398 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 have tried to 'wrap my mind around' the event. I cannot seem to do so. I feel that it is an unfinished horror and we will never learn the story of every hero and heroine that died that day or even the story of those who lived. I read articles and books and listen to recorded messages of those who survived in an effort to understand what happened that day, and to try to come to grips in my mind with the horror. People left their houses and went to work on a sunny fall day and never returned. My brother-in-law's nephew and his cousin perished in the towers, it left a big hole in their family. Repeat that 100s of times, it's almost too much to bear. I think all those who gave their lives to save others should be made modern day saints. We need to learn the stories of their bravery, not just that they died. I am trying to comprehend it. It's all so 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 story20834.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2006-09-12 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 4.23.185.142 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 wife and I were in Missouri in a hotel and had just returned to our room from having breakfast and the first plane had hit the World Trade Center, while sitting there amazed at what was happening we see the second plane hit and then knew it was not an accident. We were shocked, we just looked at each and said that we had just been there less than two weeks before this, we were right there at the World Trade Center. I had to leave for a business appointment and when I returned we had to start our drive home, there was not much traffic on our 6 hour drive home. It all seemed so strange and like it was a movie and wasn't really happening. We never thought that something like this could happen in our country. Our hearts and our prayers go out to everyone that lost a loved one in this horrible tragedy. 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 story2754.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 205.188.209.38 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: On June 7, 2002 at the introduction of the "Heroes2001" United States Postal Stamp, I saw the a chance to Honor the 343 Fallen Firefighters of the World Trade Center. I wrote the United States Postal Service about such a project. On August 26, 2002 I received permission to create this Memorial. It was unveiled at The Pentagon on October 5, 2002 during The National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Weekend. On May 10, 2003 it was installed and completed in Cecil County Maryland. The entire project took less than one year from conception to completion, not 60 years like the WWII Memorial. I believed in "BUILD IT NOW, SEE IT NOW". www.The911Memorial.org 1-301-788-2833 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 story10633.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. 2004-06-07 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 64.26.68.82 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 married two weeks before September 11th at the Tribeca Rooftop in Manhattan overlooking the twin towers. We spent our wedding weekend at the Millenium Hotel (across the street from the WTC) as did many of our friends and family. We encouraged our guests to visit the trade center's mall, have lunch on the promenade and take in the beauty of the twin towers. I am so thankful that our out of town guests had one last opportunity to see that part of the downtown area before it was destroyed. On September 10th I returned back to work at One World Financial Center - September 11th was my second day back. I was a little late that day so I decided not to stop for iced coffee at the coffee stand on Liberty Street - directly across from the trade center - as I did everyday. When I reached my office on the 39th floor - the first plane had just struck. I could see the flames shooting out of the building from my window. I called my father and told him to turn on the tv - something "bad" had just happened to the World Trade Center. I asked him to call my husband, who was home from work that day, and tell him that I am evacuating, but, that I am ok. A group of us from my department walked down the stairs which let us out on to West Street - just as the second plane hit. We opened the emergency door and saw the debris flying by us. Some chose to stay - I chose to run. I ran south into Battery Park City and could not comprehend what had happened - all of the people in the street with looks of utter confusion and horror. Cell phones were not working and I wanted to call my husband to let him know I was alright - and more importantly to find out what was going on. A dry cleaners in Battery Park City was nice enough to open their private phones to anyone who needed to us them. My husband told me he believed it was a terrorist attack and I needed to get out of Battery Park City - and fast. I couldn't find any of my co-workers at the time and started to feel extremely vulnerable. I remember stopping to look up at the towers - to take in the enormity of the situation- and asked a stranger next to me what was falling out of the towers - he replied, "those are people jumping." Sick to my stomach, I began my walk home to the Upper East Side. Walking up Water Street I could still see the flames from the towers and as much as I didn't want to look - I was compelled. It was just so unbelievable. About 20 minutes into my walk, I wanted to call my husband again to check in. The lines for the pay phones were at least 15-20 people long. I was in Chinatown - when all of a sudden everyone stopped what they were doing and looked over at the tower that was collapsing. It was a horrific sight. I did manage to get on a payphone at that point and spoke to my husband who was beside himself, having no idea where I was when that tower came down. I joined a group of about 50 people heading uptown and continued my journey home. People with hand held radios were shouting out the latest news about the Pentagon and the unaccounted planes still out there. I finally got home at 11:30 am (2 hours and 45 minutes after the first plane hit) and just collapsed in my husband's arms as we cried and cried, thanking god that we were safe. I still think about that day - every day. I am one of the fortunate ones - and I thank god I was able to get out of that area as quickly as I did. My company never moved back to the World Financial Center, and thankfully, out of 2100 employees, 2100 came home. Our wedding pictures have become a part of history - as the twin towers served as the backdrop for many of our formal photos. Again, I am one of the fortunate ones. 