2003-01-10 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 80.143.219.51 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: Below is an excerpt from an article I wrote for my company News Letter... Angels: A Personal Perspective By: Stephen Walls I don?t recall ever working for a place as culturally diverse as here in the DC Metro area. I hope that when I ask someone questions about their culture and where they?re from that they understand that I?m asking only out of sheer awe that this planet is as big (?or as small, depending on how you look at it) as it is. I also enjoy embracing other peoples? viewpoints, which is largely why I even bother asking questions in the first place. It?s a firm belief within me that whether I take stock in someone?s opinions or not, there?s always something to learn from them if I just open my heart and my mind. I read something one time that suggested that angels are merely all people- each intertwining and interacting with in ways that are already pre-destined. If there?s any truth to this, some of us will, as a result of the ties and the bonds that we make here at DC Metro, become long-lasting friends. Others will be just someone we used to know as either we pass on through this place, or they pass through before we do. Each interaction, however, could be argued as something that was meant to happen- with the idea that change, personal progression and a learning experience eventually occur. I sometimes have trouble with change just as the next person, to be honest. I know what I just said about the necessity of people coming in and out of our lives to assist us in varying degrees, but it gets rough sometimes when that?s all we seem to do is change, especially if there?s no understanding of it?s importance. People come and go- some before I even get to know them, and some without me giving them a chance to know me. Sometimes, when I?m leaning more toward the thought of this being a ?bigger? planet rather than a ?smaller? one, I draw analogies to life within DC Metro from life in the world- each of us doing the best we can, and within our set belief systems, whether morally, spiritually, or otherwise. When I think that a man clear on the other side of the earth loves his family just as deeply and with as much conviction as I love mine, the aforementioned- though important, seems a bit overshadowed. After all, we all want and need the same basic things in life. I think maybe we should try to remember that ?my? pursuits might not be met with as much enthusiasm as yours, and vice-versa. They may even meet with resistance, but you know what? That?s perfectly ok. Just as we strive to get along here within our extended family at work, should we be able to do the same within the world. OK, now I have to be totally honest. I didn?t always think this way. There were so many lessons learned from the events from 9/11 and on so many levels, that I?m still trying to neatly categorize it all, and these thoughts largely stem from that single-day. Funny how that?s working out, huh? We innately feel the desire to have a grip on everything we face in life and when it doesn?t we freak. At least I did, ?at least at first, ?and at least until I broadened my mind and began trying a bit of understanding with my heaping-helping of fear and empathy. At first, when all that had taken place on 9/11 occurred, I was extremely upset and for far more than the obvious reasons. See, I woke up on the morning of 9/11 fully prepared to celebrate my birthday. So for totally selfish reasons, I had a much tougher time grasping those events that took place...just ask my best friend. One year after, my heart still aches for the friends and families and sons and daughters lost, but I?m working on a new angle now? I have personally chosen to celebrate this day once again, but not as my ?birthday?, as that day has taken on a new level of insignificance in an odd way. Instead, I will set aside this day for the memories of the ?angels? who have touched my life- ?all? of our lives- within that single day through their stories of heroism and the human spirit. As a matter of fact, maybe I should just use that day try to appreciate ?all? of the angels who?ve touched my life in the past, and who will touch my life from now on, whether personally or professionally. Yeah- I think my pursuit for personal and professional growth has just had the bar raised to a new level, and I?m going to do my best to reach it. Well, ?at least I?m going to try. Stephen Walls 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 story1753.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. 