424 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: My Name is Jeremy Waibel I was an Army Optician the days of the attack. The morning was normal started with Breakfast with my two sons Jacob and Joshua. gave them a kiss and hug told them behave for your mother as I did every morning, and I walk out the door Puting on my beret and Proudly going to serve another day for the RED WHITE and BLUE.I arrived at the clinic at 0700 and started making glasses for our new soilders.as our motto say's "GIVING THE SIGHT TO FIGHT.." I was in the room cutting down a pairof glasses when over the radio I heard " GOD HELP US WE ARE UNDER ATTACK" I told my NCOIC What I had heard. He went down to operations to see what was going on. When he returned he told all of us to go to the buildings lobby and see what was on CNN. as we approched the t.v. room I could not belive my eyes. I was now a soilder for a nation at WAR.MY heart fell into my knee's for the faimlies that were instanly torn apart, I felt so guilty how could this happen we are the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA I am a part of the best army in the world!! after a few hours of waiting on what to do I heard the words that no millitary person wants to here. THREATCON.... this is a real threat I called my wife told her what I knew told her and my sons I love you be home when I can.Then I thought Iam a Soilders what can I do ..Iam no longer a Parachute rigger I am an eye tech.then I heard do we have anyone who wants to go help these people...I jump to attention an yelled.."...WHOA.." Our post was locked down. soilders walking the area m-16's locked and loaded we at FT Leonard Wood said " You got one hit but we are ready to deliver the knock out punch" as all this was going on I stopped and as a tear fell from my eye.. What about all my brothers and sisters at the pentagon they where unable to stand up and declare we will fight till the death they where doing there job at there desk running the army. and that my friend was more than a decleration that was a SHOUT they knew about the towers they where there to protect and the did and to my friends in the airborne where would they go and I was sad till i relized we are soilders this is our jobs and I thought to myself If President Bush sends me or my friends to fight and we die for my boys to have one more day of freedom then I would take my orders and salute president Bush as a soilder! p.s I was never able to go fight but I made glasses for people in ARMY,NAVY,AIRFORCE,and MARINES so they would be able to have the "SIGHT TO FIGHT" I want to thank all Millitary mebers that have protected us those who have fallen and the ones that have came home. and your faimlies Thank you for the sacraficies you made to allow us to be free. and until september 11 I never relized the stress the millitary has on ones parents for when I called My Mom she was so glad to hear my voice and from that day to this on their is not a day my Dad forgets to tell me he loves me. and we all need to do that to our faimlies. 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 story2115.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. 2002-09-10 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: I was working at home on my computer on this morning diligently putting the pieces of a training curriculum together for my work. My husband was attending an NCIS meeting in Atantic Beach, NC. My home was quiet and I was working away. The kids were at school. I have three. I didn't have the TV or radio on at the time. At about 9:00 AM, as was customary when I worked at home, my secretary called me. I was very cheery, but she was not. There was great alarm in her voice. She asked if I had my TV on and I told her no. She told me to turn the TV on because a plane had hit the World Trade Center in New York. I reached for the remote and turned on the awful pictures that kept being shown over and over. I sat down in disbelief and told my secretary I had to try and call my niece. She was in school in New York and I didn't know how far she was from the site, but I knew her school was in Manhattan and her boyfriend worked at Wall Street. I tried repeatedly to call her cell phone and her dorm phone. Next I heard from my husband, whose meeting ended before it started. The events of the day meant that his job would intensify greatly so we traded I love yous and he headed back to his office. I worried about my children at school as the events of the day progressed, not knowing if there was anywhere that was safe. I decided to let them stay at school and avoid the images that are forever etched in my mind. Life could remain normal for them at least until they returned home from school. When the towers fell, like so many Americans and so many people worldwide, I felt the loss of so many people just like me. People who were just beginning their workday. I felt the loss of their families. I had just lost my father to heart failure in July. Today, I still cry for their loss, but I am so proud of our country and of our world for the response to this horrific act. No one in retrospect can ever say that terrorism gained ground on this day. If anything, by their act they have made the world a stronger, more unified place. They have brought out the love, courage, and humanity in us all. I am proud of our President and our leaders for uniting together and supporting us all. In a time when the country and the world needed leadership, they showed us why they are our chosen leaders. I am proud of the world community. In a time when we sometimes focused too much on our differences, we learned that we all share in our humanity. The world reached out to America on this day as it never has before. 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 story4703.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 205.188.209.38 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I GOT UP AROUND 9:30PM THAT DAY. I EAT BREAKFAST AND THAT I WAS CLEANING THE HOUSE. MY FRIEND CALLED ME AND SHE TOLD METO TURN ON THE TV ON CNN. I DID SO. I WAS LOOKING IN INTO IT I COULDN'T BELEAVE THAT THAT WAS HAPPINING IN THE PRESENT. I COULD NOT BELEAVEMY EYES. I SET THERE AND I WATCHED CAREFULLY.I SAY THE LIFE OF THOSE PEOPLE TAKEN.I FELT MISREBAL. I COUNDN'T HELP. TODAY IS ONE YEAR AND YET IT LOOKS LIKE YEASTERDAY. I KNOW THAT YEARS AFTER YEARS ARE GOING TO PASS AND THAT IS NOT GOING TO BE FORGATTEN. I JUST HOPE THAT ARE GOVERMENT WILL DO THE RIGHT THING ABOUT TRYING TO SOLVE WHAT'S GOING ON. I KNOW THAT THE LIFE OF THOSE INOCENT PEOPLE WILL NOT COME BACK BUT I KNOW THAT THEY WILL BE REMEMBERED FROM ALL OF US. AS THE TOP AMERICANS. 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 story6512.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. 