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 story1546.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. 2002-08-29 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 168.108.117.27 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: Hi, I got Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, TX. and on September 11, 2001, we did not have school. We did not have school because the new president for the university was being inaugurated. My roommate is a cheerleader so he had to be present at some of the celebration events that were going on for the inauguration. Since I had the chance to sleep in, I took it. Well I awoke to my roommate coming back into the room around 11:00am. The first thing he said to me was ?Hey, guess what has happened, the World Trade Center had planes run into it and so did the Pentagon.? At first I thought that this was just some kind of joke but sure enough when I turned on the TV, this breaking story was on every channel. I saw the panic in people?s eyes who had barely escaped death and then I saw the sadness in people?s eyes that had friends that did not escape. There were firemen risking their lives to save people, climbing up stairs of buildings that were collapsing. It looked like something out of a movie; I was in shock that this was actually happening. How could someone be this evil and perform such a terrorist act. It truly took someone without a heart to do this. What totally took my breath away was walking outside the following days of the attack and seeing an American flag on almost every house and every car. A sense of patriotism swept the nation. Many other nations mourned for our loses. We as Americans got to see immediate reaction to this tragedy from our strong president. As I sit here today remembering that September day like it was just yesterday, I think of everything that I have and I can truly say that I am proud to be an American. 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 story311.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-03-25 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 64.216.57.67 Annotation Annotations to this item. Patriotism Politics and politicians Television Coverage Terrorism DOMESTIC 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 the September 11th attacks occured, I was going into my Social Studies room.I was in 8th grade. It was the second period of the day. I remember the teacher had the TV on, and it was on CNN with live coverage. I asked the teacher if it was an old video because I didn't know what had happened. He said "Hillary, this is happening NOW." I was numb for the rest of the day. I couldn't stop myself from crying. I kept imagining how the victims were going to survive, and how they must feel... I couldn't imagine. It made me realize that tommorow is NEVER promised to us, and we must make the best of today. Our nation is forever changed. In the weeks following the attacks, I realized just how strong our country is, and how stupid the terrorists were to think they could bring it down. I bought a flag and hung it on my front door along with a sign. I can never say September 11 again without thinking about the attacks. I saw George Bush giving pep talks to the thousands of people helping to find people and bodies in the ruble. I realized how heroic those people were. I was honored to be in this great country of ours. Hillary Youngman, 14 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 story4537.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 205.188.209.165 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 at work at a law firm in London, England and of course we are 5 hours ahead of New York so it was already the afternoon when someone heard a report on a personal radio that a plane had crashed into one of the Twin Towers in New York. We all decided it must be a small plane that had accidentally crashed into the building. Then when the next report came over that another plane had crashed into the second Tower we thought there must be a mistake. Everybody started surfing the internet for information - there were lots of sites that were inaccessible because everyone must have been hitting the news sites at the same time. When it became clear that there was a terrorist attack in New York and that both planes were big passenger jets and that there were also two other hi-jacked planes we just couldn't believe it - we had to carry on working but nobody felt like working as everyone was so upset - although some of the more hard-nosed lawyers carried on as if nothing had happened (business as usual) and I could not believe their aloofness to the news. When I eventually got home and saw the enormity of it all on TV I was completely devastated and will never forget those poor people trapped on the upper floors all crowding at the windows desperately hoping to be saved - and others who threw themselves from the building and those who died in the planes themselves and how brave the firemen were - it was so overwhelming. There were many subsequent TV programmes about the survivors and their families or the families of those who had lost a loved one and I would just cry every time I heard another story - I just couldn't watch some of them as they upset me too much. I think the whole world really felt for the Americans and shared in their grief and shock. 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 story9208.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. 2003-04-24 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 195.212.2.242 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: Q: How did you witness history on September 11th? Share your experience. A: "I was in a meeting, and I took breaks from the meeting and followed it on the radio or the internet." Q: Has your life changed because of September 11th, 2001? If so tell us how. A: "Business has suffered. Ummm..., let's see, I have spent a lot of time watching T.V., and learning about people's lives that were affected." Q: What do you think should be remembered about September 11th? A: "...That's a tough question... I guess the lives of the people that died." Q: 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? A: "No and no." 