2002-09-04 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 68.48.0.34 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: Title: I Can Never Forget I am writing this so I never forget what happened and what I felt on September 11, 2001 and have felt since that day. I was no where close to New York City, The Pentagon or the field in Pennsylvania, but I was very frightened as most Americans about the tragedies we faced and experienced. Being a member of the ?MTV Generation? and ?Generation X,? I cannot remember any event that touched me before 9/11/01 other than the Challenger space shuttle disaster. I was in 6th grade at the time and we used to watch the lift-off of each shuttle. I remember sitting there and staring at the television in awe. My parents and I visited Cape Canaveral some time after the disaster and I was taken back by the memorial there. That was one of my first memories of really being touched at a memorial. Later I would visit the memorials in D.C. and feel the same pain. Prior generations have dealt with many tragedies that touched their lives and brought our nation together. Before 9/11/01, I never dreamed I would see the day that I would share the same pain they did during WWI, WWII, Vietnam, assassinations of John and Robert Kennedy, etc. That day I was sitting far from NYC, The Pentagon, and the field in PA. I was just starting out my day in little Youngstown, Ohio. My coworker had received a call from a client about 10 minutes before everything began. Then we heard her say ?What, Oh My God!!!? The client had been watching the news and was relaying the information about the first plane crash into the World Trade Center. We thought it was an accident. She continued to talk to the client a little about business and a little about the news. Next thing I know she is saying ?You?re kidding, Oh My God!!!? They had finished their business and the client wanted to get off the line, as did my coworker. She was telling us what was going on and we quickly went to our lunchroom to turn on the news. We could hardly believe our eyes. My first thought was just utter confusion and how could this be happening. My next immediate thought was ?I have to get to my children, I cannot be here.? My oldest was in Kindergarten until 2:20 and my youngest was at my parents? house. We did not know if our office was going to close, but I just had to get out of there. I knew Youngstown was not going to be a target of any kind of terrorism, but I needed them by my side. I don?t think I have ever been so afraid of them being away from me. I knew I could not go rushing into school and take out my child. I hoped he would learn the news from me. He is very sensitive to the news and we have to limit what we watch because he has a very vivid imagination. Thank goodness the teachers did not tell the children what had happened. They wanted the parents to discuss it with them. I called my husband at his office. He knew what was going on but could not leave. We were both in shock I think. I then called my father to check on him and my youngest son. He said he just could not believe it. I told him I thought and hoped our office was closing and that I would be there soon. It was probably 10:00. We were still running back and forth to the TV in the lunchroom. Then the word came we could go home. It was about 11:30. I couldn?t wait to go. I was looking toward the sky to see if any planes were flying. I could not believe the fear I felt. I picked up Zachary at my parents? house and just held him. We watched the news some more and then it was finally time to pick up Brian from school. I couldn?t wait to get there. Everyone there was talking about what was happening as we waited for our little ones. When Brian came out, we got in to the car and he immediately asked me what was going on. He was told by some kids in the bathroom that 2 cars crashed in front of the school and the people died. I did not know what to say. We fly at least once a year and he cannot be afraid to fly. I had to think of the right thing to say. I had to tell him the truth and I knew we could not watch the news with him because it was just too frightening and I never want him to be scared of living here. I finally told him this; ?Some very bad people took over some planes and crashed them far from our house into some buildings and a field. They were very bad people from another country who don?t like America.? I was on the verge of tears as I told him this. He asked, ?Mommy, why do people have to be so mean to each other?? I said, ?I don?t know honey, they just don?t have love in their hearts and don?t believe in God.? He was just completely puzzled and then asked if the soldiers and police were going to get them. I told him that yes our soldiers and police would do everything they could to find the bad men who did this. He asked me if people died and I said yes that many people died. At this point, I think we were both in tears. We said a prayer that day (and most days since) for everyone who died and who lost friends and relatives in NYC, PA and Washington. In the following days, he would ask every now and then if they caught the bad guys. I would tell him they were going to get the bad guys, then when the troops started to deploy to Afghanistan, I told him the soldiers were going to get the bad men. He was very happy about that. When the FAA finally allowed planes back into our skies, I remember the first time I saw one flying overhead. I was driving to work and saw the line in the sky from the fuel. Goosebumps formed on my arms and legs and I felt a little fear from the few days before. I just stared at it, watching the direction it took to get it?s passengers to their destinations and wondering what was going on inside; hoping it was just a routine flight. We found out that the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania flew directly over Youngstown, so that added to our already intense nightmare. It took a while for me not to notice the planes