434 20 70359 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I was in a team meeting when another teacher came in and told us to turn on the tv. We were trying to figure out what was going on...what we could tell was that two planes had crashed into the towers. As we watch I remembered to my astonishment one of the towers collapsing live on tv. I yelled out, "what's going on?" "why is it falling?" for moments after we all sat in shock. We tried to get ourselves together, we were told we had to explain the situation to our students. I spent the rest of the day watching CNN and suppressing my tears while trying to explain something to my students that I myself didn't quite understand. 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 story7307.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-14 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 67.248.125.136 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: I was at work that morning when my husband called me and told me the tragic happenings. My office is near to Oceana Naval Air Base and the jets are continuously flying over head. However, that morning, after learning of the tragedy, I walked outside and there were no jets flying over and the air was just still. It was a very eerie feeling and you could just tell that sorrow, shock, disbelief and confusion had taken over the entire United States. As with the entire United States, that was the news being listened to that day, along with everyone with whom you worked. There were losses in the Twin Towers among some of my co-workers and stories of miracles among my co-workers. I wish that day had never happened and I have re-lived it over and over again. God Bless America!! Myrtle McKinney 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 story20515.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2006-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 216.54.26.253 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: It was your typical Tuesday afternoon. At least I thought it was. I was walking home from school just like I would normally. I felt as normal as can be. But then, when I walked in my house and looked at the T.V, I was puzzled. My mom was home from work early, my sister was home from school, and there was burning towers on the T.V. screen. I asked my mom why she was home so early. And she said, "Amber, don't you know what happened to the world today?" And I had no clue what she was talking about. Then she told me that The Twin Towers had been hit by two planes. I asked her if it was an accident, and she said "No, it was on purpose." I wondered why any body would just crash into two buildings. Then, i called my friend on the phone. She told me that she was pretty sad, and that she would be saying her prayers every night now. I was glad to hear that, but I was still sad about the Twin Towers. I'm only a 12 year old girl in the 7th grade, even though I was in sixth grade at the time. I think that it's way to early in a young girls life to experience how many idiots we have in this world. I told every body that if I ever seen O'sama Bin Laden, I would punch him. And if you want the truth, I really would. Those two pilots are animals to kill themselves for thousands of innocent people to die. I was thinking about all of the children who now have no guardians. All of those innocent people had to suffer, because of a really bad sinner! I wish I could STOP this nonsense. I really do. But i'm not sure thats possible! If I could change one thing in this world, it would be that all terrorist would become good people, and kidnappers, and robbers, would stop all of that nonsense. I thought the world was full of wonders and dreams. But I guess I was wrong. This world is extremely dangerous, but i still thank God for creating it. And I am now very protective over myself, my family, and friends. I make sure that the doors are locked when i'm home alone, and even when i'm not home alone. Thats because now I have experienced what stupid people do, and I don't want any body to do any thing stupid to me. But I still stand high, show my pride, and show that i'm still proud to be an American. GOD BLESS AMERICA!!! Thank you Jesus, for leading us through this. And heal all of the ill. I'll be praying. Amen!!! Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story8703.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. 2002-12-01 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: My story is here somewhere, buried within five years of words and images. Today, September 11, 2006, I offer this poem as a reflection of how our lives have changed five years later: I have been accused of burying myself beneath layers of fear and uncertainty obscured from a world created outside the realm of my own I ask that you allow me this brief indulgence although your accusations may not be denied neither will my skin be bared exposed to the stones that you might throw Permit me instead to argue my lucidity describing a world with no necessity for war where mothers need not fear the thought of sons becoming men A moment when we did not crave an explanation of our existence wondering why we fought so arduously for other worlds and people while ignoring our own slowly crumbling at its edges At the risk of imitating lecture I would remind you of the way a child views the world, of how we once were able to view it as well until it exploded in a matter of minutes and terror seeped from our pores thick as black, billowing smoke obscuring blue skies clouding our own definition of liberty robbing even our children of innocence and purity that day We once possessed a confidence some now consider ignorance a confidence now replaced by doubt, suspicion, and condescendence Religion or race, it does not matter, difference is condemnation once again I do stand guilty of tuning out a world which screams in my face of duty and rights while it whispers revenge and Armageddon from behind a shadowed hand Yet, before you doubt that I am listening or believe I have been living in oblivion trust that I hear it all, observe it all every nuance is stored behind these eyes You cannot charge me with nescience, nor indict me for turning away You can keep your world of hate and indiscretion wallow in it and believe that you are just and true From the safety of my walls, I will watch as carnage rips it at its seams Struggling to keep the realm of my world intact, no matter how small it may be My children will know innocence and objectivity, for I will teach them each They will also be wise to the ways of this world we now inhabit without allowing it to poison their hearts, minds, or souls They will understand the definition of equality, not just by rote, but by influence Mere layers separate your world from mine, thin as parchment and just as fragile created not out of fear or uncertainty, but knowledge, promise, and something else, a word it seems we have all forgotten... Hope. RSS August 25, 2006 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 story20669.