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 story8850.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. 2002-12-17 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 was feeding my 21/2yr. old watching good morning america, my husbabnd was cutting the lawn, I changed the tv to sesame street for my daughter, when my mother in law called and said the wtc is on fire, we changed the channel to see the horrible image of this plane hitting the second tower...I ran outside to tell my husband who is a police officer in town the. Immediatly phone calls were made police on stand by, a very erie quiet was in the air.. Then we were watching the events when a women reported said she thought a building near them was falling......All we saw was smoke, and no building. After about 2hrs i drove out to carlstadt nj where I video, and took pictures of the horrible images I was seeing...I will never forget seeing that and being 4mos pregnant, wondering what is going on in this world??? For the next week the horror of the victims started to hit home. One close friend neighbor hitch hiked home all the way from the wtc, people just looking at his image of completly full of soot and knew where he came from drove him home to his family...he was an engineer for Port Authority..Another mother in town lost her husband. It was really amazing to see the communtiy together for the victims and also the workers... I as with others always say this was devasting news to the world but being from this area is soooo devasting its an every day healing process...Also I find interesting is you can tell a New yorker, New Jersey person by thier reaction to a plane flying overhead, I am sure you wont find such a erieness to that except in this area... 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 story825.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. 2002-06-24 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 67.82.150.0 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 night before September 11, 2001, I watched my favorite movie, Cinema Paradiso. For those of you who do not know the movie, Paradiso was a movie theater in the small italian town that themovie took place. In the movie, the theater was the center of the town and it practically held the town together. At the end of the movie, the theater has to be knocked down, but the people in the movie were prepared for its collapse. As I watched the theater fall, I thought to myself what it would be like to watch your favorite building, the place were you hold your most precious memories, collapse in front of you. The very next morning, I awoke to the image of my favorite buildings burning. I, nor any of us, had any preparations for what we saw on September 11, 2001 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 story917.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. 2002-07-19 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 18.142.3.175 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: My wife called as soon as the report came on televsion. She told me that a plane had crashed into one of the World Trade Center Towers. I told my coworkers, and all who had radios turned them on. We pretty much unanimously thought it was a just a terrible accident until shortly thereafter when we heard that a second plane crashed into the other tower, the South Tower. The worst part about this day was knowing that we had offices (and a couple hundred employees) in the South Tower. We, like most I suppose, were very confused for a while; we just had no idea what the heck had just happened. The next thing we knew our building was evacuated and we all stood around outside wondering what to do. After a half-hour or so the building security guard advised that the mayor had suggested we all leave town. There was a mass exodus from Cleveland, and within a couple of hours our town looked a lot like a ghost town. It was eerie. Our company lost twelve people in New York that day. One of them was a close work associate, Carlos Cortez. A nicer, kinder person would be hard to find. His work ethic probably contributed to his untimely death. We all believe he went back to work that morning instead of leaving the tower. Four days after 911 I ran 100 miles in memory of Carlos. It took 23 hours and 11 minutes to do 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 story3431.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. 144.78.3.1 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: This piece was submitted to the archive, by an Arlington County Teacher, Cassidy Nolen: Tonight I Cried, September 12, 2001 It was a few minutes before dusk when I decided I had to go. I was just leaving school and looked out to watch the long rays of the sun shoot through the trees on this warm evening. I was reluctantly on my way to do something I had been hesitant about all day. Hospitals are always cold and scary to me. I know they are full of sick people, but for the first time in my life, I went into one as a healthy man. Not to see someone I know or love, rather for someone I do not know. Fear of needles, dizziness and a myriad of other thoughts were going through my mind as I was comforted by hand drawn signs saying ?Blood Donors? with a poorly drawn arrow pointing to the next never ending hallway. I was going to do my part. I have been emotional about the entire event, but until this point, I only speculated how I would feel if I could ?do? my part. The waiting room to donate blood was a lobby set up with chairs, a TV, and a pile of bagels, coffee makers and muffins. There was a reception table (a folding one, with a table cloth; trying to resemble some sense of professionalism), some very tired looking workers, and a sign that said ?Thank you for donating blood?. I was unable to donate then, so I placed my name on a call list for them to contact me later. Apparently, there is such an outpouring of support; the entire area hospital network blood bank is full. What