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: The Impacts of 9/11 On September 11th 2001, the United States had changed forever. Four U.S airplanes were hijacked by terrorists. Two of the airplanes crashed into the World Trade Centers, one crashed in the Pentagon, and one in Pittsburgh. After the World Trade Centers collapsed, the nation felt anger and sadness inside of them. One day after 9/11, my whole school was confused about what happened the day before. Ever since then, my friends have been talking about the attack. Even though I do not know anyone who had any family or friends inside of the building, we all felt sad. A lot of people wanted to attack Osama Bin Laden for what he had done. Some of my friends were afraid to fly into airplanes because of the hijackings. The terrorist have changed the way a lot of how a lot of people take things for granted. When I got home from school that day, my parents wanted to know if I knew about what happened that day. I told them yes, and talked about what we did in school. But ever since that day we do not discuss it that much. A lot of my family felt anger against Afghanistan and Osama Bin Laden. They would talk as if they wanted to attack him and his other terrorists. What really upset my family the most was when they showed the Islamic people cheering about the attacks. Since the attack, America has donated a lot of money to charities and family?s that lost someone. Even though the attack put America in tears, it only made us stronger. People are being more courteous to other people they see. Even though it made us mourn for the first weeks or so, we have overcome our fears and are ready to do whatever it takes to stop terrorism. One year later, people are still buying flags and other souvenirs to show they care. The attack on 9/11 did not really affect me because I had no family or friends that were injured or killed inside. The attacks made me feel anger inside to the people of Afghanistan and terrorists groups. It also made me feel sad and care for the people who had someone who died from the terrorists. I donated someone money to help funds to try and make a difference even though I do not understand what they are going through. So even though the terrorists thought they could bring America down by taking out some of our buildings, they were wrong. They only made us grow together and made us stronger. By: Nick Carty 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 story7112.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. 207.103.166.40 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 my home,about to go for work ,my wife called me from work,a plane hit word trade center,I started watching CBS ,I saw the plane heating towers, and the burning, and collapsing tower,felt helpless, went to my prayer room in tears prayed almighty to save, help all in trouble,traped,I called my town,civil preparedness center as I am an active member, to find out if I can help, I told the director that" I am willing to go NewYotk to help"but at the time no body was allowed to go. Whole day watch the T. V. to know details,till today I don't understand how the terrorist could justify such a cowardly act, word trade center was world's trasurer,few of the good things that the whole world can be of proud of,It was in a way the world's property ,Destruction of the such a great building and killing of so many inocent,will be brought to justis, thos responsible will sure have to pay for their Bad Karmas. THose who died are immorteral, their soul is still allive,their body was burned, but their soul never died, they again will born in different form and fullfil the mission to bring peace on earth. May god provide strength and wisdom to overcome the pain of the lossto all. 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 story4578.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. 155.43.71.6 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: I woke up the morning of September 11th and got ready for work just like any other day. It wasn't until I got in my car and turned on the radio that I found out what had happened. It was all very confusing, almost like a dream, like I would wake up any moment. When I got to work, my co-workers and I turned on the television and watched in horror as the tragedy became reality and we all sat there just stunned. Although, I lost no one personally, the loss of 9/11 effected everyone across the nation. Over the next few weeks the show of patriotisn was unbelievable. There was no war during my time period, and I don't think a lot of the people in my age group had ever felt that before. Now everytime I see an American flag I remember 9/11 and I remember what being an American is really about. I will never forget that day or the people that were lost, and I will also never forget to be proud that I am American. On this day, a year after, I would like to extend my thanks to the brave firefighters and police officers and also extend my deepest sympathy to the families who have lost someone in this tragedy. I hope it can bring some comfort to know that no matter how alone you feel on this day, you have an entire country who feels your pain and who is by your side to help you through. As America unites today, let us all pray for our fellow Americans and pray for peace. 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 story3035.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 12.34.246.38 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I told my September 11, 2001 story earlier. On the fifth anniversary, anyone can see that the United States has lost much of the world's good will. I fear that as long as George W. Bush or Dick Cheney is in high office, our country will be at war somewhere. Perhaps they understand that only in an atmosphere of hysteria can their economic policies command a significant following. 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 story20815.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. 165.95.51.193 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I woke up at 6:30 in the morning on September 11th and I went out into my living area and my mom had the news on. It showed the twin towers falling. Right at that moment in time my heart sunk to the floor. It did not feel real. It felt almost like a horrible nightmare, that u could never wake up from. And then I saw people jumping from the buildings and I was like oh my gosh. I was very thankful that none of my relatives live in NY. I would be heartbroken if I lost any of them. I would be in great sadness. Which I still am for those who had their lives taken away. I wrote this poem about 911. PEOPLE DROVE TO WORK,CHILDREN WALKED TO SCHOOL THE WEATHER WAS NICE AND COOL NOBODY EXPECTED IT THEN SUDDENLY IT HIT THE TOWERS STOOD TALL NOW THEY BEGAN TO FALL PIECE BY PIECE THE FIRST ONE CAME DOWN EVERYBODYS FACE CARRIED A FROWN THE SECOND PLANE CAME BY AND THE SECOND TOWER BEGAN TO DIE AS MILLIONS OF PEOPLE STARTED TO CRY THEY ASKED GOD WHY FIREFIGHTERS WENT IN AGAIN AND AGAIN PULLING OUT THE INJURED AND CARRYING THE DEAD AND LYING THEM IN THEIR FINAL RESTING BED SOME PEOPLE MADE IT, MANY DID NOT SO MANY LOVED ONES SO GREATLY DISTRAUGHT FOR EACH LIFE THAT WAS TAKEN A NEW ONE WILL BE BORN A COUNTRY WILL REMEMBER AND CONTINUE TO MOURN OUR FLAG STANDS FOR FREEDOM AND PRIDE AND THAT I CAN SAY WILL NEVER BE DEPRIVED THEIR ALL FILLED WITH FEAR HOPING A DAY LIKE THAT WILL NEVER AGAIN NEAR WITH THE LAST BEAM REMOVED, THE VOLUNTEERS WALK AWAY THE UNRECOVERED WILL FOREVER LAY IN THE SILENT PILE OF DIRT THAT WAS ONCE AT GREAT HEIGHTS ALL THE SOULS OF THE SLAIN GLOW IN THE SKY OF LIGHTS NOW SOME ARE AT EASE WITH OUT A FRIGHT BUT OTHERS STILL THINK ABOUT THAT TERRIBLE FLIGHT Thanks for reading my poem and 911 experience. I thank u 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 story769.