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2006-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 12.147.255.254 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 any of the people that died on September 11, 2001, however I do feel the pain. We as Americans have to stand together, strong and proud. We are One Nation, Under God. On September 11, 2001 I was at work as most others were. I first heard of the attack from a co-worker whose husband contacted her. I then turned my radio on and stopped everything else. I could not believe what I was hearing. Once I realized the severity of what was really going on I called my husband who was home sick, I then called the sitters so that I could hear my son's voice. Then I just sat there in shock listening to the horror unfold like some terrible movie. It has not stopped, I do not know if it will ever stop. I have so much fear in me, for my family, friends,a nd fellow Americans. What happened to us, what happened to America and what happened to World Peace? 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 story5454.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 65.29.192.145 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: Towers of Memories September 11, 2001 This poem is dedicated to all those who lost their lives on this day, in New York, in Washington and in Pennsylvania. It is also dedicated to everyone who celebrates a birthday on this day, including my sister, Rhonda. May we never have to witness or experience anything like this again. Written by Mark Teel Brother, Canadian, Neighbor, Friend It was six o?clock that morning, when my wife came running in, She said ?Quickly turn on the TV, you won?t believe what?s happening?; ?A plane has hit the Trade Center and it?s filled with smoke and flame? How could this be possible? Perhpas bad weather was to blame? I didn?t think that it would be too bad, if it was a Cessna, or Cherokee, But nothing could have prepared me for what I was about to see. I grabbed the remote, turned the TV on and I couldn?t believe my eyes There was this massive, gaping, burning hole and smoke just filled the skies. I thought right then that this must have been planned, and was no freak accident By the size of the hole, the massive flames, the metal torn and bent. I watched as the fires burned intense, debris fell down like rain I knew that what had caused this was no little private plane. I sat stunned as a news station showed a tape, it was a commercial jet! Fully loaded with people and tons of fuel, how deadly can you get? I could clearly see the wing outline left upon the towers face, The entire plane, the passengers were gone without a trace. And as my mind was trying to grasp the horror that was going on, A breaking news flash from Washington, a plane had smashed into the Pentagon. It was quite clear to me that this was war, one that came without a warning, A war that would change our world forever on that sunny, September morning. I watched in New York as the fire crews raced to the deadly scene While bodies were falling from above, like some unimaginable dream; You could see them walking carefully as they entered the tower?s door Some of whom would never leave again, to be with their families no more. The reality of what was happening was slowly sinking in, This was the work of pure evil, masquerading as human bones and skin. And as I watched in disbelief, out of the corner of the screen, Another plane was approaching fast; you could hear the people scream. The second tower shook with fear as that weapon tore inside Hundreds more lives just vaporized in the blink of Satan?s eye; The tower swayed and fire raged as hatred roared within, Could anyone make it out alive? Hope was surely running thin! It was amazing to me that with their souls a blaze, both ladies stood their ground Allowing precious minutes for survivors to be found. A chance for some to make it out, and time for others to try, Some time to make that last call home, a chance to say goodbye. The city was in a panic now as both towers stood in flames, The streets looked like a war zone; they would never look the same. People were running, and screaming and crying as emergency crews roared past, They had to get to the towers to help; they had to get there fast. More firefighters and rescue crews, more police and EMS Continued rushing in to save the few, who knew what would happen next? As rescue efforts continued on, and firemen began to climb each stair, The inferno far above had softened the steel and bolts began to tear. Tower two?s metal beams so warped by heat, could no longer stand the crushing weight, And so with one gigantic roar she sealed her dwellers? fate. It took less than a minute for every floor of her majestic body to fall, Leaving a pile of twisted burning rubble only seven stories tall. Her sister still standing next to her, shuddered sadly as she fell Her twin so tall and beautiful, now a shattered broken shell. But deep within herself she knew that her death was also near, For as the fires ate away inside, her own metal beams began to shear. On the streets below chaos reigned as a solid wall of dust Choked everything and everyone in a gagging three inch crust. The sky went black and then turned grey as the dust began to settle, But then from high above, another sound of bending breaking metal. A mighty groan from tower one, for she could stand alone no more, Her floors began to collapse straight down, heading toward the city floor. She cried out loud as her body fell, it sounded like a train Her beautiful dress of metal and glass falling to the ground like rain. Around the world its people stopped and at TV screens they stared, While her broken body fell to earth, next to her sister?s there. In a single instant their once proud frames of high finance and dreams Were reduced to nothing but broken concrete and twisted smoking beams. As the dust began to settle once more, most of the world was deep in prayer, Praying for all the families and the innocent people now buried there. And as the New York landscape appeared into view, the devastation was beyond belief. But sadly it could hardly compare to the families? sadness and their grief. As I sat on the couch in sadness and shock at the attacks that had taken place, My heart went out to those families and tears streamed down my face. A brutal reminder of how precious life is, and the importance of family For it only takes a mere split second to go from time to eternity. It was just about then that reports started to come in, about another plane This one didn?t reach its target, though it killed innocent people just the same. The difference was that the passengers on-board had found out what had taken place, They decided that enough was enough, and they stared evil in the face. They rushed the hijackers in the plane and broke through the cockpit door They struggled with the terrorists, giving all they had and more And when the terrorists knew they?d lost, and they had nothing left to yield, They forced the plane into a dive and it crashed into a field. It?s so sad to think that there are people in this world that are so filled with hate, That they would willingly sacrifice themselves and seal the innocents? fate But it soon became clear that the terrorists had failed to achieve their goal Because they under estimated the human spirit, so filled with heart and soul. The buildings, they lay in ruins in a pit so deep and wide, And the thousands of innocent victims there, may they rest in peace, inside. But out of the ashes and smoke and dust came strength beyond any scale; A unity that had never been seen, a bond that will not fail. You see they tried to beat us, and so many people lost their lives, The list included all walks of life, sons and daughters, husbands, wives. And although the symbols of business and power no longer stand up tall, We took all that those cowards had to give, we stumbled but did not fall. So on this day, for years to come, I will think of the souls that were lost, For who would have thought that freedom should have come at such a cost. And so here is something to think about as you carry on your way, Remember life is precious and time is short, so be thankful for each day. And before you leave for work tomorrow, tell your family you love them so For what the future holds in store, is something we just don?t know. 