a wonderful surprise. Again, I now knew with the remaining rays of twilight sun, I needed to go. Alexandria hospital is about a half mile from I395, the main road into the District from Northern Virginia. I was anxious, not because I wanted to see the ?gore?, but not sure if I waited any longer whether I would lose the nerve to go or not. I took in the surroundings of the highway, wondering ?why not one of these other buildings?. For the first time in my life, I, a Washingtonian, a citizen of the United States, was concerned for my safety. As a high school Junior at the age of 16, the Persian Gulf War seemed to be my ?Vietnam?. I studied the expressions on teachers faces who had been teaching the last time there was a call to war, and they did not look hopeful of the prospect of giving the class of 92 the send off they had 23 years ago. I would turn 17 in just days after the war started, and had there been a draft the following year, I certainly would not have been the man I am today. I was escorted off of a military base the night we declared war with Iraq. I will never forget listening to the sounds on my Mother?s Ford car radio, listening to us bombing Baghdad. But that fight was far away. I could not feel the earth move under my feet. I only wish I could say the same for yesterday. As I drove, I passed a shopping mall on my right side, and thought how fortunate I am. I have a nice car, a fianc?e, a great job, and all the blessings this world can offer. Yesterday changed those things for so many and for what? I wanted to see the Monuments; I wanted to see the things that separated DC from Austin or Los Angeles. I have traveled the world, and am proud to say I am from DC. As the road dipped into a valley, I could see the air traffic lights in the Washington monument as they flashed in their never-ending diligence. I have never been so glad to see them. As I passed the Washington Boulevard overpass, I saw an image I will never forget as long as I am alive. There was the Pentagon, in all of its splendor, with a mortal wound. I saw an American Flag larger than my home hanging down the right side of the still standing walls. There was no smoke, no fire to see. The surrounding area was littered with machinery and vehicles I could not make out. I got over onto the exit lane. Driving became difficult, as I now felt what television could never convey. I wept as I drove into the visitor parking lot. I will never forget sobbing, holding the wheel with one hand and my face with the other. This is MY home, how dare they? Now, after two days of passive involvement, it was personal. Climbing up Army Navy Drive, I found a staircase that twisted up the hills of an apartment complex at the end of Arlington Ridge. From the high point, you could see everything that was going on. It was the end of daylight, night was taking over and dozen or so people looked on with amazement at what was the military central headquarters of the free world. I bowed my head and prayed for the loss of life, the peace of the families and the resolution of this matter as fast as possible. I did not stay long; I did not need to take photos. The images burned into my mind are far clearer than any camera could ever capture. My life has been changed. My home has been changed. I will never walk through the doors of my school building and not remember standing there as the explosion at the Pentagon shook my body like a bass speaker. I will not forget the Congress and Senate singing God Bless America. I remembered thinking to myself yesterday as the media reported more hijacked planes, who would have to decide to bring down a plane full of civilians with weapons designed for war? Those planes had moms and dads, teddy bears and baseballs, and symbolized everything this country stands for. We all lost our family that day. Black, White, Hispanic, Asian, all Americans had a member of our family, our walk of life taken from us yesterday. We remember Pearl Harbor on film and in textbooks. Our parents tell stories about the fear of the Cuban Missile Crisis, and now, unfortunately, our generation has those stories to tell our children. Fortunately, there are bedtime stories of valor, unity, strength, and great men and women that bond together in a time of need. I saw tonight a lobby full of chairs for people trying to give blood. They sat empty, but the sheet for the weeks to come was full, with 2 numbers and names in the boxes. Sheets had numbers scribbled at the bottom because they were too full. Our President has assured us we will bring justice at any means necessary. I fear for what that means. Tonight I cried. Yesterday a sense of safety and comfort died. I pray for the lives, for the men and women working to save whomever they can, and I am proud to be an American. Jealous acts against us amount to no more than teasing on a playground to the American ideals. I stand in pride and offer myself to support my country and do what I can to ensure its safety. So that no one must ever bear witness to these atrocities again, we must look to the past for answers, and forge permanent solutions for the future. I would urge whomever, wherever, to avoid hatred. Make decisions based on wisdom, not anger or hurt, so that these lives wont have been lost in vein, but in compliment and testament to the values of Americans everywhere. May God bless us all in this time of need. Cassidy Nolen September 12, 2001 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 story495.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. 2002-05-02 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 129.174.27.190 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 have multiple sclerosis! I was diagnosed in 1994 at the age of 38 and was told that I would be a quad or paraplegic within 3 to 5 years. By the God's grace this has not occurred. When I first turned the television to CNN as I customarily do in the morning I observed what I thought to be a trailer for an upcoming movie until I heard the pure and palpable grief in the voice of the broadcaster and realized that I was watching an event so tragic that I felt a tear running down my cheek followed by many more. I knew no one there but they were my counrtymen and women and I felt violated. I firmly believe that it is God's intention and hope that mankind will find a way to all be one community but after this event that likelyhood was shattered for this to happen anytime in the near future. At night I heard from 3000 miles away the desperate calls for help that came from somewhere in the mountain of ruble, calls that appeared humanly impossible to answer. Yet some were and in that some found comfort as I did. For every life that was saved was a countrymen or women of mine and those that parished will forever remain with God. As I stated at the start of this passage I have MS, what these victims and their families endured gave me strength and the will to keep fighting my infirmity, I will fight this fight for them. 