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. 2002-06-09 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 4.42.118.236 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: September 11 started just like every Tuesday for me for the couple of weeks before that. I had been working late shift at work, from noon to 8PM, 9PM, or even later. So I had a good deal of free time in the morning before going to work that day. At 8:45, I went downstair to the gym and everything was normal as I turned off the TV. But by the time I was downstair and just about to start working out, all the TVs in the gym were tuned to the smokey image of WTC. A bunch of us in the gym just stopped our work out there and then and watched the event unfold before our eyes. We made guesses as to what happened. Was it an accident? It was possible. Those towers were pretty tall after all. How big was the plane? How would they fight the fire? Would the building be ok? But in the back of my mind I knew it was a terrorist attack. Probably because I came from the UK and terrorist attack or warning of attack were not uncommon. My fear was confirmed when we all watched the second plane crashed into the tower, live on TV. The rest of the day (and days) I went through more or less numbed, and glued to my computer and TV as they were the only way I could communicate to the outside world and got news. The most remarkable thing for me was that the night before, Sept. 10, I worked very late and left work around midnight. As I walked towards WTC south tower to get a taxi home, I got this funny feeling inside me and my subconscious told me that 'wasn't it great to work just next to WTC?'. I looked up and enjoyed the majestic view of the south tower for a moment and got into a taxi. That was the last time I phycially saw either of the towers. 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 story1181.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. 2002-08-19 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 151.204.121.27 Annotation Annotations to this item. Terrorism WTC, pre-911 NY:3 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 Maritza M. Moreno, and I'm a sophomore at Houston Baptist University. Last September, school had started about a week and a half before, and I was an excited freshman in hopes of a successful year. I didn't have any class on the 11th, so I decided to sleep in a bit later than usual. I remember I had planned to relax that day and spend some time with my mom. When I woke up, I turned on the television to see if there was anything worth watching. Little did I know I would be watching a life changing event. I remember seeing the Twin Towers spewing flames and smoke and thought, who would make such a horrible movie? Within a minute or two I realized it wasn't a movie and began to feel very ill. I tried to call my mom, but was paralyzed by the shock. Then I screamed as I heard the news reporter shriek with horror that Tower 2 was crumbling. Within a few seconds it had fallen down completely. Then Tower 1. Then I heard about the Pentagon. I began to just cry and cry while trying to pray for God's protection. I immediately felt that Houston could be in serious danger. All the energy and oil companies and refineries, and NASA's mission control - striking Houston would affect the whole nation's power. Who would do this? Why? I started calling my loved ones. My sister was at work near downtown which was being evacuated and didn't even know about it. My dad and boyfriend were also at work and decided to just stay put. So, my mom and I sat there together praying intensely as we cried and held each other. I couldn't get rid of the images of people jumping from the towers to their death. I tried to imagine what it must be like to have to decide which way you'd rather die. My parent's had lived in NYC for many years. It was where they met, where they married, where my sister was born. My parent's had seen the Twin Towers from the beginning of their construction. It was just a nightmare come true. It was so surreal at the same time. I remember crying for weeks, as I saw the stories of the victims, and the heroes, and the survivors who could not understand their fate, and struggled between feeling lucky and feeling guilty about having survived. Although the WTC victims touched my heart, as did the Pentagon victims, I have to admit that the passengers of flight 93 kept me up for days. They were the only ones who knew their fate that day. The only ones who were able to fight back. They are true heroes. Civilians who acted like soldiers, laying down thier lives in hopes of saving a national landmark and the people who would be affected by another attack. How could they find the strentgh to call their family, tell them what was happening, what they resolved to do and say good-bye, all in the face of death. I felt that they were more than just victims, they were martyrs, as were the firemen and the policemen in New York and Washington DC. Every person became a friend and a loved one to me, and I grieved them the same way I would have if I had known them. I still hurt and try to tear the anger and hate from my heart, so that I do not become like those who hit us where it hurt the most. I didn't really like President Bush when he first got elected, but I learned to respect him and admire him that day, and the days that followed. He was more than just a leader, he was one of us. He didn't show fear, but did express his sorrow openly. He wasn't ashamed to cry or pray in public as most people were. This tragedy not only brought us together, but it actually gave us a greater sense of the meaning of freedom. It set us free from political correctness. We all prayed in our own way without feeling that someone would object, although some did - it didn't matter. Our families became closer, and we made sure to express our feelings openly so that if our fragile lives ever came to a sudden halt, everyone would know the real us. I think our triumph was so much greater than our defeat, and hope that we can stay united and not forget this important lesson. Americans ARE vulnerable, we are not IMMORTAL, our FREEDOM is PRECIOUS. 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 story6009.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. 