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 story10136.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2003-09-23 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 24.82.79.112 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 that morning, and turned on the tv to watch the news as I prepared for work. I didn't normally do that, but that day something told me to do it. As I sat on the couch to put on my shoes, I saw an image of the World Trade Center on fire with a huge gaping hole in it, and the first thing that popped into my mind was my mother. You see, I "am" a native New Yorker, I was born in Manhattan and raised in the Bronx, only about 30 minutes north of the WTC. I worked on 25th street, about 10 minutes from the WTC for years, I rode the PATH train into the city from New Jersey when I resided there (the PATH train's main station was in the basement of the WTC. My entire family lives in New York even til this day. I had just moved to Winter Park, FL 1 year and 13 days prior. I had left New York at the time with the purpose of living a calmer, laid back life, in a nurturing and natural environment. I had worked in the Recording Industry for years, and was fed up with the hustle and bustle of New York, the negativity, the poluution, the pan handlers, and the drama...... But on September 11th, I wanted to defend my home town more than anything you can imagine.... My mother loved shopping near the WTC, there are many bargain stores near there, and Lord knows Mami's a bargain hunter... When I first saw the image on tv, at first I thought, "how are they gonna put that fire out?", and I left it at that and went to work. When I arrived at the office, my entire department was in the conference room watching it Live on the television, and then it happened, one of the towers fell.....that's when it hit me.... I dialed my mothers number, but could not get through, for what seemed like endless minutes, I dialed my brother and he informed me everyone was fine, at home, and he was on the way to pick up my niece and nephew from school. I still tried calling my mother and when I finally got through, I felt such a relief! Even though my brother had informed me she was okay, I still wanted to hear her voice, you know? We cried, and cried on the phone and I was so thankful to have my mother and my entire family safe from harm, but we were still devastated....our city was under attack! I was afraid for my family still, I didn't know what would happen next...what if they bombed the city throughout? Then to top it off, my best friends fiance worked in one of the Towers on the 4th floor, and she hadn't heard from him......luckily he was late for work.....he arrived at her job 4 hours later in a state of shock. Needless to say, I spent the night on the phone with mom, just clinging to her voice, making sure she was okay every minute of the day. We all left work, everyone went home, stopping on the way at the bank and the grocery store to stock up on food, I couldn't believe this was happening..... A few days later, a flight leaving from JFK to the Dominican Republic, crashed just a few minutes after take off......my 4 -year old cousin was traveling with his mother (my cousins wife), my cousin is now in heaven. I felt like everyone in the world in some way shape or form, was meant to feel some type of loss during those days, That's where I was on September 11th 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 story5118.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 24.26.34.151 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: This is a small journal that I kept during my school day. Tuesday, September 11th 2001. 12:14 pm. Right now America is under attack. In New York City the World Trade Centers were attacked at 8:45 this morning. Two of our own planes, commercial airplanes attacked them. Each plane hit a tower, killing thousands of innocent civilians that were just thinking that today was just another day and it turned out like this. This is just so scary. Then at 9:40 am a plane hit the Pentagon also. On the news they said it knocked out the 4th, 5th,and 6th wing of the building. My friend April's aunt lives in that area to. I hope she's all right. I'm not sure of the exact time but I think at 9:50 am the South tower of the World Trade Centers began to fall. Thirty-nine minutes at 10:29 am, the North tower collapsed. News broadcasters say they aren't sure exactly why they collapsed, either structural problems or maybe even a bomb. As I watched this on television. I saw so many people jumping from their office windows. Jumping to their death seconds before the building would come crashing down. It's just so horrible. Every airport in America is shut down, just in case there are any more hijackings. At 10:10 am the final doomed airplane crashed into Somerset, Pennsylvania. By lunchtime at 11:30 am many of my fellow peers spread rumors that the plane was meant to hit our Power Plant here in Somerset, New York, which scared me, even though I didn't believe it, the thought was just there. The White House and other major political buildings in Washington D.C. were evacuated. The United Nations in New York, Sears Tower in Chicago and Walt Disney World in Orlando are just some national landscapes that were also shut down. By noon United Airlines announced that two of its planes have crashed. They have shut down all the borders in America not letting anyone in or out. It's like a giant lockdown on our country. Our school is even under lockdown. I heard that a nearby school had evacuated earlier today. My boyfriend's sister Erica is living in Los Angeles, which is scary because three of the planes that were hijacked were originally heading to Los Angeles. At this moment I'm just so grateful that I know where my family is and where my friends are, and I know that they are safe. Yet I feel so guilty because there are thousands of people in this country that do not know that about their family members or their loved ones. Sometime, hopefully soon they will know. Yet the news broadcaster on the television says that they might not find people for days in the Trade Centers. Maybe not even for weeks. It has to be devastating waiting and waiting to find out if someone you know is dead or alive. It's like time had stopped when the first plane crashed. I never thought in my life I would see something as awful as this, tearing people's lives apart in a second. I never thought that someone with so much hate could go so far. It's like the Holocaust. It's unbelievable that a man with so much hate can cause so much pain and destruction in a blink of an eye. Its just?wow. Well I have to go now. My class period is almost over so I have to pack up my stuff and get ready. I'm just going to pray that no nothing more will happen, and hope for the best. Wednesday May 29th 2002. Well things here are a little better. No one has seen nor heard from Osama Bin Laden. His Al-Queda members are still about, those who haven't been killed. Every now