above other than to point them out to my children, like I used to do. They just love watching them and flying. My parents flew to Florida one month to the day of 9/11. My mother was very determined not to let some insane ?yahoo? terrorist ruin her traveling. I really respect her for this. She is a very strong lady and believes that when it is your ?time? you go. I was of course hesitant about them flying, but wanted them to go just to prove in some way no one could tell us how to live our lives! After all, we live in and believe in the ?Land of the Free? not the land of the oppressed! During the weeks and months that went by, I could not keep my eyes off the news. I never really watched the news before and now I found that I was consumed with it as much of America was. Even now, almost exactly a year later, I have to see the news each day. I was still in shock and a little stressed for a while after 9/11. I questioned why I had brought children into a world like this. Would there be more attacks, how would I explain that to Brian? I would always hear of fighting and bombing in war torn countries far away and knew I lived in a great country. Now I was afraid my country would become like the others. It was more not knowing what would be next that frightened me. I was almost scared to turn on the news for fear of what I would see or hear. My husband was in the Army Reserves and was honorably discharged in November 2000. This was due to my urging. When Brian was only 4 months old, my husband was sent to Germany for 4 months. This was a very difficult time in my life and now with 2 children, I never wanted to experience that feeling again. I just did not want to lose him, so I asked him to take the option to leave rather then reenlist. After 9/11, I was so thankful to not have a husband in the services. The soldier in him wanted to go though. He felt it was his duty. I would ask him if he wanted to go and he would tell me no, but I knew somewhere inside a part of him did. I could not be more thankful of our decision in 2000. I would be very proud of him if he did go to Afghanistan, but would never want him to see the sights of war. I know many change after seeing those things and would hate for him to experience it. He is technically a Veteran, but he tells me he does not feel he should be considered one since he did not fight for his country. I tell him that just signing his name on a paper with the willingness and understanding that he could die for his country and fellow man, to preserve our freedom, is very honorable and enough to call yourself a Veteran. With the first anniversary, I feel this urge to visit New York and pay my respects to all those who lost their lives. I salute all of the heroes of that horrible day and the soldiers in Afghanistan and pray for the loss too many had to experience. May God Bless all of us and May God Bless America! 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 story6138.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. 63.76.185.244 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: WE WERE WORKING WHEN THE NEWS CAME, MY BOSS TURNED ON THE TV IN THE CONFERENCE ROOM, WE WATCHED THE NEWS IN DISBELEIF IT WAS HARD TO RETURN TO WORK TO THINK. WE KEPT RETURNING TO THE TV, GOT OFF OF WORK, TURNED THE TV ON TO KEEP UP WITH THE NEWS. ATE SUPPER SAID A PRAYER FOR ALL THE PEOPLE AROUND AND IN THESE DISASTERS,THEN OUR PASTOR CALLED A PRAYER MEETING FOR OUR NATION, THE FAMILIES OF THE PEOPLE IN THE BUILDINGS, ON THE PLANES AND IN WASHINGTON.I THINK WE ALL OUT TO KEEP THE FAMILIES IN OUR PRAYERS, ALWAYS! AND TO REMEMBER TO KEEP PRAYERIN OUR LIVES , AND THAT GOD IS ALWAYS IN CONTROL. MAY GOD BLESS AMERICA AGAIN !!!!!! 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 story7006.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. 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: For me, the morning of September 11, 2001 started rather normally. I woke up earlier then normal because I had needed to get some things done for school. After I finished getting ready I went downstairs for breakfast, where my mom was listening to the radio. At about ten until six a.m. the music cut out and the D.J. said a plane had hit the World Trade Center. To be honost, I didn't even know what the World Trade Center was. At first I thought it was an accident. Shortly after the radio said a second plane hit. This is when I first thought of war. The school was buzzing with gossip about the attack. Everyone wanted to know who was responsible? Who would do this to us? Teachers did their best to explain the attacks without worrying us to much. It seemed everyone reacted differently to the images coming on the telivision screen; some were so angry, while others cried. The following week was amazing to me. The amount of patriotism our country showed stunned me. It was impossible to buy an American flag. On National Rembrence day I went to a street corner with candles. There was a saxophone, trumpet, and trombone there playing songs like the National Anthem. We even got on T.V.. I was really happy and proud about how our nation reacted to such a tragedy. We stood strong and bonded together. 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 story8302.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. 209.79.81.227