63.157.128.54 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 lived three blocks away from World Trade Center on he morning of 9/11, and we saw he attacks on the Twin Towers first hand. We experienced the fright, the disbelief, the crash of the towers, the shock, and the evauction a cople fo hours later from our home. My wife, daugheter and I left what resembled a war zone, and walked east and then north, towards Brooklyn Bridge, in a cloud of white debris and dust, barely able to breath. And then, barely half a mile north, we walked out into the sun and looked back at Lower Manhattan and our home, now covered in dust and debris and smoke. We kept marching north, and kept looking back in disbelief at what had once been. We kept walking north, where we did not really know, trying to call our friends and family and report that we were ok. We wee back home a week later. Marga, Masha, Klas 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 story803.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. 2002-06-19 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 146.96.92.54 Annotation Annotations to this item. Struggle to get home WTC, attack NY:2 N-YHS 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 WORKED ODD HOURS, AND HAD NOT BEEN HOME TOO LONG, SO I HAD FED HIM, AND HAD JUST DONE THE DISHES, WHEN HE CAME IN THE KITCHEN AREA, AND SAID THAT I HAD BETTER HURRY UP AND FINISH, AND GET TO A T.V. SET, BECAUSE HE THOUGHT WE WERE PROBABLY ABOUT READY TO GO TO WAR, BECAUSE SOMETHING BAD HAD HAPPENED IN NEW YORK. I REPLIED THAT IT WAS PROBABLY THAT BAD MAN "BIN LADEN" THAT I HAD READ ABOUT RECENTLY IN THE SUNDAY PAPER ABOUT TERRORISM. SO, AS I GOT TO THE T.V.,I SAW ANOTHER PLANE GO INTO THE SECOND BUILDING, AND I WAS FROZEN IN TIME. IT WAS LIKE WATCHING A BAD "B" MOVIE, AND I COULD ONLY SIT WITH MY MOUTH OPEN AND SHAKE MY HEAD. MY EYES FILLED WITH TEARS, AND I BEGAN TO PRAY. I KEPT WATCHING, AND THEN SAW THE BUILDINGS CRUMBLE BEFORE MY VERY EYES! BOTH OF THEM, GONE ! WAS I STILL BREATHING? WAS I AWAKE? COULD THIS BE HAPPENING TO THE GREATEST COUNTRY IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD? HOW COULD THIS BE? AS WE ALL KNOW, NEWS COVERAGE CONTINUED THE ENTIRE DAY, AND IT ONLY GOT WORSE AND WORSE AS THE DAY WOUND DOWN. REPORTS OF UP TO 5000 PEOPLE SEEMED TO HAVE PERISHED ! I HUGGED MY HUSBAND A LITTLE TIGHTER THAT DAY, AND ALL THE DAYS AFTER THAT. HOW PRECIOUS OUR LIVES ARE, AND WE SEEMED TO HAVE FORGOTTEN THAT. WE GO ABOUT OUR DAILY ROUTINES, AND PROBABLY TAKE MUCH OF WHAT AND WHO WE HAVE FOR GRANTED. LIFE WAS MUCH MORE PRECIOUS AFTER THAT. EACH DAY AFTER 9-11-01, I HAVE REFLECTED ON A LOT OF THINGS, AND KNOW THAT A LOT OF FAMILIES WERE TORN APART BY THE EVENTS THAT TOOK PLACE THAT HORRIBLE MORNING. A LOT OF CHILDREN DID NOT HAVE A DADDY, OR PERHAPS A MOMMY, OR MAYBE EVEN A GRANDPARENT TO SEE ANY MORE.A LOT OF HUSBANDS LOST THEIR WIVES. A LOT OF WIVES LOST THEIR HUSBANDS. IT WAS NEVER TO BE THE SAME AGAIN. THEN, ON MAY 6TH, 2002 I MYSELF LOST MY HUSBAND UNEXPECTEDLY, AND I CAN RELATE EVEN MORE HOW IT FEELS TO LOSE THE MOST IMPORTANT PERSON IN YOUR LIFE. YOUR OTHER HALF GONE? YOUR SOULMATE......GONE FOREVER? WHAT WAS I TO DO? HOW COULD I EVEN BREATHE NOW? WHAT WAS I TO DO FOR A BEST FRIEND NOW? WHO WOULD UNDERSTAND WHEN I WAS BLUE, AND JUST NEEDED TO TALK? JUST NEEDED A HUG? WELL, IT'S BEEN 4 MONTHS NOW, AND I STILL DO NOT KNOW THOSE ANSWERS. I'M STILL LOOKING FOR HIM TO COME BACK HOME. STILL LISTENING FOR THE KEY TO BE INSERTED IN THE FRONT DOOR, AND THE CAT TO RUN TO THE DOOR, AND ESCORT HIM INTO THE KITCHEN TO SEE ME. STILL LISTENING FOR HIM TO SING TO ME, AS HE DID EACH AND EVERY DAY. STILL WAITING FOR THE NEXT HUG. ON THAT THURSDAY,WE WATCHED A MOVIE TOGETHER, AND MADE VACATION PLANS FOR THE FALL, AND THE NEXT DAY HE WAS IN THE EMERGENCY ROOM, AND THE NEXT DAY, THEY SAID HE PROBABLY WOULD NOT MAKE IT. ON THE FOLLOWING MONDAY, HE DIED. AGE 57, AND HE DIED, WITHOUT TELLING ME GOOD-BYE! SO, YOU SEE, I KNOW HOW MANY OF THOSE FAMILIES MUST BE FEELING. THEY DID NOT GET TO SAY GOOD-BYE. THEY HAD ALREADY PLANNED THEIR EVENINGS, OR MAYBE THEIR NEXT WEEK-ENDS, OR PERHAPS THEIR NEXT VACATION. BUT, IT WAS NOT TO BE. TONIGHT, WE STUDIED REVELATIONS IN MY BIBLE STUDY CLASS, AND A LOT OF WHAT WE READ WAS SIMILAR TO THOSE HORRIBLE MOMENTS. ONE THING IS FOR SURE: WE CAN NOT GET OUT OF THIS WORLD ALIVE, AND WE, AS PEOPLE WHO LOVE GOD, NEED TO BE READY, AND REMEMBER TO SHOW LOVE AT EACH OPPORTUNITY THAT IS GIVEN TO US. TOMORROW JUST MIGHT NOT COME TO US. AND EACH HUG COULD JUST BE THE LAST. WE NEVER KNOW. PRAY FOR PEACE. SHOW YOUR LOVE FOR YOUR FELLOW MAN. BELIEVE IN GOD. THANKS FOR LISTENING. 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 story6027.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-12 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 152.163.188.6 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: An unshakeable, nauseating pain across my belly is my lingering memory from September 11. It is the same vast ache I endure each time someone reports tragic news, such as my grandfather?s death of heart disease in the spring of 2001. A telephone call that Tuesday morning, September 11, caused much internal tension as events occurred that would have significant impacts on me both personally and professionally. The school day had just gotten underway when the phone in my junior high classroom rang. It was my husband. ?Turn on the news,? he said. ?A plane just crashed into the World Trade Tower.? As I announced the news to my eighth grade American History students, I flipped through the channels in search of CNN. We located the channel about the same time the second airliner hit. The class was uncharacteristically quiet as we viewed the horrifying images. Then the questions started to fly. ?Who would do this?? ?Why did they do it?? Almost immediately the media insinuated the responsible parties were Islamic fundamentalists. I felt a fissure of anger at this suggestion. Remember the Oklahoma City bombing? Who was the first to receive blame? Fingers initially pointed at Muslim radicals, while in fact, the culprit was our own homegrown Timothy McVeigh. Who could say with any certainty at 8:15 a.m. CST on September 11 who the perpetrators were? I made this point throughout the day as we continued watching the television coverage during classes. Near the end of the first class period, a student exclaimed, ?Isn?t that the Pentagon?? With my attention diverted elsewhere, I blew off the remark, thinking some politico was issuing a statement from Washington. Imagine my horror when my second hour class was seated and we viewed additional coverage of the Pentagon collision. It was during this class that the plane crashed in western Pennsylvania. A student questioned the terrorists? objective. Before the details were made public, we took down a U.S. map and pondered if Pittsburgh was the intended target. No one had a theory for the purpose of striking Pittsburgh, but I began to wonder if airliners would continue going down in a western march across the country. Would they hit St. Louis? Kansas