455 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: That Thursday morning I woke up at around 9:00 AM because I had to get to my political science class at around 10 or so. So, when I got out of bed I went on down the hall and into the living room and my mom had the TV on and was watching the news. She said a plane just crashed into one of the World Trade Center buildings. I sat down on the couch and watched it with her for awhile. I soon lost interest in that and went to take my shower before I went to class. My brother and I left soon after I got out of the shower and went to our classes at the local community college. When we arrived there, it seemed as if the entire student body was crowded into the lobby watching the setup TVs with the news running on them. It was then that I realized what a big deal it was. I just hadn?t realized that nothing this extreme had ever happened. (Comes from watching too many action movies, I guess.) I saw a friend of mine and went over to talk to him about what was going on. He was very fervent about the whole thing and I could tell it had the utmost significance to him. I felt like there was something wrong with me for not caring much about it at all. Maybe there was, but now I realize the impact and significance of the events of 9/11. It was not a common, everyday happening. Planes don't just crash into buildings on a daily basis. I was stricken by reality and was also heartbroken at the loss of lives and the extreme sense of... helplessness. I am just relieved to know that God is watching over us, waiting for us to invite him back into our lives. I?m overjoyed to know that Jesus died for our sins so I didn?t have to and that He?s set up a place for me in His eternal kingdom so that I can go to be with Him when I leave this place. 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 story479.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-04-30 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 216.189.14.46 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 didn't even know what had happened that day. I recieved a phone call from my niece telling me that the twin towers had been destroyed by terrorist. My Dad had just pasted away on Sept. 9 2001 so you can imagine the state that I was in. He went to the hospital with a swollen stomach to find out that he had pancreatic cancer. And a short 10 days later he was gone. I was already so upset over that, that I'm not real sure that what my niece told me even sank in till after we burried my Dad on Sept.12th. Then I began to watch it on TV. I still can't believe that someone could even think about doing something like that let alone actually doing it. All I can say is they will have to answer to God some day for that & I'm glad that I don't have to be the one that has to answer for that one. I still can't believe that people are that stupid that they would kill themselves for something like that. What good did it do them? They are gone too. So they took the lives of inicent people along with theirs what did they acomplish? A whole lot of heartache for the whole world. God will surely punish them for that. My heart goes out to all the families that had family members that's lives were lost that day. You will always remain in my prayers. And God bless you all! Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story8141.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. 2002-09-26 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: Esa manana me tome el subway F de Brooklyn hacia Manhattan para ir a mi terapia semanal. El subte F tiene un par de estaciones elevadas antes de entrar a Manhattan. Cuando el tren sale a la superficie una mujer lanza un grito y senala hacia la ventana. Todo el pasaje del subte va hacia ese lado y ve como una de las torres esta rodeada de humo. Lo curioso es que todo hacia pensar que se trataba de un cortocircuito o un incendio porque de el lado de donde veniamos con el subte no se veia ningun rastro del agujero dejado por el avion. Uno de los pasajeros, un judio ortodoxo, comentaba que no se trataba de ninguna bomba por razones que ya no recuerdo. El subte se vuelve a meter bajo tierra y la gente en obvio estado de alteracion, no de shock, pero ciertamente angustiada. Me bajo en la estacion de la calle 4 preguntandome si la gente sabria lo que estaba pasando. Claro, en ese momento no me di cuenta que las torres se pueden ver casi de cualquier lado estando en downtown Manhattan. Cuando salgo del subte, encuentro a grupos de personas concentradas en todas las esquinas siguiendo los acontecimientos. En ese momento noto que las dos torres estan rodeadas de humo. Lo curioso es que habia personas que se sentian angustiadas, en su mayoria mujeres y otras muy calmadas, de hecho comprando camaras descartables como si se tratara de un entretenimiento de Disney World. Habia muchas charlas entre las diferentes personas. Que si habia sido un accidente, que si se trataba de un atentado. Lo cierto es que mas alla de la alteracion y curiosidad de la gente, no habia tanta angustia. Yo no sabia que sentir. Estaba esperando que llegaron los helicopteros para que apagaran el fuego. Recien empece a sentirme raro cuando una chica al lado mio le estaba describiendo la situacion a su padre desde su celular y se largaba a llorar desconsoladamente. Toda esta situacion cambio drasticamente cuando se empieza a desmoronar la primera torre. En ese momento se escucharon algunos alaridos de "Dios Mio!!", pero mas impresionante fue sentir el sentimiento de total impotencia en la gente. Hubo una especie de caos colectivo en el cual ciertas personas se desmayaban y otras comenzaban a correr. Otras iban hacia los telefonos y se encontraban que estos no funcionaban y acto seguido los empezaban a patear con furia. Era caotico. En ese mismo instante pasa un taxista con su ventana abierta y grita: "Estan bombardeando el Pentagono!!". En ese segundo yo senti que moria ahi. Senti que se estaba lanzando un ataque masivo a Estados Unidos y que yo moria en esa esquina de Broadway y la 4. Pensaba en por que no estaba en mi pais con mis amigos y mi familia. Que era muy estupido morir en un pais que no era el mio. Por un minuto senti una especie de panic attack porque no sabia que hacer, para donde ir, si llamar a mi casa en Buenos Aires. No sabia que hacer. No sabia a quien llamar. No sabia a quien abrazar. Sin para consolar o ser consolado. Pense en mi novia americana y me pregunte si era ella la persona con la que queria estar. Me pregunte si ella me elegiria a mi con quien estar en un momento tan angustiante. Todo esto en cuestion de segundos. Si bien mi panic attack paso al rato, decidi que no iba a poder soportar ver caer la segunda torre y enseguida empece a caminar hacia cualquier lugar donde no hubiera ningun tipico landmark neoyorquino. Ni Times Square, ni Grand Central, ni Central Park, ni nada parecido. Cuando doy vuelta la esquina y las torres quedan fuera de mi vision, escucho otro grito colectivo. Y ahi empiezo a caminar mas ligero, sabiendo que la segunda torre ya era historia. Llegue a la oficina de mi terapeuta 10 minutos mas tarde. Curiosamente, tuve terapia. En realidad no se para que, porque ella parecia estar mas shockeada que yo mientras escuchaba mi relato. Pero por lo menos pude utilizar su telefono para llamar a mi casa y dejar a mi familia tranquila diciendoles que me encontraba bien. Mi mama me dijo que por lo que se veia en TV parecia que toda la isla estaba en fuego. Y asi fue ese dia. La imagen de la primera torre desmoronandose jamas la voy a olvidar. Es cuando lo que parecia una pelicula de Hollywood se transformo en una pesadilla. Lo mas loco es que cuando recuerdo lo que paso, me es muy dificil de digerir, como si el cerebro no estuviera listo para entender este tipo de acontecimiento. Tampoco se muy bien por que todavia, pero a los 4 dias mi novia y yo nos separamos. Nada comparado con la tragedia de muchos miles, pero un golpe fuerte de soportar de cualquier manera. A la semana, yo lo unico que queria hacer era irme a Argentina. Despues, por suerte, fue pasando. A la distancia, creo que lo mejor fue hablarlo con amigos. Relatar la experiencia muchas veces tenia cierto efecto terapeutico, como que uno finalmente entendia lo que habia pasado. Poner los pensamientos afuera y transformarlos en voz tiene cierto efecto curador. Aun hoy, cuando voy para terapia y salgo del subte y miro hacia el sur desde Broadway, no puedo entender como todo a mi alrededor sigue funcionando cuando las torres ya no existen. Como el mundo puede seguir despues de lo que paso? Aun hoy me sigue sorprendiendo. 