and then we still gets reports on the news that we are under alert in case of another attack. Lately though, those threats have been involving nuclear bombs. That thought really scares me, along with many others. The World Trade Center site, also known as Ground Zero, has been almost completely cleared away. It was sad seeing them clear it away at first, seeing all the damage and hearing that they were still finding bodies in the rubbish of the trade centers. In the newspaper there are articles on how they were going to build new World Trade Centers. In my opinion that is wrong. Only because I think that that site should be a memorial site, where loved ones can go and mourn their lost loved ones. I know if I had a lost loved one there I wouldn't want to go there and see that there are two new buildings on the site where that loved one died. Things in Afghanistan have improved now that the Taliban is gone. Women have more rights now. Palestine and Israel are having problems along with Pakistan and India. Most of the Middle East is having problems with each other, which could result in worst things. Recently India and Pakistan were in a nuclear arms race. I just really hope that things over there are will be getting better soon. 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 story770.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. 2002-06-10 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 168.169.8.34 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: On September 11th, 2001, terrorism struck in New York, New York, Washington D.C., and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. At Logan Airport in Boston, MA, people walked on to planes not knowing that it would be their last day alive. When the first plane hit, there was disbelief. When the second, plane hit there was horror. When it continued only getting worse, there was shock and confusion. That day I sat in school and did my work just like any other day, not knowing the commotion going on around in the world. I sat in my seat during English class, and my teacher said, "The guidance does not want me to do this, but I feel you have a right to know." He turned on the television and there it was, channel after channel filled with horrifying pictures and videos. They contained information and sights that are unforgettable and will stick in my mind forever. My thoughts ran straight to my family. While staring at the T.V. in awe, I thought who? What? Where? When? and Why? Did September 11th change our lives? If someone said that September 11th didn't change their life, then they would be lying. I believe that it changed everone's lives. It woke us up and showed us how precious life really is and how quickly it can be taken away. We know now that our existence is not something to take for granted. The pain and sadness hit everyone, some more than others. When the terrorists wanted to harm us, they didn't. The victims courage and strenth will only make us stronger and more courageous. The changes we made in our lives were good and bad, but all of them taught us how to appreciate ourselves and others. What should be remembered about Septamber 11th 2001? The victims of September 11th, 2001, who had their lives taken and those who died trying to help others will be remembered forever. The anger, confusion, and sadness all stirred up to make the power of America. 9-11-02 showed the giving from one to another in the time of need. The courage to withstand it all:that is what should be remembered about September 11th. America has changed forever because, istead of just losing loved ones, we gained all the strength that they ever had. 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 story8518.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-10-18 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 24.60.58.139 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: Before and After That morning I woke with a start. White light was filtering through the blinds. The night before had been nearly sleepless. My mother had been rushed in for emergency surgery. All night I waited for the phone to ring; I waited for the worst. But Saturday morning dawned and no news was good news. Dan and I were supposed to meet a friend in New York City. I decided I had to overcome my worry and go. That day ? October 19, 2000 ? would be our last visit to the old New York. It?s amazing, what I remember and don?t remember. I can see us missing the Metro North train to the city, stuck in traffic on Interstate 95, fretting over our nearly empty gas tank. I picture us arriving at cavernous Grand Central Station, the echo of voices, the bumping of elbows, pushing toward the outside. I remember the Pier, purchasing tickets for a Circle Line boat cruise; grabbing a bite to eat at McDonalds; climbing aboard the inside part of the boat, behind the glass, and finding seats, slowly rocking back and forth. I don?t remember the World Trade Center. I don?t believe it ever crossed my mind. We took the three-hour ride that sailed all the way around Manhattan. Dan, our friend Kathy and I sat on the right side of the boat. As we pulled out into the water, we had a spectacular view of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. I enjoyed listening to the voices all around me. There were British accents and others speaking in French, Spanish; maybe Italian. As we approached the Statue of Liberty, tears inexplicably filled my eyes. I had never seen it up close. I thought for a moment so many others who came before me, seeing this very sight for the first time. Then we began to turn, curving around the southern tip of Manhattan. The day was glorious. I took off my sweatshirt, baking in the sun. To our left was the city, but being so far out on the water, and being inside rather than on the top level of the boat, it was impossible for any of us on the right side to see it. Only the bottom-most tips of the buildings were visible. Maybe those on the other side were looking up with their mouths open in awe at the sheer size of the twin towers. Maybe. I only remember being slightly irritated as we buzzed along. But then I looked up as we chugged directly under the Brooklyn Bridge, and, thrilled at the unique perspective, forgot about being perturbed. That was the opening day of the much-hyped Subway Series between the Yankees and the Mets. We sailed right past Yankee Stadium, where Game 1 would be played that evening. The leaves on all of the trees along the side of the water were just beginning to be tinged with color. My legs grew stiff and my seat became sticky. As we drew near to completing the circle, I began to fret about home again. It had been three hours since I'd called home about my mom. Anything could happen in three hours. I needed to get to a phone. Everyone was outside that afternoon. I saw ESPN interviewing people about the baseball game. Music came from somewhere; teenagers were dancing as a crowd circled around them. I pushed through the bodies and called home. My mom was doing OK; just very sleepy. I heaved a sigh of relief. We?d made it. Everything was going to turn out all right. My heart stopped pounding. Sometimes memories linger like colors or textures in my mind. Different days take on different shades. To me, that visit to New York was a soft, golden day ? like the afternoon sun, sliding to a lower, more distant autumn angle, but still keeping us warm. I picture the day we returned to the city ? October 21, 2001 ? in