City? Or would they be interested in plowing into a school or University building, hurting all those inside and pedestrians on their way to their next class? Motherly concern kicked in at that point. I felt a desperate need to dash from my classroom and pull my three-year-old out of preschool. Maybe she would be in less danger at home. There would be little incentive to smash a residence, right? The belly pain I felt on this scary day intensified every time I faced the reality that I could not be with my daughter, to answer her questions, and to reassure her of our safety. As the day wore on for my students, the shock of the morning?s events began to dissipate. Rumors began to fly ? ?We get to go home early? was a favorite. When the last two classes arrived I heard, ?Do we have to watch this again?? in response to the television tuned in to the news network. I attempted to respond to any questions students had, and then we progressed with the day?s intended lesson during the remaining class time. We left the television on, muted, with the directive that if anyone saw anything potentially new on the screen, we would turn up the volume. Although by the end of the school day, it appeared that most of my students were dealing acceptably with the tragedies, I did not have their sense of calmness. Instead of staying at school until my normal ending time of 5:00 p.m., I rushed to leave as soon as possible after the last bell rang. I hoped to find my daughter whole and happy. Unlike many others that fateful day, I did. 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 story4133.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 12.216.228.27 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: I was lying in bed asleep with my almost 3 year old next to me when the phone rang. I wondered who in the world could be calling me before 7 in the morning!!! I was 8 months pregnant and sleep was very important to me- at the time. I went down stairs so as not to wake Emily up and I listened to the answer machine. My husband was telling me to call him and turn on the t.v. So I did and suddenly was thrust in what I thought was a very bad Bruce Willis Movie!! I watched in horror at the violence unfolding and all I could do was cry!! So much hate to do this to innocent people. Tolerance and living every minute are the few lessons that I have learned from this horrible tragedy. God Bless our Heros- firemen/women, policemen/women, and the everyday person who took the time to help someone and made it out or perished. THEY are the true heros!! 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 story4796.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: I was meeting two business associates from Seattle for a breakfast meeting. There was a TV in the hotel lobby. I had just gotten my cereal and noticed everyone crowded around the TV. They were showing the first tower to be hit and explained an airplane had crashed into the World Trade Center. As the shock dissipated and people in the room started talking again the second tower was hit. At first, no one could figure out what happened. Within a few minutes, the reporters confirmed the second tower was hit by another airplane. No one could believe it; no one could imagine the magnitude of what was happening. Let alone fathom WHY?? The senseless loss of humanity, innocent hard working people who lost their lives has affected our nation in more ways than we can even begin to imagine. Needless to say not too many people could finish their breakfast. As the day progressed, some employees had to go home from work to comfort scared family members. It was traumatic as people watched throughout the day in silence and horror as another plane crashed into the pentagon and another in a field as heroic and courageous passengers tried to keep the plane from crashing in a populated area. The towers collapsed and the fires raged on. Many people were frantically trying to phone friends and family that worked in and around the World Trade Center. I was in complete and total shock. I was afraid of what might happen next. Was this the start of the next world war? In the afternoon, we went outside and the eerie silence of no planes flying signified the magnitude of what was going on. Some people carried on with their routine and business as usual. I could not fathom that; just the thought of the horror of what was happening to the people in the Twin Towers and The Pentagon was too much for me. I spent the day talking with others who were upset and trying to comfort those who were scared. I thought of the people who had gone to work at the World Trade Center that day, getting their morning coffee, riding the elevator to their floor worrying about a meeting or deadline or a matter from home. Being there one minute and the next gone... An associate lost several members of his family in the towers my deepest sympathies to all those who lost loved ones. For those who were there and survived may support and love from those around you help heal the trauma you have suffered. It is unimaginable to me to think of all the pain and suffering. Not a day goes by that I do not have some thought of this horrible tragedy. For those who worked to save lives that day and for the long months of cleanup at ground zero putting your lives at risk to save others - you are all heroes. I hope every American has taken a moment of silence today and every day to remember those who were lost. It was heartening to see people come together to support one another today ? one year later. I hope that support and fellowship continues as Americans strive to keep this country going in the aftermath of all that has happened. 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 story5890.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. 64.12.96.8 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: 8:46am, Tuesday, September 11, 2001 I was getting ready to meet my co-workers in the lobby of the Soho Grand Hotel, when I heard the roar of a jet above West Broadway. Then, a horrible crash. I rushed to my window to see people pointing down and the street, screaming, "Oh my God!" Horror in their eyes. I thought that a Cessna or other small plane had crashed into the street. I ran out of my room. Once in the hall, another guest was rushing out of his room. "Did you hear that!?!" We ran into an elevator, wondering what had happened. The other people riding with us were oblivious. "I think a plane crashed in the street." Once in the lobby, the two of us ran into the street. I couldn't believe my eyes. There was a giant hole in the World Trade Center. Like some sick cartoon, the hole was in the shape of a plane. I was about 12 blocks away from the WTC when the world changed. Another producer from my ad agency was also in the street. He was in the lobby when the first plane hit. The doorman came running into the lobby: "Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!" He headed outside to see what had happened. We were soon joined by