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 story619.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. 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: On 9-11-2001 we were vacationing in the mountains of Virginia and hiking on the Appalachian Trail. We rented a cabin at White Top, Virginia, in the midst of a Christmas tree farm. It was very secluded, serene, and very picturesque to say the least. That morning, we headed out early with our backpacks and were oblivious to anything else happening in the world. We had planned a day of hiking, enjoying the trail and the wild miniature ponies that roamed there. Although we had maps, we decided to stop by the park ranger's office and pick up some local information about the trail. When we walked in at the ranger's office, it was obvious from the looks of their faces that something was terribly wrong, which puzzled us. The rangers sat solemn, starring at a TV that could barely pick up any reception. No one said a word when we walked in. No one even acknowledged our entrance. Confused by their reaction, we turned towards the TV in the lobby and at that moment, saw the second plane fly into the Twin Towers. We stood there stunned and frozen with grief as we witnessed this huge ball of fire and smoke billowing towards the sky. Suddenly we saw people standing on the ledges of this 100+ story building, completely trapped with fire above them and below them. Some jumped to their death, while others, hanging out of the windows, screamed for help, surely realizing their doomed fate. These towering buildings, once icons in the sky, crumbled and virtually went down like a stack of dominoes, and the lives of thousands were changed forever. Overcome with emotion and disbelief, we both started to cry right there in the park ranger's office. We could not comprehend what we were seeing and we lost all sense of our adventure that we had planned for that day. Instead, we found a quiet spot overlooking a vast mountain area, and sat in our car listening to the news on the radio for several hours. It was surreal knowing that we were overlooking the quiet beauty of the mountains, while turmoil, death and devastation were occurring elsewhere. When reality set in, we realized that we were probably in a very safe area, since we were far away from people and civilization. Needing to regain our composure and reflect upon what we had witnessed on TV, we retreated to the trail and in the quiet solitude of the mountains. We recall as we hiked, seeing planes flying overhead in the distance. which were probably deployed to protect and defend America during this diabolic attack. Trying to comprehend the magnitude of this attack, we wondered, how many people heeded the call that day to protect and defend our nation and to assist in its restoration. Most assuredly, there were young soldiers.... Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marines; Fire Fighters, Police, Emergency, Rescue and the Red Cross; Airline Pilots, Flight Attendants, Doctors, Nurses, and Hospital personnel; Bishops, Priests, Rabbi, and clergy. Churches offered meals, a place to sleep and shower, a listening ear and moral and spiritual support. Law enforcement, teachers, and countless other trained professionals, volunteers, and common people on the street, risked their own lives that day, trying to save others. And finally, most importantly, our President, and the governing bodies of the Congress and Senate, along with local city and county government worked together for the common good, to instill safety and integrity of our nation. To all of the brave and courageous people who found strength within themselves, to rise up, even in the face of death, we applaud you. To those on that fateful flight, who commandeered their attackers, in an effort to save one, if not all passengers and abort the terrorists plan, we owe a debt of gratitude. The tragedy of 9-11 should humble us all so that we never forget the men, women and children who died as well as those who survived. We should also remember our military, who long before 9-11 stood ready to assist in preserving the freedom of America, and still continue to do so everyday, here and abroad in foreign lands all over the world. In summary, our vacation was not quite what we had planned on 9-11. However, we learned much about ourselves, as we hiked the well beaten path on the Appalachian Trail. We embraced each other many times, feeling grateful to be alive, and thankful for our safety and security. We are thankful for the memory of where we were on that day. We are alive to remember it. Now, countless family members, friends, children and loved ones left behind by this tragedy, carry a memory also. However, their memory, is forever etched by the absence and loss of a friend, a co-worker, a lover, a mother, a father, a sister, a brother, an aunt, an uncle, a cousin, a niece, a nephew, a grandmother, a grandfather, a grandson, a granddaughter, a husband, a wife, a beloved son, a beloved daughter. Everyone affected by this tragedy had a plan that day that was abruptly interrupted by this senseless tragedy. Maybe they were going to work, to school, traveling on business, vacationing, or visiting friends and relatives, planning a birthday party, a graduation, a wedding, a honeymoon or even a funeral. All that changed in an instant and their lives will never be the same. People seemed to be eternally vaporized from the face of the earth in the aftermath of the attack, and family structures were changed. All of us were changed in one way or another on 9-11 and life in America as we once knew it also changed. Now, the work begins. We must all come together in strength and unity as one nation under God and courageously defend our right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. We are a nation strong in morals and values and with time, our wounds will heal. America will always rise to the occasion, ready to defend the liberty and freedom of its people, pursuing this challenge with dignity, purpose and in the true spirit of humanity. 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 story2101.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. 66.82.9.13 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 just entering the building and put my breakfast down. I was talking to my co-worker when we heard what sounded like construction. Our window shook and we saw debris falling down. We went to the window and saw the North Tower on fire. I went to my cubicle and attempted to reach my mom. She had spent the night at my house so she did not get to her house yet. Her boyfriend answered. I was hysterical and told him of the incident. I continue to observe the North Tower and couldn't believe that people were jumping out the window. So many people, one after another, were jumping. I went back to my cubicle and tried again. This time my mother answered and I assured her it was not my building on fire. For some reason, I had not made an exit like some of my co-workers had when they heard the first sound. As I was looking at the North Tower, I shifted my eyes to the South tower and that was when I saw the big, giant fire ball. I did not see the airplane entering. I initially thought it was a bomb since in 1993, there was an attempt. I ran across the room hollering,"the second building blew up," and my co-worker grabbed me and held me in an embrace. We all decided it was time to evacuate. We went down the stairs and the lobby was crowded. I was very scared. I thought I was never going to leave. Finally, we made it out toward the Bank of NY and we were all out there, crying and consoling one another. Then, we heard a rumple and our manager told us to go home. I exchanged numbers with my co-worker and proceeded to walk. Not far did we walk that the Second Tower collapes. Luckily, we did not get any debris on us. I walked all the way to 34 street and proceeded to walk. I was dazed and confused. I happened to see another co-worker and we walked together. I told her that I did not know how to get to the bronx where I live and she invited me to spend the night at her home in Queens. We walked all the way to the bridge and we found ourselves in Queens. We rode the bus to her home and I called my mother and she called my sister. My sister cried and thanked my co-worker over and over for her good deed. I stood home for almost a month after the incident. I work for a bank and I was not called in to work till the middle of October. I still have bad dreams till the very day. I cannot look out of a window for fear I might see a dead body that is only a figment of my imagination. I pray for those who did not make it out alive and for those who did. It's strange. My mother was ill and was in need of companionship. I had mentioned to my friends how nice it would be to stay home for a month. Never in my wildest dreams did I mean for something like this to occur. God bless America. America the beautiful! 