terms of piercing oranges and gray-blues. Orange was the fires still burning that I could not see but could smell, and for the sun that cracked between the downtown buildings, hurting our eyes. And the blues were the cool shadows of the silent streets, and the concrete free of cars, stretching before us. But that time was still far removed from us, as we climbed back on the train, feeling a little sweaty and a little rumpled, but satisfied. We were ready to go home. By the time we pulled out of the station my thoughts had turned to my next day plans. I think of that afternoon often. I remember it now as an imperfect day, sprinkled with worry but intrinsically good, like a favorite picture framed behind glass that is just slightly cracked. Whenever I leap back to then I stand frustrated beside my former self. Look, look around, look up, I silently urge. Let it sink in your mind. I wonder why, being the prescient person I usually am, I felt no urging, no nudging. Someone, something should have warned me this was the last day. Someone should have told me to cherish it, painstakingly carve it into my memory, and make sure I said goodbye. ? ? 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 story641.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. 2002-05-17 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 146.96.95.21 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 son's birthday is September 11th. That morning we were in our usual rush to get out the door and get me to the subway. My baby was turning 3 and we had planned a dinner for him followed by presents and cake. I had just started a job at a brokerage firm and worked on the 25th floor of 2 Rector. Our back offices had a coveted view of the World Trade Center. I got to work a few minutes late, and our daily conference call had started already. It was about 8:40. I plopped down in my chair and waved ruefully at my co-workers. The guys, as they always did, had faxed our breakfast order already. I re-wrote it to include my order and set it on the fax. <<BOOOM!>> The most terrifically loud sound I've ever heard shook the building. In a split second I managed to face the row of windows behind me to see flaming wreckage fly by. 'Oh my god, what the F*** WAS that?' I said. 'Oh, my god, I think an airplane hit a building! I saw a logo on a piece of shiny metal'. As everyone rushed to the windows, I began yelling that we had to get out of the building. I pulled my co-worker Danny away from the window, concerned that if it had been a gas explosion or something else our windows might shatter. Six of us ran for the elevators, beginning a terrible journey for us all. We were shaking hard by the time we got down to street level. Already there were sirens, a car accident on the corner, and debris falling like snow everywhere. My coworkers vanished around the corner - from there we had a clear view of the WTC, aflame, only one block away. I pulled out my cellphone and called my husband at work. We are a military family living on Fort Hamilton and he was at work there, in Brooklyn. I was shaking so badly I could hardly keep the phone to my ear. He picked up and I started to cry. "Turn on the tv's" I said as I explained what I thought was happening. "Roy, I don't think it was an accident - there's no f***ing way!". I told him I didn't know what to do, stay or if I should leave and try to get on a subway train headed for Brooklyn. He told me to hang tight, and to call him back in 10 minutes. "Promise me you'll call me back." he said. We hung up, and I lit a cigarette. Around our building on two sides runs an overhang, creating a porch or veranda-like structure. After buying a Gatorade (I was feeling very shocky) I went around to the protected side, where a man was stumbling to a halt, falling to the ground and pouring blood from his cut up forearms. His name is Pat, and since I don't know if he made it I'll speak of him in the present tense. He began to cry, and I went to him, sinking down to the ground next to him. I asked him if he was okay, if he needed an ambulance, and he shook his head. He told me he was a maintenance worker for the WTC, and he had been arriving at work when the first plane hit. He dove under his truck and waited till the debris stopped raining down. While running across the street he had fallen and cut up his arms and knees and legs in the glass and metal that littered the street. "oh god, there were bodies and body parts in the street. The street is full of blood" he said, broken up. I gave him some of my Gatorade and talked with him for a moment. Looking up, a young woman had entered the porch and was standing alone by us. "You," I said. "Go inside and get some towels and some water. I have an injured man here." Glad to have something to do, she went inside the building to get the items. When she came back, we introduced ourselves. I would think of her later as an angel, my angel, and we have become great friends. Her name is Michelle, and I couldn't have gotten through the rest of that day without her. I'm so grateful to know her. There was no water, only paper towels, so as gently as I could I wiped away some of the blood covering Pat's arms. Not being an EMT I was leery of hurting him, or of possible shards of glass stuck in his flesh, so I was very careful. He wanted to call his mother to tell her she was alright, and as he spoke I realized my cell phone was ringing. By the time I got to it it had stopped - that was my last contact with my husband for a few hours. I didn't keep my promise to call him back - I had forgotten, and now it was too late. Trying to get a line out, my cell phone died. Michelle's phone was down too. Pat stumbled off to find a landline to call his mom - we didn't see him again. I hope he got through, and made it home to his mom. The next hour or so runs together in my mind. There is that 'accident' quality to it, where everything happens so slowly, and I have gaps in my memory. I know that Michelle and I stayed together. We went around the corner to look at the building on fire. By the time we came back around the porch there was another terrific explosion - the second building had been hit, and people could be heard discussing reports from radios they had just bought about the Pentagon. We knew now what we were dealing with. Terrorism. And the scariest part was a horrible, insular feeling of being small, unprotected, alone, and targeted by unknown assailants. We didn't know if they were bombing us, but in those moments I knew that we could very well die today. I didn't want to die, and I knew the worst fear of never seeing my husband and son again. Michelle and I stuck together. When the rumbling started, we grabbed each other. People were screaming, and running en masse in the street. They were coming our way, and I think I said, 'We have to get out of the street!' It was too late by then, though. There was nowhere to run and I was horror stricken that I didn't know WHAT to do. The crowd surrounded us and Michelle and I managed to gain the porch as they swept around us. The building collapsed, the first of them, and we were engulfed in the grey-brown dust and debris of the cloud. We couldn't see, we couldn't breathe. A woman next to me, of perhaps middle years, kept repeating, 'Cover your mouth and nose. Keep your mouth and nose covered.' Her voice was so soothing, and so calm. I grabbed the end of my shirt and hauled it ineffectually over my face. I had so much filth in my