the other six people from the San Francisco office. The doorman later recounted to us what he saw. He saw the first plane soar over his head on West Broadway and wondered why it was flying so low. It was headed straight to the World Trade Center. He thought, "I know that's not headed for the building." Seconds later, he ran screaming into the lobby of the Soho Grand Hotel. In a colossal moment of stupidity, I wondered aloud if we should flag a cab to get to our scheduled editing session. My producer thought I was nuts. He knew right away that it was terrorists. I thought it might have been an errant plane, out of control. Fifteen minutes later we watched the second plane hit. From the side we were standing on, we did not see the impact; we only saw the windows blast out. That's when I knew it was terrorist attack... we thought it was a bomb (having not seen the plane impact). Then we knew for certain. My limited knowledge of New York prevented me from knowing it was an attack after the first plane. Had I known the WTC's proximity to water, I would have conjectured that the pilot of a disabled plane would ditch into the harbor. A woman next to me perfectly described the enormity of the events, "this is King Kong!" My copywriter Pat, producer Rob and I huddled around a limo in front of the hotel with it's radio on. We learned of the Pentagon attacks. Fire engines screamed by. News reports had up to eight planes hijacked and unaccounted for. Armageddon. Then at 10am, the first building fell. Rob, an ex-New Yorker, started yelling, "Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!" This was surreal. The way it imploded on itself had me convinced that it was a bomb within the building. I looked at my watch and remarked to Rob and Pat that the next building would collapse at 10:30. I think that was the eeriest half-hour of the entire experience. One building where there had once been two. These were supposed to be the Twin Towers... yet one of them had fallen. That 30 minutes where only one tower stood was the most amazing thing I had ever seen. About twenty minutes later a large crowd came running towards us from the direction of the WTC. We also began to run, thinking we were going to be stampeded. Suddenly, the crowd stopped. Then the second tower fell, and I was the one screaming, "Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!" 10:30... right on schedule. I was convinced a bomb took the building down. As the radio reports kept coming in, earlier reports of more hijackings proved false. Of course, we now know that they were merely diverted when the FAA grounded all flights. As all the cell phones seemed to be down, I went up to the room to assure my wife that I was okay. She wondered what was going on, "I was in the bathroom when your brother called. He wanted to know if you were okay... what's going on?" "World War III." I called another friend to describe to him the day's events. "You know that footage of the Hindenburg exploding? This is that... I witnessed the Hindenburg." After we all made our calls, we went to a cafe down the street and had breakfast; it was clear no work was going to get done that day. In the madness of the day, people were serving us food. Expense report be damned, I tipped the server twenty bucks. In the days following, we continued to work. It was the best way to exorcise the images of horror and terror we witnessed. Besides, what the Hell else were we going to do. Since the neighborhood our hotel was in became restricted to residents only, we had to ask the hotel concierge for a copy of our registration forms. We would need them to get back into the area. Unfortunately, the wind had shifted overnight and Soho smelled like an electrical fire. We trekked up about 20 blocks to 14th Street to catch a cab, wondering if we were inhaling asbestos particles. On our way back, later that evening, we went looking for surgical masks. They were sold out everywhere, so we picked up Ace bandages.We marched back to our hotel with bandages wrapped around our faces. What I wouldn't have given for a camera. Three guys walking down the middle of a normally busy New York street, smoke everywhere, with bandages wrapped around our faces. The other half of our contingent were scared of inhaling the dust from the towers. They hauled their luggage twenty blocks north to a midtown hotel. Throughtout the next few days, we received a flurry of calls from the West Coast. "What's going on with the spots?" Fuck you. "What's going on with the spots!?! Well, the vendor had a bomb threat and had to evacuate their building and when they were cleared to return to building, half the staff didn't return because they were scared for their mother-fucking lives! So you'll just have to wait until the police and fire department finish checking the neighborhood with their bomb-sniffing dogs before we can add the logo to the end of the fucking commercial!!!" We managed to finish three commercials by Thursday night. Then we had to find a way home. Flights were finally cleared to go by the FAA, but then a goddamned terrorist tried to board a flight at JFK and were fucked again. We were having appetizers in the hotel lobby, all restaurants in Soho were closed. While we sat there waiting for our food, the possibility that it might be days before we made it home hit me. The stress must've been evident on my face. Pat said, "Hey Ron... we're gonna make it home." Our travel department got us a van to Philadelphia on Friday afternoon. From Philly, we were to fly to Cincinatti, then home, onto San Francisco. Our last meal in New York came Friday afternoon. Soho was finally opened to traffic again. Actor Billy Zane and Gap model Molly Sims ate pasta within spitting distance. At 5pm, the van arrived to get us out of town. As we got out of the Lincoln Tunnel, we looked back at Manhattan; downtown still smoldering. CNN reported that the plumes of smoke were so large that they were visible from the International Space Station. Our travel guys put us up in the Ritz-Carlton in Philly. Maybe they felt sorry for us. At least we were out of New York. I slept well for the first time in three days. The flight to Cincinatti was uneventful. They randomly selected me to have my bags hand searched. I didn't mind. Once in Cinci, we discovered our flight to San Francisco was delayed. They had pilots, but no flight crew. After about two hours, they cancelled the flight. We went standby on an 8:55pm flight, Saturday night. We made the list and I was seated in the first row of coach. In the first class section, there were four middle eastern passengers sitting across one row. I became a racist. I watched that row through the curtain for the entire five hours. The thoughts that went through my head: if these guys try anything, I'm going to jump them. At one point, one of them got up to retrieve something from the overhead compartment. I sat up straight and watched intently. They may stab me, I may die, but they are not going to take down another plane