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 story8390.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. 2002-10-07 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 205.188.209.165 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I was at my mother's home dropping off my 1 year old son. I only worked on Tuesdays. I just started working and he wasn't used to being anywhere but home for long periods of time, so I came over an hour early. When I arrived, my mom had the news on. She said, I think some plane or something hit a building in New York. I thought it was a small plane that an amateur might have crashed or something. When the newscaster said it was a passenger plane, I thought maybe the controls on the plane had gone seriously awry and this was some sort of freak accident. There was no way I was ready to beleive that this was an attack. Then I saw the other plane hit. The news cameras were rolling. It was live coverage--no editing. I saw people begin to scream on the streets. Then I saw people jumping from the building. Some were holding each other. My sister said she saw a man and what looked like his son jump to their deaths. I thought, there must be a platform or something they are jumping onto. Again, I just couldn't conceive the full horror of it at first. I didn't want to beleive that people were jumping to their deaths because it was better than dying in an inferno. What a horrifying choice. I just sat and cried. I didn't know how I would be able to work. I am a counselor. I tore myself away from my son and went to work about a mile away. I saw clients that day and all they wanted to talk about was the bombing. So did I. My client cried and I had to fight to comfort them instead of breaking down myself. We had a wave of clients with anxiety problems after this incident. Every day four or five different referals came in for this issue. I wondered if the already vunerable population of people with elevated anxiety were pushed to their limit of coping after September 11, 2001. Later that day, my husband came home. It was his birthday and we planned to celebrate that night. We cancelled the baby sitter and ate chocolate cake while we watched the news all night. He had been in the federal court house. He's a lawyer. He worked next to a major power source in Baton Rouge. I was worried about him. My twin sister was in Greece, where my family is from. She said she had an American friend over on September 11. Her second child had just been born and it was loud. Her freind was watching the news. My sister wanted the television and all other noise to cease. Her freind with tears in her eyes explained that America was under attack. She cried for an hour along with her newborn. My cousin George was on route to New York (where he lives) back from Greece. He was re-routed to Switzerland for one week. In typical the New York hutzpah fashion he wanted to get back home. I remeber not knowing what would be attacked next. I had never experienced this kind of fear having grown up in America. I couldn't relate to my parent's stories about war in Greece. President Bush gave me hope. I know that sounds corny in this cynical age, but I really felt secure knowing that he was fighting back. I never said the pledge of alligiance before because I thought it was silly patriotic bullshit and that I was an international citizen, not just American. A year later I find myself waving the flag and singing the national anthem with pride and feeling. I used to make fun of the old WWII farts who were so patriotic. I grew up in the 80's after Vietnam. War and patriotism were old fashioned and outdated in an international world. I now think much less of the Vietnam protesters. Hippie dippie soldier haters. I know some of them really were trying to stop the killing, but why did it become so unfashionable to serve your country? I just didn't understand the WWII's at all. Now our soldiers and heros are rescue workers. Terrorism. Who would ever have thought it would come to our soil??? The anniversary came and went, but I will never forget that day. I will always remember the terror of the people who were in New York that day. What a nightmare. I hope it will remain a memory! By the way--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 story7676.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. 2002-09-16 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 am a software consultant and at the time I was working on a contract in New Jersey. I overslept that morning. I had Z100 on my radio. I heard them gasp and say that the World Trade center was on fire. I looked at my radio -- 8:48 am. I bolted out of bed and ran to my living room, and turned on my TV. I just stared. I was trying to process what I was seeing. I called my Mother in Canada. I told her what was happening she was in disbelief. Then the second plane hit. On TV it only looked like a small prop plane. The only thing I could say to my Mother was "All those people! Mom -- All of those people in the plane, on the street, in the building and the subways...." I thought there was an air traffic system failure. The message came across that the bridges and tunnels to Manhattan were closed. I was not going to NJ that day. I got dressed and went outside. From the Upper East Side I could see the large plume of smoke in the sky. I felt helpless and felt that I had to do something. I started to walk downtown. And then I got on the 6 train at 77th Street. We got as far as 42nd Street. The train was stopped in the tunnel for 90 minutes. Then we backed up to 42nd street. We were asked to exit the train. Upstairs in Grand Central the station was empty -- strange. Then out on the street. A mass of people crowds just outside the station. I walked down Lexington -- against the flow of people. Some bars had their patios open and I caught a glimpse of the TV -- Planes had also crashed into the Pentagon and crashed in Pennsylvania!! The World Trade Center collapsed?!?! I did not want to believe. I walked further downtown as it sunk in. An man was walking toward us. He was covered in soot and had a blank look on his face. I got as far as Canal Street. They didn't let anyone go south of there. I wanted to help. The only thing I could do was walk home. People were trying to catch cabs... to where?? The 59th street bridge had a mass of people walking over to Queens. I wanted to donate blood.. when I got to the blood center the line was already around the block. I walked 8 miles to my apartment. I bought water and food. Who knows what else was sabotaged? I turned on the TV. I slept in front of the TV that night. Darkness is scarry. The city was silent that night. Just the sound of rumbling Air conditioners. The city isn't the same anymore. I don't think it has been the same since. Why did this happen? All of those people... Why? 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 story9457.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. 