mouth I could hardly spit it all out, but I did as the voice said, and did the best I could. I remember Michelle saying, "Shira, I can't see you - where are you?" I cracked my eyes open and they stung - I found her hand and held it. "I want to go home and see my baby, Michelle." "You will,' she said, 'you're going to go home and see him'. I didn't know if she would be right or not. The soft breeze blowing filth over us was lessening. Our hair was covered with it, our skin, faces, I could feel it falling down the neck of my shirt, in my pants, everywhere. If I had to imagine nuclear winter, this would be my interpretation of the scene. The debris softly pattered against bare skin - I'll never forget that feeling. People were crying. Some had waited only moments to let the cloud pass and were running blindly in the dark. From the gloom came a man's voice, and I will remember it as long as I live. I later told my family that it reminded me of something Jesus might say, where he here in flesh. "Join hands, and follow me - follow the sound of my voice." We joined and we followed. He led us into a building across the street, all of us. It was clean, and the air was good. They had supplies, torn up (clean) rags, and cases of bottled water. We were given what we needed, and asked if we were alright. I was never so grateful for anything in my whole life. Michelle and I sank down in a corner and cleaned ourselves up as best we could. We laughed a little, too. In the midst of all this it was so good to have a moment of ease. We were herded into another room, an interior room, where we waited for maybe an hour. In that time, of course, the second WTC building fell. We sat listening to the radio as others poured into the building. From the windows in another area, downtown looked like a deserted war zone. Police were checking buildings, looking for injuries, and we were told that there was one ferry leaving for Staten Island. Michelle and I looked at each other. I said, "well, in for a penny, in for a pound. Let's do it, but you'll have to lead because I'm all turned around and don't know which way the Ferry building is anymore." On the way to the ferry building I managed to find a public phone that worked, and called my husband. His boss answered, and I relayed to him that I was going to Michelle's apartment on Staten Island for the night, and would call later when i could. I gave him Michelle's phone number and address. We got on that ferry, and Michelle and I turned to watch the city burn, numb with shock and sadness. I was unable to get home until about 10 a.m the next day when the Narrows bridge was re-opened. My husband came to pick me up, numb, sad, tearful. Michelle and I didn't want to part, but I had to go to my home and my life and my baby, whose 3rd birthday I will always regret missing. I will be there for the rest, though. Alive, happy, whole. And grateful. *with immense gratitude, and deepest love for Michelle R.* S, R, & CJ (and Licorice doggie, too) Fort Hamilton, NY May 16, 2002 g-d 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 story616.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. 2002-05-16 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 207.162.229.10 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: In the serene enviroment of the school library, I sat completing my homework with some of my peers. Then my cell phone rang out disturbing the calm silence. My mom was on the phone and she told me that a plane had just hit the World Trade Center tower. I was shocked but I didn't really come to reality with the situation. I thought about the time just a month before when I went to the top of the World Trade Center. I couldn't believe that a building I was in just a couple of weeks before that had gotten hit by a plane. The buzz was going around school but no one really knew exactly what happened. For some reason that I can't comprehend, they made us turn off all tv's and radios so that we had no idea what was going on. As a result, false rumors started spreading around the school. Everybody was in pure shock around the school and for that matter everywhere in the world. I only found out the true stories of the terror of 9/11 when I returned home from school and I watched the news non-stop. For my generation, this was the event in history that we will never forget where we were such as JFK's assasination and the Challenger exploding for previous generations. September 11, 2001 was probably the hardest and most tradgic day I've ever lived and I send all my prayers to the families who have lost loved ones in this horrible act of terrorism. 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 story2962.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. 206.77.47.2 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 was at work, and i was heading to the break room, when i ran into a friend, and asked him if we were working on saturday, he said, you better go watch the television, the first plane already hit and could not believe what i was watching, i thought a small plane hit the towers, when out of no place came this huge plane going very fast, and hit the other tower, i stood up and said OH MY GOD, other people in the break room was just looking at the tv, i thought to myself that this is it, the end of the world, i konw its sound silly to think that but thats what i felt, i had tears in my eyes and just sat there, then the towers fell and i cried.. what a shame i thought, all those people, i will never forget, and neither should no one else for all time, till time stops.. 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 story6640.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. 204.214.145.6 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: Life Back to Normal ? Back to my New Normalcy Tonight I took a walk downtown, not downtown USA but in a foreign country, that?s where my aviation job takes me, looking for some normalcy in my life. For you see a little more then a week ago I was in my firehouse watching the TV when the second plane hit the WTC#2 tower, and then as the reports broke in as the Pentagon was struck. I Listen as people on TV yelling call 911, I was their 911 and then I walked amongst the devastation that was brought to my home land, I walked amongst the damaged caused to the Pentagon as a fire fighter, not as a hero but as a fire fighter, Searching the halls not for rescue but recovery. I remember when I arrived there looking at the devastation, at that moment I was no longer a spectator. As I walked the hallways my mind was thinking just another fire, just another fire, and then I saw the wreckage of the plane. My two worlds, my two loves had collided, literally, Aviation and fire fighting. I watched the next day as the TV reports of an amateur video after the WTC collapsed, with hundreds of PASS alarms going off - the sounds of chirping doves, and remember someone on the TV asking what is that noise? I knew exactly what it was, hundreds of Brother and Sister Fire Fighters, DOWN, there Personal Alert devices activated by their lack of movement. This thought will never leave my mind, it felt like the old Show where you watched the dirty hands hitting a chisel with the heavy hammer leaving the marks of that day, month and year into stone forever- the image and sound was burnt deep inside my mind. I watched the faces of those around me as I walked in my foreign town, some smiling, some with blank stares; I watched as