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 story4977.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. 198.81.17.38 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: Hello friend, Today is September 11, 2002. It is the Memorial of one of the most hideous, violent tragedies known to people of this Country and most others. Something that gentle people cannot comprehend. As Americans, we are ill prepared for such horrors. September 11, 2001 will remain an ever present reminder of the loss of innocence of this USA we call home. Having grown up in the late 1940?s and 1950?s, I feel such a sadness for children of today. How sad to never really know the freedom of innocence, the simple joy of running through an unlocked door after playing hide & seek in the dark. Feeling safe riding a bike around the block, etc. Certainly life was not without its? share of sadness and problems, but there was an innocence; a simplicity that seem to insure laughter. As I watch the ceremonies on television, I sit with tears in my eyes and pain in my heart. I feel the pain for the survivors of those lost on that dreadful day. I feel the sadness for all who were touched by 9/11, not just the 300 or so who have become so well known to us. As Americans, our very souls have suffered an injury by the viciousness of these so called human beings. We can become a kinder yet stronger people if we so choose. Life is precious. I believe that there is only one God. My god is loving and good. What any of us chooses to call Him, is of no consequence. He is the Alpha & the Omega; the beginning and the end. Yes, I am a Christian. You may believe what you choose to believe. I will respect your beliefs. Please respect mine. Now, all of that being said, I must also say that I am not a ?born again? American. I was born with patriotism in my heart. As a child I was taught to respect this beautiful country and her people. I was also taught to feel immense gratitude for the brave men and women who shed their blood, gave of their lives and/or fought for the freedoms that we all hold so very dear. Yes, I lost many friends to Viet Nam. I volunteered with the Red Cross at the Veteran?s Hospital in Long Beach. I felt anger, so I volunteered for OBL. Operation Baby Lift was a heart rendering experience that any who participated in will never forget. I certainly will not forget. Yes, I am a proud American. Anger can build very quickly in me when in the presence of one who does not believe in raising our flag or defending this great country. Yet, large numbers of those same people will take all of the many gifts this country has to give. In America, that is their freedom. America is a very young and sensitive country. She holds herself, as the wings of the eagle, over all those who need her protection. We support many other countries with military and humanitarian aid. We have always embraced the diverse views and cultures of those who choose to make America their home. Even when those same people try to make their homes and neighborhoods like those that they have left behind, America allows that freedom. Terrorism is a massive and ugly cancer. A malignancy that cannot be excised as easily as clipping one?s fingernails or removing a splinter. As I have acknowledged previously, 9/11 was a tragedy equal to none. However, what about the everyday terrorism that we must endure. What about the children and families who die because of a half wit gang member in a drive-by shooting? What about the hunger and homelessness that kills innocent people of all ages in this country? What about the children and families destroyed in some way by drug and alcohol addiction? What about the domestic violence that is raging in so many households? What about children who experience physical or emotional terror at the hands of a parent, teacher, police officer, priest, preacher, rabbi, friend or other person that believes that children are sex objects? Are not these also acts of terrorism? What about devastating disease that attacks a person and affects so many families. Mine included. The real sadness is the apathy of some people to these various acts. People don?t want to get involved, so some small child dies, an animal neglected or an elder abused again.. They will tell themselves that it is very sad, and move on with their busy lives. Do you ever wonder how some people can afford food, medicine, necessities or even funerals? The child who starts school without enough clothes or shoes (new or otherwise) must feel great sadness. Can we help? Yes, I think so. Each of us has lost loved ones. In my case, not only my very much loved parents, grand parents and numerous other family members, but also a vast number of friends. They were not famous or in the Who?s Who of America, but they were so very dear to me. How do we separate the pain of loss? Can we feel less pain because a flying bomb didn?t cause the death of our loved one? The loss of my mother has left a hole in my heart that will never heal. No buildings fell, but my world sure did change. She was brave, lovely and kind. Her personal form of terrorism was lung disease. Her greatest legacy, love. I have brothers and sisters with families that I love very much. I have been so very blessed with a wonderful husband, 2 beautiful daughters and 4 incredible grandchildren. These are people that I would choose as friends, I so respect and admire them. Each of us has close friends, some who touch our hearts in ways we cannot express. How do we express our love? Antiques are something I treasure. To me, life is much like a very old and beautiful china cup. With each time of pain