2003-09-04 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 12.25.47.40 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 still can forget 9/11. It was my 3. week in USA (I am from Czech Republic - that time I have been working for one famyli in New York - not the NYC ) When it happend I was just scared so much and I realy didn't know what to think of. I was there bymyself ?with my family far away. The good think was, that the daddy of that family was a lieutenant of NYPD, so I wasnt that scare, because I knew, what is going on ..... Still I can forget those people, who died that day for nothing !! So many of them...... I will still remember that day forever. God bless you and all the USA.... 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 story9534.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. 2003-09-10 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 217.11.226.89 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: The morning of Sept 11th I was on the 9th floor of the Naval Hospital Great Lakes. I am an E5 and run the Outpatient Mental Health Clinic here. I also was 8 months pregnant and my son had dropped that morning so getting around was extra difficult. As it turned out that was my last day at work for 8 weeks. I had been in my office when a friend came running by yelling "Something has happened to the world trade center." Pretty much the whole staff and patients were glued to the TV as the tragedy unfolded. I remember feeling overwhelmed and a sense of "how could this happen on American soil?" I am proud to be a member of the United States Navy but have always thought that if I were to be called up to defend my country that if would not be on our own soil. That morning as things were so unclear I did wonder what kind of world I was brining my son into. That next day my water broke and Jacob Cameron Kimball was born on September 13, 2001. Admist all the tragedy all I could do was look into my sons eyes and think "Thank God for small miracles." Jacob is now a year old and I know what to say when he asks me "Mom what was happening when I was born." 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 story7995.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. 2002-09-19 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 198.26.122.14 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 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 11, 2001, during the time of the attacks on the two buildings in New York, I was at Dupont Hospital in Delware. I was in surgery having an inercaranial monitor put in my shunt. All of a suden, a nurse came into my room and told my mom and I that their was an attack on the World Trade Center. I just sat there in shock. after a couple minutes, my doctor came in and told us that another plane had flown right into the Pentagon. My mother and I just sat there exchanging glances at eachother. After hearing this terrible news, my doctor said he was going to try to call his brother, who at the time worked near the two buildings. When he tried to call the lines were busy. After about a couple of hours trying to get a hold of his brother, someone finally answered. His brother was ok. From that day on, I have always felt the fear of being attacked again in the future, I no longer feel safe flying in an airplane or even going to the airport. Being in a wheelchair, I am worried that someday when I am just trying to wheel around on a nice day, someone could come up to me and try to harm me in some way. 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 story6768.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. 68.82.138.78 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 live in a large (because of the local university) town about 2 hours south of Washingtno DC. On the morning of September 11th, I was the first student at my high school, as usual. I was 16 years old and still at the beginning of my junior year. I went to a place called the "Butterfly Cafe" where I could sit and write a journal entry while looking out the windows. I still have that journal today, almost 3 years later. I wrote about a fight I was having with my Mother, how I wasn't looking forward to my chemistry lab, and how I was excited to spend the day with my friends. I was currently grounded and on very thin ice with my mother, so I was excited to be at school where I could socialize. I remember it being a very beautiful morning. My first class of the day was Chemistry, which lasted until around 9:45am. We were having a discussion on lab safety, which was very very boring. One of my best friends, Amanda, and I were probably making faces at each other or writing notes. I know we weren't paying attention. Sometime between 8:30 and 9:00am, after the first plane hit the World Trade Center, Miss Barrett, another science teacher, ran into the room and told us that there had been an accident. My teacher, Mr. White, couldn't get the television to work, so the class filed into Miss Barrett's room. I remember Amanda and I smiling at each other, glad that we were away from the lab safety discussion. The two of us and another friend, Jennifer, jumped up and sat on a lab table while we started watching the TV. Immediatly we sobered and started wondering what could have possibly happened. After a short time, the second plane hit and I remember the entire room just getting too quiet for a moment. Amanda and I leaned into one another until about 7 minutes before class was over, when we had to go back into our classroom to collect our things. While we were waiting for the bell, someone brought up the issue of biological warfare. Many of the girls, myself included, started to cry. The boys tried to comfort us, but I could tell that they were afraid too. A girl named Amelia said that she didn't see what the big deal was, and Amanda became very angry. She never liked that girl again. Amanda and I had our next class together as well. It was a computer publishing class in the top of the building. When we got there, our teacher, Mrs. Wilkins, told us that if we could remain calm, she'd allow us to follow coverage of what was happening. She turned on the TV around 9:50, and we found out that the Pentagon had been hit as well. Most of that period passed in silence. I remember seeing the first tower fall shortly after the class started though. Someone, and to this day I have no idea who-it could even have been Amanda or I-screamed. People in the classroom were muttering and trying not to cry. At one point I excused myself to go to the bathroom and sat on the sink blanking out for a bit. When I came back in Am scooted closer to me, and I was so glad that we were together. That class ended around 11:30. It was also duing that period that the second tower collapsed, as did a part of the Pentagon. When the plane fell in PA, we all wondered how many more were going to go down that day. That class was very hard to get through. Amanda and I seperated for our third classes. I don't remember what she had now, but I had Advanced Placement US History. I loved my teacher. He was an older man who an acerbic toungue who made you want to succeed. Or else. He let us watch the television as well. A girl in that class thought that her Mom was on one of the planes and spent some of the time in the bathroom throwing up until her father called the school and told her that her mother was OK. I guess he knew that she didn't know her Mom's flight. In that class, my friend Kim who was a year older than me comforted me. We didn't pay as much attention to the TV, and instead had a talk. Just a casual one, but I was glad to be there with everyone. Including Mr. Buhl. We broke for lunch in the middle of class and I met with my other best friend, Malinda, in the cafeteria. Noone at our table had lunch, and I think alot of other people skipped food too. I think that I might have shared a drink with someone, but I wouldn't swear to it in a court. The cafeteria was too quiet, and Kim and I walked back to our classroom in a haze. I lived 20 minutes out of town at the time, and Kim offered to take me home. I worked at the mall, but they closed at 2pm. My last class was English where, again, we were watching the TV. I wasn't close to anyone in that class, and couldn't stand to watch anymore of the coverage, so I begged my teacher, Mrs. Antonnicola, to let me leave and walk around. She agreed and I again found myself in the butterfly cafe. I remember thinking how different things were from earlier that morning. My friend Emily and