a young girl and her friends argue in a language I couldn?t understand. For most of these people, life is normal once again. They where not affected by what I had seen. I walked in to a restaurant and took off my jacket, the jacket bares the name of the airline I work for, and underneath was I wore a fire fighter T-shirt proud at what I do. As I sat and tried to work my way threw the menu, none of it in English, when someone taps me on the shoulder and asked where I am from? I said America with a proud voice, and where you there? They asked, my voice now shaken, yes I was I replied, and how do you feel now? Was the next round of questioning, Wow I thought that?s a question, I have been asking myself for a week now, and getting little sleep because of it, how do I feel? How do I feel? Its hard to explain to someone who wasn?t there, but it?s a question I have been asked a lot, and I thank those that cared enough to ask and apologies for not answering. To be brought up in a family who has a long history in the military I was mad, wanting revenge now, swift and hard, and as a fire fighter I didn?t want to see anyone harmed because that meant I would be called to duty again, and as a human I wanted my life too be normal again, I wanted it all to be a dream a very bad dream. I realized a tear had formed in the corner of my eye, wet and cold, something I have not had since I was five, because big boys don?t cry, I quickly sucked it up and answered the question. I feel like and American Fire Fighter, who?s might loose his job in aviation, and wants military revenge for those brothers and sisters who gave their life trying to save a soul. And I want my life back to Normal; I got up and went to my apartment and cried life a baby in search for his lost mother. When I was through crying I sat down and typed this: I realized to each person, no matter what the race, creed, religion, sex, sexual preference, or education level, each person has there own feelings, there own threshold of pain and anger, there own beliefs and opinions and has a god given right to express them as they see fit, and there is no better place to express all of those but back home in the USA. I am not a very religious person, born into the catholic faith, I don?t practice, as I should, my mother and sister often remind me of that. But my faith and life have come together for me, and it took a tragedy to do it, sad I know. God bless my brother and sisters fire fighters who gave there souls trying to save a friend and a neighbor, God bless those who have lost there jobs because of this act of terrorism, god bless those that lost the innocent life, God bless those in the military who stand on the wall and protect me night after night. God Bless my Children and God bless America. My life will never be back to normal; but my new life has a fresh meaning. Life is short, don?t argue or fight over it, and its not worth killing someone over. Hold those people you love as often and as long as you can before you leave for work each day, and before you go to bed at night, Live each day to the fullest and you will have peace until life comes to its end. Charles B. Loraine. Sr Fire Fighter ? Aircraft Mechanic - Father and 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 story870.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. 2002-07-10 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 12.78.119.24 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 called me and asked if I was watching the news. I had not had time to turn on the television. I was busy getting ready for work, and getting my three sons ready for school as well. I turned on the TV and all else seemed to disapear. I felt panic inside my own body, I couldn't move! My body was just frozen in disbielief in front of the TV. My sons asking me questions that I was not able to comprehend. I wanted my Husband to come home, I didn't want to leave my house for work, I just wanted to sit and rock my children and just be together as a family! I felt the tears running down my cheeks and realized I was crying. The fear had overwhelmed me. My husband told me to stay calm and try not to scare the children. He encouraged me to go to work and try to support the children and staff at work and we would see each other after work. I reported to work only to see that I was not alone in feeling these things. I called my Mother in California to tell her that I loved her and hoped that hearing her voice would sooth my inside panic as it did when I was a small child. I knew that there was a lot happening around the world and I prayed to God to make it alright for us all. I work with the mentally and physically challenged children at the High School Level and felt that I needed to keep on going like nothing had happened for their sake. They are so sensitive to their surroundings, and they needed me to me my best. And I was. 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 story6817.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. 67.225.112.113 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 2 weeks away from completing the USAF Security Forces Academy. We were in the feild that morning, throwing hand grenades and detonating claymore mines, ground combat skills. Much of the academy is mental conditioning, with constant excercises and drills, so it was no real shock when we were informed that a plane had struck the WTC. Just annother drill. Then came the news that BOTH towers had been hit, and the Pentegon was in flames. "They need to make these excercises more realistic" I remember saying to my fellow Airmen. "Something believable, not stuff like this that could never happen." Not one of us was taking the news serriously. This was the USA. NO one would EVER think to attack US here, our HOMELAND. I remember returning to the dorm from the feild and thinking "Hey, they want to play games, fine with me...I'll just relax here in my room, put some music on the radio..."...There of course was no music to be heard on the radio that day. Just the news...it was real...VERRY, TERRIBLY REAL. I still remember the feeling...a sickness in the stomach, tears streaming down my face, my blood boiling in total rage....when they finally released us from our rooms to watch the president adress the nation on the big screen in the dayroom, everyone was just...silent. When the president steped out of Marine 1, every Airman in the room, without command but perfectly syrcronized rose to full attention...I will always remember that as the day I stopped being a boy and became a Soldier.... 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 story10598.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. 