and trouble, a small crack appears. Over many, many years there is a patina that comes only with age. These tiny little stress fractures only make it more treasured. Certainly, the cup can break, but with care it will survive to be a treasure for yet another generation. Hatred is hatred. Anger is anger Kindness is kindness and love is love. As Americans, many of us can be very short sighted. We see all of the sadness in this world and think that there is nothing that we can do about it. That is just not true. Every time that we stop to smile at a sad or lonely person, when we share our food, money or possessions with the less fortunate, and most importantly, when we share our time and hearts, we are helping. Have you ever visited a nursing home and read to someone who was not able to read any longer? Have you gone to a hospital and just sat by the bed and held the hand of one who was so very alone? Have you spent time with the child down the street who has only one parent and feels so sad? Small acts of kindness help more than you know. Many will do this within their own church groups, but what about the stranger? You know where the homeless live. Have you ever left a box of freshly prepared food or clothing? Have you taken the time to correspond with a person in the military? They are away from home and family trying to help insure the gift of freedom. They love letters and goodies from "home". Yes, home of the free and the brave?. Think about how we grab a flashlight to show the way in the darkness. We are so grateful for the small beam of light that it emits. What if each of us had a flashlight and met in the dark meadow? How much light would we emit? My family & I participated in Hands Across America. It would be impossible to express the thrill of knowing that there were hands being held across the entire USA; from the Pacific to the Atlantic oceans at the same moment. Child and adult, many races and religions and all of us were friends in that moment. As Americans, we must remember to give something back. Just after the infamous day of September 11, 2001, people were just a little kinder, a little more polite and tolerant. People sat glued to their televisions to see what was happening. Within a very short period of time violence escalated, more children suffered abuse, more people died through other acts of terrorism. Many seem to forget what we still face. America will never be the same, but that can be positive if we choose to make it so. We just need to do our part. Today, as we take pause to remember, know that I will be saying the Pledge Of Allegiance with the words one nation UNDER God. I will be proudly waving my flag. More than anything, I will be praying for family and friends and the survivors of 9/11. However, I must also pray for the many TERRORISTS of any/all varieties. It is so easy to pray for those we love. When I pray for ALL, the prayers are not just for them, but for me. Hatred breeds hatred. When I stop praying for those hateful, angry ones that are simply evil, I will have become just like them. Every prayer is a small beam of light up to God. We can light the meadow. We can light the world! Now, let each of us never forget that we can make a huge difference. Let us take the time, not just today, but each day, to see what seed of kindness we can sow. Ask God to spread His love as a blanket on a cold night over ALL. Let us remember that freedom is a privilege, not a right of passage. Hatred and bigotry are a choice. Yes, we need to increase security to protect America and her people. We should have done it much sooner, but isn?t hindsight always 20/20? Those who do not agree with what must be done, should probably leave this great country, because no amount of talk or action will make them understand. Those who feel inconvenienced by the wait at the airports, bus terminals and train stations, perhaps they should walk. They may stop to smell the roses along the way. Just maybe they will realize the true joy is in the journey and not the destination. We are Americans. Our hope cannot be crushed. The terrorists of this variety did not win. Together, we can each help to defeat all forms of terrorism. We are strong and determined. We are hurt, but we will never be broken. Let us not forget?. There is nothing greater than the human spirit. May your heart be full with peace today and every day to come. May God bless America. May God bring healing to the survivors of 9/11 and all tragedies, and may God continue to bless you. Please know that someone loves you very much?. Bev. 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 story4501.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. 209.179.44.82 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I had dropped the kids off at school and had dropped my husband off at school, as that is what he was doing at the time. I was listening to the radio only it was only news. I was annoyed that the music wasn't on because I was on my way to work. Then I realized that something terrible had happened, but the DJ wasn' real specific on where it had occured. I arrived at work only to find that the Trade Towers had been hit. At first I thought it was a small plane, only to be told it was a big air liner. My first reaction was totally shocked. I could not fathom that the towers had been attacked on purpose in that way. Needless to say, it was difficult to work. I work for the State of California as a public servant. The Govrenor had us shut down the office by 10:00am pacific time. I immediately went to my daughters school to make sure everything was ok there. They were keeping the kids in school so I was okay with that. Then I called my sitter to see if my other daughter was okay. And all was well there. Then I called my husband and we were both in shock. When we were finally all home for the night I held them all close as we watched the news. I will never forget and neither should America. We need to be reminded how horrible that event was.We did show those maniacs that we can stand tall, that we can stand together, that we WILL prevail. Justice will be served. Thank you. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story9176.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. 