another friend (maybe Malinda or Amanda, but I don't remember now) eventually drifted by and ended up sitting with me until the end of the day. Kim drove me home, and I cried on the way because I hadn't been able to get through to my Mom. She was driving parts to various places in Virginia and West Virginia at that time as her job. I didn't know if she was near or in DC that day, but I wanted to talk to her. I don't know why, but as soon as I left my first class I wanted to talk to her right away. When I got home, I realised that I didn't want to be alone. I thought that I had wanted to. So I went to the neighbors, a single mother Mary, and her 10 year old Gwen. We watched the news together for awhile, and Gwen asked me why it had happened. I felt so simple, because I didn't have any kind of reasonable answer to give her. I didn't know why it had happened. I came into my house at some point and took a shower, and then made some food and watched more of the coverage. Mom came home and we hugged for a long time. Then we spent most of the rest of the night watching the TV together, except for my time on the phone with Amanda, rehashing our day, as usual. I probably fell asleep sometime after 2am, although I was in bed at midnight. Another interesting thing is what happened the next morning. I was at school early again (Mom had to drop me off before work at 7am, so I was usually there around 6:45) and Jonathan came up to me. He wanted to hang a memorial and asked for me to help. I did. In the forum we hung 2 small American flags and a piece of tape on which he wrote the words "We forgot Pearl Harbor, lest we forget again: God Bless America." We stood there and looked at it for awhile and then left. I'll never forget the look on his face after we put it up. He seemed so much more grown up than I had ever seen him be before. He started at the academy to pursure a career in the miltary at the end of the school year. That's my story of September 11th. It's not very exciting, and pretty close to other high school students, I'm sure. 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 story10689.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. 2004-07-15 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 68.69.97.140 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I was in the air on September 11th, returning from a climbing trip to Alaska. I had been scheduled to return home the day before but my flight out of Newark was cancelled due to bad weather. Since remaining in Newark overnight would have meant that I got home late the following day, I jumped on a flight to Charlotte. There was a flight to Memphis early the next morning (the 11th). When I got home the next day, my phone started ringing as I walked in the door. A friend of mine was calling to see if I had made it home. I had no idea what was going on. He told me to turn on the TV and I sat there in shock and disbelief staring at the incredible scene on the screen. At that point, no-one was yet sure what had happened and I thought that it must have been some terrible accident. Of course this was not the case and that quicklt became apparent. I sat on the edge of my bed for hours, crying as I watched the events unfold on my bedroom TV. My luggage sat in the middle of the kitchen where I had dropped it, I didn't even take off my shoes. There were reports that a few planes still in the air were not responding and I was scared. I was also dazed, having been up for almost 48 hours before getting a 3 hour nap in Charlotte. I needed to go to sleep, but I couldn't. I was terrified, wondering what would happen next . . . where we going to be bombed, where there missiles coming toward us? It was an endless day that passed in a slow, dark haze like a nightmare and I will never forget it, or the people who lost their lives, or the heroes who risked everything to try to save them. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story3395.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. 63.49.14.166 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: Like millions of other moms, I was just sitting down to enjoy a cup of coffee after the children had boarded the bus. That was my morning ritual; kids up, out the door, a cup of coffee and the Today Show. I remember watching as they cut away to the footage of the first tower that was hit and listening to the news commentators as they tried to make sense of what happened. I remember one saying that there must be a problem at the airport, something wrong with the air traffic control. But we all knew in our gut that no pilot could make such an error. And then the second plane hit and we had to face the fact that we were under attack. As time was marked that day by the other catastrophies, I just remember being numb, but scared. I grieve for all those who were lost that day but I grieve the most for the thousands of children who lost their innocence. I pray this day will make all of us stronger and more grateful for the blessings which God has granted us in this great country. I pray for God's guidance in the days to come. 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 story3334.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. 216.143.58.130 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 in my living room with my husband watching the Broncos play Monday Night Football for the first time in their new stadium. I've been psychically sensitive my entire life, so I've become accustomed to paying attention when I begin to feel emotions that aren't my own. As I sat on the sofa, I started to feel uneasy...very agitated. As I began to concentrate on the emotion, I found myself standing in front of what was a desk in an office...to my right seemed to be some sort of hallway...with a low wall...maybe around the right side of my desk area. Directly in front of the desk was a large, circular pillar...cement in nature, I belive. I found myself raising my right arm to keep the ceiling tiles from falling in on me. As I did so, I noticed what I was wearing. On my right arm was a men's dark blue or black suit with a white shirt sleeve extending beyond the jacket sleeve at my wrist. My right shirt sleeve had a cufflink. The hair on my right arm and hand was dark brown or black. My attention turned beyond my desk. There were other pillars diagonal to the pillar in front of my desk. Beyond my desk, I saw many computer terminal desks with low-walled cubicle style desks..I want to say the cubicles were beige in color. Beyond the desks, was a wall of glass windows, large and square panes of glass that extended up to the ceiling. The architecture of the office seemed to be at an angle...all of it...even the wall with the windows if that makes sense. I continued to turn to look to my left where I saw people running from the windows. I remember seeing armong the group, a tall, African-American woman in what I remember as a black and beige skirt and blouse. Black with large, beige flowers. At the exact moment, I said to myself (whoever I was there with) "We're all going to die". I can't tell you how deeply it hurts me every time I recall this premonition. I felt the absolute surrender to the inevitable. When I came out of my "trance" or whatever, my husband looked at me and said, "What now?". I related to him what I saw and felt. I had no idea where it came from. I've had other premonitions in the past, but nothing like this. When I got up the next morning and watched live as the second plane hit, I realized what I saw. I'm sitting here crying and shaking because I have no control over this. I've never been to New York. I took particular note of what I was wearing because I am an early-fourties wife and mother. I've wondered if anyone else (I'm sure there has to be someone) who had the same experience. Please let me know if you have any info on where this office may have been located. I can draw a picture of it easier than I can describe it, but I hope you get the idea. Thanks, and not just to those of us still here. Thank you to whomever it was that allowed me a glimpse of there final moments. Blessings to all. Any info anyone has re: resources that can help me with this would be appreciated. Charmaine. 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 story10528.