2004-05-15 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 24.2.101.228 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I was sitting on my couch,for what I thought would only be a few minutes, as I was recovering from major surgery and was trying to build up my stamina by being up for a few minutes periodically throughout the day. As I was watching the news, the horror of this day unfolded as I watched the images of these planes almost immediately as it happened. After the first plane crashed into the first building, I turned to my husband and said "That has to be deliberate as no plane could fly into the city and a building unless everything on the plane quit functioning. What seemed to be seconds later, a second plane hit the second building. I remember a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. I prayed out loud that God would send a band of angels to be with the people who were inside these buildings as I knew there would tragically be deaths. I remember praying "God, please send angels to comfort the people inside. Blanket them with the power of your love." As events unfolded, the horror grew. But with the horror grew a new sense of resolve; to appreciate what I sometimes take for granted. I resolved never again to unappreciate this great country where we take our liberties for granted. I resolved to appreciate the diversity of this country as I saw so many diverse citizens united by this tragdy. My heart still swells with pride that I can call myself an American and that I live in a country whose citizens rather than being beaten down were strengthened by this tragedy and that so many ordinary citizens arose as heroes. I have always loved my country but now I appreciate it so much more and realize our future is in every citizen's hands. We can all do out part by continuing to move on with our daily lives and keeping our resolve alive to continue appreciating the freedoms we have, appreciating the diversity of our citizens and keeping alive the vow to never be beaten down by cowardly acts of terrorism. Rande Brown 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 story6075.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: I was the only one at work the morning of September 11, 2001, and I remember it was a sunny, beautiful morning. I remember thinking it was odd that there were no cars in the parking lot, no people around at all. It was shortly after 10:00 a.m. when my boss called me and asked if I was watching the small TV we keep in back. I replied no, I was working, not watching TV, and thought it odd he would call me and ask that. He then went on to explain that a plane had hit the World Trade Center. I remember thinking that it was a terrible accident, but did not fully comprehend what had happened. He told me to turn the Tv on and watch, so I did. I was shocked at what I saw on TV. It was not just a small plane, as I originally thought, and not just one tower, but both, and news began breaking about the Pentagon being hit, and possibly more planes still in the air. It felt like the end of the world. I was confused, scared, and could not believe this was happening. I remember saying to myself over and over "what is happening, what is going on". I called my boyfriend, who lives in New Zealand,to tell him what was happening. It was about 2:30 a.m. there so I had to wake him up and tell him to turn on his TV. He was also in disbelief over what was going on. We both watched as one tower collapsed, then the other. We both were trying to piece together bits of information so we could understand what was happening. I remember tears rolling down my face when the towers collapsed. The report came in that a plane had gone down in Pennsylvania. Four commercial airplanes! How could this happen? I had just bought a plane ticket on September 7th to fly to New Zealand in October. Now I was unsure if I was going to be able to go, or if I even wanted to go. Flying was the last thing I wanted to do then. I did not feel safe anymore. I felt very, very vulnerable that day. I also felt a terrible sense of loss--a loss for all those that perished, and the loss of my sense of security. But an amazing thing happened after September 11th. Virtually every house, business, and car I saw was flying the American flag. The people of this country banded together. I saw strength and solidarity, compassion and caring. I saw people give their time and their money freely. Donations poured in. Volunteers worked tirelessly. The vulnerability I had felt was being replaced by strength and pride. I did go on that trip to New Zealand. I did not feel afraid. I flew on United Airlines, and on one of my connecting flights home, the pilot spoke to us before we took off. He told us to greet the person on either side of us, to know who we were flying with. He asked us not to be passive fliers, but to pay attention to everything that was going on, and not be afraid to speak up if something did not seem right. He told us to band together as Americans, as neighbors, as friends. He said we would NOT allow anyone to take over OUR plane! The passengers all cheered and applauded. We greeted each other and shared names. We were not faceless people on a flight--we were friends. Americans have many different faces, but we are all unifed by one thing--freedom. I will never forget September 11th. 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 story5593.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. 216.65.185.186 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 two planes hit the World Trade Center; I was walking into Mrs.Tanona's math class last year in the middle school,and I saw the towers fall on t.v.in the classroom.On the bottom of the screen,it said (America is at war).Right then and there I did not know what either the World Trade Center or the Pentagon really were,so after school I went to the Marlboro Boy's and Girls club and the told us what happend today.Later,that day after my mom pick me up,Iwent to my grandparents house.They had all the t.v. on in the house.When the younger boy across the street came home,I told him about what had happend today.When I got home,my nana was cring and said (corey we got bombd and said I will always rember this day).That night my other grammy called and said the terrorists had been near our house in maine.The next week, all sports game's got cancelled,and on Febuary 3rd,football held the super Boul.The New England Patriots were in the super Boul.The Boston Pop's played there,and the New England Patriots won the super Boul beating the St.Louis ram's 20-17 My faimly really has not been hurt in that way,like when we go on vaction far away we still take air plains . I have noticed that there are more flags on cars and in flower boxes ,flower gardens,some flags at half staf some flags are rising high some on big building's now there are more flags in the newspaper's ,more flages in all magazine and on the news .A lot of building's and school's have come out with programs about September 11th, the Worcester icecats hockey team came out with a new program. After September 11th a lot of sport teams had flags on there shirts.In the American Hockey Leage all the teams had a flag shirt that when the season ended the sold and the money whent to the Twin Towers foundation. What I think we should rembered about September 11th is all the fireman,policeman,EMT's and the people who were in the tradecenter, pentagon,people in the planes. 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 story8520.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-10-18 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 24.60.58.139 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: September 11, 2001 Last year on September 11, 2001 I was in my classroom when I found out what happened. All of the students were talking about it to the teacher. Our teacher told us everything about what happened. I felt sorry for the people that were in the buildings. I remember seeing the replays over and over again on the news. It was devastating and really sad. It was even sad for the families of the people who died on that day. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story2903.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. 163.150.15.187