2003-04-01 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 198.81.26.139 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: Well first i was in my school in social studios wen my teacher run out the do and she sead; mrs, vasquez it's her last name, mr, falcon please come hre runinng the world trade center has been attak by sademmiladen what ever his name is, well every body starded crying because some of them had fmilys in new york but them every family 's child wen to pick up their son's, i wa waitjing for my mother in te school but she din't pck me up sow i come down and then i call home and asker if she saw the world trade center wen some guyvideo tape the twin tower, well i din't like what the did i wish we finish fucking them up and kill the, sorry formy lengue but i true we perhaphs been aready kill sademmiladen but he's hidden and we cant find them but one minute of the like we will fine hem and we will kill hem ass he kill more then 1,000 of people children and animals, also the fire mens that suffer theyr like just to save people from the twin tower well i now that some day we will get all the bad people an please president make sure u r ready for war i dont wanna lose my family because i never been in walt disne, for you come and stop letting me go to orlando well make sure tha you take care off uss and your biutifu family 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 story9126.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. 2003-03-04 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 152.163.189.136 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 Fred Johnson. I live in Raleigh, North Carolina and the following is a piece I wrote a few weeks after September 11. WHERE WERE YOU WHEN . . .? If you remember the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963 then you also remember that the phrase ?Where were you when . . .? soon entered the National lexicon. With the destruction of the World Trade Center, the attack on the Pentagon and the heroic actions of those on United flight 93, Tuesday, September 11, 2001, no doubt the phrase will be resurrected for a generation whose whereabouts will forever be etched in their collective memory. As the shock of these events diminish and we begin to wrestle with the gravity of what has happened as well as why we will look to our spiritual and political leaders for guidance and resolution. But for now we will seek to place these events into a context so we can begin to emotionally deal with the deaths of thousands and the destruction and damage of symbols representing our financial strength and military power. Around the country on ?The day of? people?s thoughts went immediately to, ?Who do I know that lives in New York City or Washington D.C.?? In a matter of moments phone calls were made to contact family and friends living in the City and the District in a need to be reassured that everything was truly okay. But the need for reassurance reached well beyond its grasp. A family in Raleigh calling western North Carolina to hear the voices of their children to be reassured that their lives were safe. Dads calling to talk with their children and their children?s children in a far away state to make sure they were okay and safe. Moms calling moms living on the family farm to check on their well-being. The need for reassurance in the midst of distant events is the result of our ever shrinking world. ?It?s a small world? is no longer a figure of speech. ?The day of? showed us how terror can easily leave the boarders of far-away counties and visit our own. Across our Nation the lives of thousands of families were torn apart on ?The day of?. For many the number dialed will go unanswered and the want for reassurance forever unfulfilled. 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 story1816.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. 2002-09-06 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 67.25.75.95 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 did not know anyone who was in the World Trade Center. I didnt usually watch the news at that time mainly because I was in school. It was my senior year of high school and I remember hearing on the radio in my car that a plane had crashed into a building. I didnt think anything of it and had no idea at that time what it meant. I walked into the classroom and my teacher had the news on and at that moment they were showing live footage of the second plane crashing into the tower. I could not beleive my eyes. We were all in such great shock. We were supposed to have a fairly big exam that day but somehow it just did not seem important anymore. We spent the entire hour and a half watching the tv and talking about what was going on. When class was over, I drove back to my main high school (my class was off campus at a health center). If I hadnt carpooled with a friend that day I dont know what I would have done. I felt all jittery and could feel the adrenaline inside my body. My dad was supposed to be at the Sears Tower in Chicago that day and so immediate thoughts were running through my head of what if something were to happen close to home. Its against school rules to have a cell phone but on the drive home I had to call him to make sure he was ok. As we were driving through the town to get back to the high school I remember thinking how quiet everything seemed. There were barely any cars on the road and it was just a completely eerie feeling since at that particular time of day there was always alot of traffic. Nobody was outside walking on the sidewalk or playing in the streets like they usually were. The rest of the day at school was out of the norm. In one class we watched more of the news and in my last class of the day we were allowed to do whatever we liked but the tv was kept off since my teacher wanted some sense of normalness. That day I had to babysit right after school for a little girl who was 5 years old at the time. When I asked her what she wanted to do she said, "I dont want to watch what mommy was watching. I dont like the show where people jump out of buildings. Its scary." If she only knew that what mommy was watching wasnt a staged show and that it was live footage of something that was really happening. 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 story9399.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. 