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. 2004-04-07 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 68.35.88.166 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 11, 2001 I was at work and a co-worker told me that a plan hit the towers. She later told me that another plan hit the Pentagon. It took me a moment before I realized that my cousins worked at the Pentagon. I immediately started calling my family members. We weren't able to find out anything until that evening. My cousin and his wife both worked at the Pentagon. He was a Major in the Army, and she is a Captain in the Air Force. My cousins wife worked on the opposite side from where the plan hit. My cousin was standing right outside the door of the room where the plan hit waiting to go to a meeting. My family and I waited a week until the next tuesday, and it was confirmed that my cousins body was found and he was dead. Everything seemed as if it wasn't real. Somedays it still feels that way. My cousin and his wife had a daughter and his wife was pregnant with a little a boy, and she had him in January of 2002. I miss him everyday. 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 story4778.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 64.12.96.8 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: I woke up that morning as I did every morning with my 8 month old daughter. We ate breakfast and sat down to watch her favorite childrens television program. When I turned on the television I was astonished to see what I saw. It was a live shot of the World Trade Center, and they were both on fire. I sat in complete awe while my daughter played at my feet. I watched as the first building fell, and a feeling came over me that I have never experienced before. I just saw on live television hundreds of people lose their lives. I immediately phoned my own mother and broke the horrible news to her as reports were coming in that "something" hit the Pentagon. My heart sunk. America's might had just been hit. There was no telling when it was going to end, what else was going to happen. And it didn't stop, there was one more plane that crashed in a field. And all they showed over and over again were the images of the planes flying through the buildings. I couldn't get those images out of my head for days. When I would go to bed at night they would play over and over in my mind. I live close to the airport and was terribly afraid of airplanes for a long time after. I decided that being close to an airport was not a good idea, so I left. It was eerily silent as I drove. People everywhere were in a daze. The gas stations were lined with cars waiting to get gas. There was some rumor that gas prices were going to go through the roof. I couldn't believe that people were so concerned about gas prices after what had just happened. I was stopped at an intersection listening to news radio when I looked over at the car beside me. It was a woman and she looked right back at me and shook her head and held up her hands as if to say, what is going on? I just shook my head back. That night my husband and I got out our dusty bible and began reading again and we prayed. It was an unbelievable day that I will never ever 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 story7312.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. 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: I just sent my son off to first grade and about 1 hour later my cousin called and told me to turn on the news that a jet hit the WTC. While watching in disbelief another hit the second one. Then the announcement of the Pentagon and the other jet crashing. I was stunned to say the least and thankful that all I love were okay and near. I thought of the people in the planes and the buildings and said a prayer. While I watched the towers crumble I was completely breathless. We all think how mighty those buildings were and we were saddened by their demise. The greatest loss of course is the lives that were lost. I am so thankful that my God was with each and every person so they were not alone. I am thrilled that those people did not die in vane because this country was so seperated and those people brought us all back together and to God. I love seeing God Bless America on bumpers, building, billboards, etc. I am so glad we have a President like Mr. Bush and I have every confidence in him. The people that took over the plane and gave their lives to save so many others are true heros. May Jesus Christ be with each family and friend that lost so much that day and ease the pain. 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 story5355.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 am a service advisor at a car dealer. We were all watching the attacks on TV when a customer came in to pick up his car.He was shaking as we watched the horrors unfold. He told me that he wanted to pick up his car the night before but I had advised him to pick it up the next morning and not rush to the dealer from work. He told me he was working on the 84th floor of the tower and was supposed to be there that morning. Had I not told him to come in the morning and not the previous evening he surly would have perished! The next week he brought his wife in to meet me. She hugged me and thanked me for saving her husbands' life. We were all crying for the emotions had overswept us. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story9488.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. 2003-09-07 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 152.163.252.131 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: On September 11, 2001 I was in 2nd period gym class when I heard about the first world trade center collapsed from a plane crashing into it. I didn't really believe it at first because I thought people were just making it up to scare us. When I entered 4th period Studio Art I found out that it was true and the second world trade center had collapsed. During 4th period we watched the news the whole class period and found out some more information. I found out that another plane crashed into the Pentagon in Washington D.C. I was in total shock of that because I didn't expect the terrorists to do such a horrible thing. When I found out that this was a terrorist attack I didn't really know what that was because I never heard of terrorists before. When I heard that the Pentagon was partly destroyed I was kind of glad that it didn't get all the way knocked down. Next period was 5th and I thought things were going to get better. Well they didn't get better because there was a bunch of suicide bombers all over the United States waiting to blow up everybody and everything around them. That I think was the worst that a person could ever do; give up their life for something they believe in. In my eyes that is very pathetic. The next period was lunch and I was already in a bad mood about all that happened, so I wasn't really in the mood to watch the news in lunch because I was afraid I might get sick to my stomach from seeing all the dead and blooding bodies. There was a bunch of people that were being carried away that were dead or wounded from jumping or just walking along the building. There was one issue that really made me think. There was this little boy that just seen his mother and then five minutes later, she died in the World Trade Center, the second building. He was crying because he didn't know where his mother was and couldn't find his dad. He found out a little later that his dad also died while walking along the sides of the World Trade Centers. He was later sent to live with his grandparents. That issue took all my lunch period and I moved on to 7th period, which is Earth Science. We watched CNN the whole class period. I learned that the person who did this was Osama Bin Laden. He is the worst terrorist that could ever live. I heard him make a speech about what happened two hours ago, which he denied doing anything. When I looked at his face I knew he had a great part in this horrific event. I was trying to hold tears in when they showed all the victims. The end of 7th period was nearly approaching the end and I didn't want it to end because I was just getting into it. But, I was glad because as soon as I got in 8th period that it was we watched. In the middle of 8th period we had a moment of silence to pray for the family of the victims. We then continued to watch the news, nothing really new happened during that period and onto 9th period. They kept on showing the collapsing of the WTC's and the crashing of the pentagon. Later that evening I went to my friends house and watched President Bush make a public speech to issue the public that we might be entering a war. People were really scared of what was going to happen after that. At about ten o'clock the U.S made is first attack on Afghanistan, which blew up the entire country. On September 11, 2001 was the worst day of my entire 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 story602.