without a fight. I figured that even if I was stabbed, the other passengers could overtake any attackers. Then the plane would land and I could get medical attention. Or I could die. Not to suggest that I could be a hero... any heroics would be purely selfish. No one has the power to decide how I'm going to die except me. Of course, my paranoia was unfounded. I admited this bit of racism to a few friends and no one could blame me for this indiscretion. I finally made it home Saturday night after two days of vans and plane hopping, canceled flights and hand-inspected bags. I got home around midnight. When I got came through the door, I dropped my bags on the floor and held my wife for a long time. The following morning, I went to lunch with my wife. People were laughing. I hadn't seen anyone laugh in almost a week. No one in New York is laughing. I could begin to see how veterans feel when they return from a war. People seemed strange and foreign to me. One of my coworkers called to make sure I also made it home (he was on a different flight). He lives in a quiet rural area. He had a similar experience to me. He had to shop for food this morning after being away so long. "Things looked familiar, but somehow felt foreign," he told me. He said he was watering his plants on his patio later this morning when he began to cry. I first cried on that first Thursday night, trying to sleep in my New York hotel room. Lightning flashing outside my window. I thought of the workers, hoping against hope to find survivors. I thought of my wife, who was a country away. I hadn't seen her in three weeks. That's when I began to cry. I think anyone in New York that day will understand this feeling. My heart goes out to everyone who suffered a loss. After we were back, we realized that only four days before the attack, we were shooting a commercial about two blocks from the World Trade Center. A quick look at an aerial photo suggests that the building were shooting in must be covered in debris and dust from the collapses. Ron Lim http://www.ronlim.com/worldarchive/9.11.02.html 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 story1245.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. 2002-08-19 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 199.221.98.4 Annotation Annotations to this item. Civil Liberties/Discrimination Economic effects Environmental/Health Impact Struggle to get home NY:3 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 was to be a wonderful day to celebrate, not only was it my fourth childs' 22nd birthday, it was also third childs' wedding shower. I was up and showered early, there were things to do to finalize the day like cakes and flowers, appointments with the hairdresser and can't forget those nails. It was only minutes before 9 am, listening to my favorite radio station when I heard the first story at first I thought it was a comedy sketch, then i heard it again. Thoughts raced though my mind, first I called Michele my eldest child to confirm it's authentiscity. Then I thank GOD that my father had passed away last October, and he didn't have to relive what he went through at Pearl Harbour on December 7th. It was the first time I could feel his pain and sorrow. I would not be here today if my father had not survived that attack on Pearl Harbour. My heart was heavy with grief for those victims and their families in New York. I drove to the bank and they only heard about the first plane and were unaware we were under attack. That's when the 3rd plane hit the Pentagon, then in Pennsylvania. I called my children on what to do about the festivities we had plan for the day. We decided to play by ear, the hall had already made most of the food, many of the guest had come from out of town, so we decided to go on, if guests came or not we would be there. The skies were eery no plane or noisies in this normally busy state, as I drove west at approximately 4:00est. in the sky was a lone plane. At first I panicked because I knew all air traffic had stopped many hours before then I realized that it was Airforce 1 and the President, who had been flown to North Dakota devert any attacks on him, then plane made the sharpest turn south and was gone. Surprisngly everyone came to my son wedding shower and even some who at first weren't coming. In away it was a bit of diversion from all the pain and sorrow we all felt, and a chance to be with family, friends and loved ones. Maybe one last chance to hold on to that security blanket one last time. As for my daugther who was born at 9:11 am., 9/11/79 and weighting in at 9lbs 11oz. Today she was not very happy and asked me if this will ever be a happy day for her again. I think for her someday it will, but never for those who families who gave that ultimate sacrafice --their loved ones. Last year I wept, today I cried but tomorrow I will never FORGET!!!!!!! Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story5587.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. 68.41.214.13 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 college and school was about to start, I had slept until early afternoon when I walked out to the living room. My roomate was asleep on the couch and the television was on the one channel that we got. I saw two tall buildings and one was on fire. I was thinking that they were tearing down the buildings. I then read the bottom banner of the screen. Plane Crashes Into Towers... I stopped what I was doing. Turned up the T.V. and just stared totally dumbfounded. I was sure that people would be ok that there must have been warnings and so I had the television on and was on the computer not paying too much attention to the historical happenings on the T.V. screen. I then looked at the television and saw the second plane hit the second tower. I just couldn't handle it,I couldn't understand why or who would do such a thing. My roomate woke up and I told him what was going on and we just watched T.V. all day. It has been one year and I still can't seem to come to grips with what happened. I can't seem to calculate that over three thousand people died and that I watched as they were clinging to life. I was so helpless watching them. I was in Washington State what could I do.. Part of me felt that I shouldn't have to care cause I didn't know anyone in the towers or the planes but then when people started to heal and started to talk about it more then I realized that even though I didn't know anyone personally that some child lost their father, mother, aunt, uncle, grandmother, grandfather, cousin, nephew, neice, friend. I watch the rememberances of 9-11-01 and the more I see the footage the more it pains me and the more I don't understand. I can't even come to understand what people on the plane were thinking or doing when they knew that their fate for then end of the day would be death. Or that those in the buildings doing their job trying to make a respectable life for them and their families were trapped by evil. It is just terrible and scary to think that there are people out there that are just so mean.. I wrote a poem about what I was feeling about after Sept. 11th 2001, it expresses what my feelings are about what American has done. Americans have given me the pride that I needed. So thank you... My poem is called.... That day........... That day many good people died, That day many people cried, That day evil thought it had won, That day many united as one, That day God was weeping with us all, That day many heros answered the call, That day will be remembered foever as the day the nation weeped. My heart goes out to everyone that lost someone they loved. My soul crys for you and aches for you. May God's love for you touch you, and help you to make it one more day. And know that there are millions of people who love and care for you all...... In Gods Arms 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 story6004.