2003-07-31 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 12.211.144.83 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 Park Ave&55th St cubicle when I overheard co-workers talking about a plane hitting the WTC. Such unbelievable news brought back memories of an afternoon in high school when a classmate and known prankster ran around telling anyone who would listen that President Reagan had been shot, but it was much easier to confirm the whispers this time, with WWW-based news sources a keyboard away and a big television in the company cafe next to our office. After some time, I walked into the cafe to see what was happening and eventually found a seat from which to watch the TV. The producers for the channel that was on (CBS-2, if I recall correctly) were regularly switching between live shots of the Tower area and videotape of the plane impacts and of the first tower's collapse -- when the 2nd tower collapsed, I (and many others) initially thought it was a tape replay of the 1st collapse...and then the awful shock sunk in that no, we had just witnessed the other tower's collapse live, with all the terrible effects that implied for the people in the tower and surrounding area. I went back to my desk, but I couldn't go back to work, and I knew it wouldn't be a good idea to eat anything at that time, either, as I was totally nauseated. Around midday, I was back in the cafe when the mother of a co-worker and friend (I grew up knowing her and her family) walked in. She had just walked all the way up from the downtown Courts area -- quite an achievement for a short-legged, middle-aged, portly woman who didn't walk much during a given workday -- and she was somewhat covered in ash, but she was happy to be alive. After the initial attack, I was able to call my New Jersey home and let my wife know that I was fine. Between various calls and e-mails, I ascertained that every family member and close friend was OK (including my brother-in-law, whose insurance-industry firm had moved from 7 WTC to New Jersey a few months before, against his and many co-workers' wishes -- he was certainly glad they had moved, but he was torn up watching his old building in peril of collapse and wondering what had happened to people he knew), but one person couldn't be located: a nephew of the above-mentioned woman, who was a member of the Hatzolah volunteer-ambulance service and had possibly rushed to the scene, together with so many other EMTs and related official and voluntary personnel, ASAP after the initial impact. It wasn't until the next day that I found out he was OK (he *had* been down there). Thankfully, no one in my community was killed that day, but many (especially those who took PATH trains into lower Manhattan) had stories to tell, and one later sponsored a s'udas ho-da'ah (Hebrew for "communal meal expressing gratitude") in gratitude to God for allowing him to escape his WTC office before the 2nd plane hit. I did a lot of work the next few days trying to get the word out re some missing people in nearby communities, as well as passing their Jewish names out so that we could all pray for their welfare, but it eventually became blatantly apparent that none had escaped the carnage. May they and all who were murdered be strong Heavenly advocates for those of us remaining in this world, such that we speedily see the elimination of all our enemies, including all who were involved with or celebrated the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001. 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 story2460.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. 206.231.80.2 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I work in a large retail enviroment and one of our employees that had the day off, came into the store to let us know what happened. I believed that there had been a plane accident, but he had to be wrong about it being intentional. I immediately called my father to inform him of the accident because my little sister lives in New York City. He already knew and said that was indeed an attack. He's been trying to reach my sister, but couldn't get through on the phone. My mother teaches sixth grade and according my father much calmer about the situation even though she didn't have the luxery of trying to call her daughter every five minutes. Within a couple of hours my sister called to say she and her boyfriend were fine. Our store is rather large, 114(k) square feet, so we set radios up in four different locations of the store. No matter what part of the building you worked in a person could get to a radio. Our manager on duty, who has always been focused on work when present, just lapped the store going to the different radios. He had served in the military and said, "This is reason to nuke somebody." It was at that point I became afraid. An hour hadn't even past yet and people wanted to start a nuclear war! We knew so little a that time and I was scared to death about our future not the present. We sent everyone home we could afford to and ran with a minimal crew. More than anything we wanted to see it, not just hear it. When you were a child it was what you heard and couldn't see that terrified you in the night. Your parents would come to your room because they heard you crying and they'd turn the lights on in your room. They'd show you everything that made those noises, those scary sounds. And once they explained it all away, you felt safe again. I wanted to see for myself, an adult, and unveil the truth. It was an accident, other people just weren't observent enough to see the signs. I, ofcourse, would be able see that this was truly a very tragic accident, if I could only get to a television. I got off about 6:00 that evening and went straight to my parent's house. Once again I, a woman of 30, sought their assurance that there was no need to be scared. When they had no such rational explanation it was because they were just absorbed with worry for my sister's safety. I went into the television room and saw rerun after rerun of the planes hitting the towers. There was a true, living, breathing monster in my room and seeing it made me realize no one was protecting me anymore. 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 story4293.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 205.188.209.38