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. 2002-05-15 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 168.169.8.133 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 6, 2001 Well, its almost 8 AM now, so I guess I'm going to head down to the cafeteria to get some coffee. So now I'm back and enjoying the Starbucks breakfast blend coffee. It is pretty good stuff. Went yesterday and met Sid, Woody, and Kenneth for lunch at that sushi buffet bar place Sid was talking about at the beach. It was damn good. And cheap, too. It was nice to enjoy their company, and Woody even helped me out with an algebra problem that I couldn't figure out as part of the precourse work for this FIRRM class I'm going to next week. Oh yeah, I need to talk about my long Labor-Day weekend down in the Outer Banks. First off, after an epic struggle with Taisia, I won out, and we departed Richmond at 5:45 AM Friday morning. There was virtually no traffic for the majority of the ride down there, and we did so well time-wise that we decided to stop for breakfast. Since I was on vacation, I cast aside my strict eating regimen, and dove into a breakfast consisting of buttermilk pancakes, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, and a buttermilk biscuit. It was glorious. That evening, after picking up Sid and Heidi, we headed to my favorite place down there of all times, Owen's. We had a feast fit for royalty, seafood of all types and description, served to us by a very pleasant waiter with a kind face and great smile. The food was absolutely magnificent. I being out of practice with such large quantities, left that establishment quite a bit slower than I had entered. Afterwards, Taisia and I retired early, before the others arrived. In the morning, as usual, we awoke quite early, well before anyone else. Taisia ran out and picked us up some dreadful coffee from the Texaco station, and we sat out on the deck and relaxed at the shore. Then we finally met the others for the first time, Mike, Robyn, and Doug. Mike is about 35, a couple inches taller than me, and built like a sherman tank. He has a cool face, that makes him look like he is a chronic wiseass, but he doesn't come across that way at all. Robyn is very cute, and has a waif-like body and short hair, which suits her. Doug is tall and of a medium build, with a face you just like right off the bat. Right away I knew we were going to hit it off with this group of folks. During the day, despite the mediocre weather, we headed to a beach for some swimming and fishing. That evening we ate at Sid's place, the 1587 club in Manteo. The food was stellar, and the company was extremely enjoyable. After dinner we walked down to a small dock with a patio out behind the restaurant, and we watched fish eat various creatures from the surface of the water. We had a lot of laughs and carried on a great deal, but fortunately no one was around to be disturbed. When we got home we sat around and talked before going to bed. Sunday's weather was greatly improved, and the day was spent on the beach for the most part. After returning from dinner, we all played Taboo with the homemade cards that Heidi had created. They all were of a sexual nature, which was pretty funny and added an interesting flavor to the Taboo concept. We really had a blast playing that game, and by the time we had tired of it, we decided to continue the fun with Guesstures, which is a modernized version of charades. We had even more fun playing that, and stayed up until the wee hours of the morning laughing and carrying on. I'm glad to say that the guys kicked the girls asses in both games, by the way. Monday morning came so quickly, and soon we were saying goodbye to our new friends, as they headed out immediately after the checkout time. Taisia and I, and Sid and Heidi stayed for the majority of the day, going back to the same beach we had been before, which was state park land. The beach was stunning, with no manmade structures whatsoever to mar the landscape, except the bathroom and shower facility off at the far end of the parking area, so courteously provided by the National Park Service. We laid out, and swam, and sunned, until about 3 PM, and then we showered, changed, and left the beach for the last time, lamentably. We went to Goombays for our last meal in the Outer Banks, and we gorged ourselves on various and sundry seafood items. I had a crabcake sandwich with fries that were out of this world, and we also had an appetizer of breaded and fried scallops that were killer. We all shared a couple of desserts that were pretty kickass, too. Then the time came to take Sid and Heidi back to First Flight airport, where we saw them off, and then headed on the road ourselves. Oh it was such a good time, I'm still lamenting the expiration of it. We hit it off so well with the 3 new people, and Mike and Robyn invited us to go out on their boat with them this Saturday. Mike is big into wakeboarding, and I'm really looking forward to going with them. I hope the weather cooperates. So, that gets the weekend events up to speed. This Tuesday marked my first day in the IT department. I moved my things from 12 to 13, and am settled in nicely up here. I've been meeting people while also preparing for this class next week. I have a fair amount of stuff to cover still, so I am going to wrap up this journal entry now. September 7, 2001 Its Friday, Yay! I am not happy to be here on a Friday but I guess that is the price you pay for having a 4-day weekend. We're on for boating with Mike and Robyn tomorrow around noon, and that also is cause for celebration. I am looking forward to doing that, and it looks like the weather is supposed to be good. This Sunday I'm leaving for NYC and the FIRRM class. I am both pleased and a little wistful to be finally going back out on the road. So lately what's new? I worked on Tyson's brakes the other day, replacing the drum shoes in the back for $40. I think I undercharged him, but that's okay. I'll have a customer for life, or as long as I want him anyway. I wish I could line up some more people to work on their cars, because it is good money. And tax free. And easy, for that matter. At any rate, I need to get busy working on this precourse shit. I'll report back sometime next week. Or maybe the week after that. I must remember to take this computer home with me, and to pick up my train tickets before I leave here. I'm going to do that right now. September 11, 2001 Well, today began exactly like yesterday, but I'm sad to say that it didn't progress with the same tranquility as the previous day. I'm in New York City attending the FIRRM class as part of my commissioning process, and up until 9:10 AM today that was exactly what was happening. I was sitting in class, trying to pay attention to the teacher, and follow the concepts he was presenting, which dealt with the term structure of interest rates. As I was looking out the window from time to time, I noticed that a lot of papers were falling from the sky past the windows. I remember thinking that it was probably a bunch of newspapers that had fallen off a rooftop or something. Then there was a loud boom, like a muffled crash or explosion, and my world, my being, will never be the same again. Looking outside, hordes of people were moving quickly in the same direction, towards the southern part of Manhattan. The class left their seats and pressed against the window, and then we all left the building en masse for the street. It was baffling at first to