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. 66.52.249.58 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 EVERYONE, I REMEMBER EXACTLY WHERE I WAS ON SEPTEMBER 11, 2001! I WAS ON DUTY AS MANY OTHER FIREFIGHTERS WERE.MANY THAT WOULD NOT SEE SEPTEMBER 12, 2001.I WAS SITTING THE THE BAY WATCH-ING T.V.I HAD ALREADY HAD BREAKFAST AND DONE OUR MORNING DUTIES.(ON A FEW MINUTES OF DOWN TIME) WOW!!!THE FIRST TOWER HAD ALREADY BEEN HIT SMOKE AND FIRE COMING OUT OF THE BUILDING.I GOT EVERYBODIES ATTENTION IN- SIDE..I TOLD THEM THE WORLD TRADE CENTER HAD BEEN HIT WITH A PLAIN.NO ONE BELIEVED ME UNTIL THEY TURNED ON THE T.V. I IMMEDIATLY CALLED TWO PEOPLE.ONE A POLICEMAN AND MY MOTHER A FEDERAL EMPLOYEE.NEITHER HAD HEARD ABOUT IT.THEN I SAW THE SECOND TOWER GET HIT.THEY EVACUATED MY MOM'S OFFICE. SHE REALLY TOOK IT HARD. THERE ARE BAD THINGS HAPPENING SOMEWHERE EVERYDAY..I KNOW THAT THIS WAS A HORRIBLE THING BUT A POLICE OFFICER IN OUR COUNTY WAS BURRIED A FEW DAYS PRIOR TO THIS.KILLED IN THE LINE OF DUTY FOR NO REASON EXCEPT IN THE WRONG PLACE AT THE WRONG TIME SOME WOULD SAY.SOME PEOPLE CARE NOTHING ABOUT HUMAN LIFE..IT IS VERY SAD..THERE ARE ALOT OF MEAN PEOPLE IN THE WORLD.IF THEY DO NOT CARE ABOUT THERE LIFE,WHY DO WE THINK THEY WILL CARE AHOUT US??? I WENT TO NEW YORK JANUARY OF 2000.I LOVED THE CITY.I GREW UP IN THE SOUTH,DEEP SOUTH.ALL MY LIFE I HAVE BEEN A COUNTRY GIRL BUT WHEN I WENT THERE IT WAS GREAT.WE STAYED RIGHT ON TIME SQUARE.I TALKED TO A FEW POLICE OFFICERS AND FIRE- FIGHTERS THERE.THEY ARE A DIFFERENT BREED BY THEMSELVES!!! A GREAT GROUP OF PEOPLE..THEY TAKE GREAT PRIDE AND LOTS OF ENJOYMENT FROM THE JOB.YOU COULD TELL AND FEEL IT!!!! I WATCHED SOME T.V.ON THE 11TH AND LISTENED TO A FIREFIGHTER THAT HIS TWIN BROTHER GOT KILLED.HIS WORDS, "THERE ARE TWO KINDS OF FIREFIGHTERS,ONE WHO IS A NEW YORK CITY FIREFIGHTER,AND ONE WHO WANTS TO BE."IT MADE ME STOP TO THINK,THERE ARE FIREFIGHTERS EVERYWHERE THAT DO LOVE THERE JOBS AND TAKE THERE JOBS VERY SERIOUS BUT IN REALITY I ALMOST AGREE WITH HIM..IT SEEMS A GROUP OF MEN AND WOMEN WITH A REAL PASSION AND BOND...THAT I WISHED WAS ALL ACROSS THE LAND. THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO REMEMBER IT THAT GOD IS IN CONTROL ALWAYS. WE FORGET THAT TO OFTEN.WE HAVE TO TRUST AND BELIEVE.GOD BLESS TO ALL FIREFIGHETERS,POLICE OFFICERS, AND E.M.S.WORKERS. 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 story7273.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. 199.3.198.129 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: 09.11.01 14:04 To: Franco, Andy, Craig, Larry, Tom we hadn't left for work yet i had just switched the tv from espn to cnn, something we rarely do in the mornings it was just about 9am i was putting on my shoes we saw the reporter on the top of larry's building (he works at 5 penn plaza, a building that also houses CNN) and the wtc smoking in the distance just as it was registering that there was some sort of fire (we didn't even consider it could be a bomb at that point) the second plane hit i don't even remember seeing the 2nd plane, just the sudden explosion my very first thought was for my best friend, craig who works at the american stock exchange, about 2 blocks away i began frantically dialing, only to encounter the dreaded fast busy at both his cell phone and the main number for the exchange within minutes i told larry there was no way he was going to work we had no idea what the scope was, but i wasn't letting him anywhere nearthe island of manhattan i voiced a concern the buildings might fall, destroying all below but larry said "oh, no worries, they're built to withstand this kind of thing" i called my boss and said i wasn't coming in until i found craig just as reports of a plane hitting the pentagon began to come in i found out that my company was closing down sending people home our company is housed in one of the the tallest buildings in newark and we're owned largely by israelis, there was concern for the safety of the building were we at war? how could this happen? then the first tower went and larry and i began discussing how it was possible that such a symbol of ny could be gone then the second tower more frantic calls, why couldn't i get craig on the phone? surely he had fled the area as soon as this happened "i'm sure he's fine", i think to myself called the parents, in san fran and atlanta sure i'm 10 miles away in nj, but to them, i live in ny e-mails and IMs, people checking in finally, the phone rings, craig is walking up the FDR towards the UN "no no, head inland" i say, still not sure where this was gonna end he reports that they were kept in the exchange because the "powers that be" thought they'd be safer inside, away from possible debris falling from inside the building, they watched on CNN as the 2nd plane hit still, they were told not to leave craig had called me at work, he left a message it doesn't occur to him to call me at home at 9:15 the first tower falls the powers that be changed their mind and told everyone to flee craig exits the building into what he calls a blizzard he can't breathe they walk a block or so and duck into a bank seeking fresh air the second tower falls they see the debris falling outside the bank but fear staying and flee, not looking back until they can see water he finally gets me on the phone, turns inland and continues the long walk home to w71st and broadway craig, one of the crabbiest people i know has a blister by the time he's reached his home but even he knows better than to complain i didn't grow up here, i migrated here i always looked to the twin towers every time i entered the city ALWAYS marveling that these symbols i had only seen on tv or movies as i was growing up were now a part of my daily life in a way, it was kind of comforting because it reminded me of my childhood fantasy ny instead of the blocking the box, everyone for themselves, cold reality of daily ny 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 story1388.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. 2002-08-21 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 141.150.15.138