see virtually everyone moving in the same direction with panicked looks, and anguish on many faces. Then I heard someone say that an airplane had hit the World Trade Center. I don't know what happened inside of me, but I just began walking towards the Trade Center buildings, against the flow of literally thousands of people. I had to tuck myself in, and take the brunt of several impacts, as people trying to flee bumped into me. But I continued onward, and within a few minutes I was looking at the twin towers, each with a gaping hole in them and blackened floors, and black smoke and flames billowing out of them. The scene on the streets was chaos, and the emergency personnel were too stunned to pay any attention to the few people like me that were moving closer to the carnage. Eventually I wound up standing next to a building for shelter from the pieces of wreckage that continued to rain down, and I stood and looked at the buildings burn. Once I was ushered away, I headed down to the next block and cut over and moved back towards the towers. Heading down one street, I began to notice strange-looking debris all over the ground, and on cars, and draped across fruit in fruit-stands. Dimly, from somewhere deep within the recesses of my mind I knew these were human remains, but my brain didn't want to comprehend it, and instead I told myself it was damaged fruit. In fact, it was all so badly mangled and in such small pieces that you couldn't really identify what any of it was. Intermingled with these mangled bits of what I was trying to tell myself were fruit, were other items, flotation devices from aircraft, and pieces of fuselage, and a mangled cell phone, and bits of clothing, and shoes. All sorts of various items were strewn about everywhere. A limousine parked on the side of the road had a metal rod impaled through its hood and engine compartment. That was a sobering sign, as I was standing on the street next to it, unprotected. I wound up standing next to a guy in a suit who was trying to use his cell phone, and I told him it was useless, as I'd been trying to dial different numbers all along with no success. We then chatted a bit, and he informed me that a second plane had hit the other building, and that it was a terrorist attack. He asked me something that I can't remember now, and I wound up telling him that I was unfamiliar with the area, as I was visiting from Richmond VA. He gave a dry laugh and said "welcome to New York." He said his name was Rich. I shook his hand. It seemed like the appropriate thing to do, I guess. What is appropriate when the world is exploding around you? As we were talking, he looked up and said "oh no, another one jumped." And I looked up and watched a man falling backwards through the air, close enough for me to see his white shirt and tie, and black shoes. He was motionless and in a backwards sitting position. And he just fell and fell, it seemed like forever that he dropped through space. I watched him, frozen in horror, right up until he passed out of my sight behind part of the structure, and then there was an amazingly loud crash, perhaps he landed on a car, I'm not sure. I looked down at the ground, stunned and in disbelief, and that's when I saw the first recognizable item on the ground; a human foot. Rich asked me if I thought the buildings could possibly collapse, and I said that I didn't think it was possible, and I mentioned the time that a U.S. bomber had flown into the Empire State Building. And in fact the twin towers didn't look like they were weakened, although several floors were burning badly on each side of them. I really can't remember what I did for the next several minutes, I just looked around at the carnage, spotting more grisly remains, and pieces of aircraft, and personal effects, and the like. Then a group of firefighters passed by us, heading towards the building, and I remember looking into some of their faces, and wanting to tell them to be careful. I was looking up the street away from the twin towers, and I saw Rich and another guy who had been talking a little bit suddenly look terror-stricken, as they apparently were watching another jumper fall through the air. The sound of the impact was so shocking, and Rich actually grabbed the other guy for support, and said "oh my God, he landed on a firefighter." I turned around and saw the group of firefighters dragging the two away, the jumper in a deep blue pinstriped suit, and the firefighter who had been struck by him. The jumper's body moved in impossibly pliable ways, and I watched, transfixed, as they dragged them both past me. Eventually some security person directed us away from there, and I walked through the building nearest to me, and back out onto the street and up to another vantage point. I kept looking at people, and the towers, and trying to call someone on my phone, and just generally trying to cope with everything I was observing. Then the unimaginable happened. With a deep rumble and an explosion, I saw the top floors of the building drop down, almost in slow motion. I stood transfixed, as the structure dropped down upon the lower levels, imploding and careening towards the ground. Then the survival center in my brain began shouting the alert for me to run, run for my life. I ran down the street, my legs pumping as fast as they could, dimly aware of both the people running in terror in front of me, and out of my side vision someone who had fallen down on my left side. I was next to a building, and I headed for the corner of it, throwing my head over my left shoulder, I gave a quick glimpse of Armageddon coming down the street behind me, pieces of the building, debris, and a massive cloud of dark gray smoke. I hung a left, and the pieces of building blasted past where I had been just milliseconds before, like a runaway freight train. I dove around the corner of the building and underneath a steel door that was just inches from closing, behind another guy and a cop. I'll never forget as long as I live the sight of all the cops who had previously been trying to maintain order and keep people safe, suddenly all running at top speed away from me and the carnage. Inside the building, the air was clogged with debris, you could barely see or breathe. The young squat cop immediately shifted from being afraid and running for his life, to concerned about the welfare of all of the people now in his realm of responsibility. He asked if anyone was hurt, and ushered us towards a tiny office in the back of the building. Two garage attendants offered us water at a small sink, and provided us with shirts to put over our mouths and noses to breathe through. Outside it was black as night, you can't imagine the depth of the darkness. Then, after a few minutes I guess, the young cop was talking on his radio and said that we had to evacuate that building, our refuge. I again got that scared feeling, like we were in imminent danger of the structure collapsing. We got our breathing cloths in place, and proceeded out into hell. The black had given way to a dense gray, and the air was still chokingly thick with debris. We made our way to a deli where others were huddled, and inside we got more water, and I set about cutting up my breathing shirt with a large knife, to give to others that were without. People were frantically grabbing for the pieces I was cutting, not even mindful of the large and very sharp knife I was using. I had to keep warning them to please be careful and watch out while I was cutting. I couldn't cut and tear fast enough. After a few minutes one of the cops said we had to get out of there too. They instructed us to take as many bottles of water as we could carry. I stood there, with a bottle of water in my pants pocket, and dumping one into my eyes, and the young cop next to me was grabbing bottles, and he turned to me and said "its like we're looting the place." Then we left and headed out onto the street again. While walking, people were just coming up to me and asking if I needed water, if I was okay, everyone just seemed to be pulling together in this mutual moment of need. Finally I wound up at the entrance to the Brooklyn Tunnel. Cops were telling people either to go into the tunnel or to head towards South Street Seaport. I decided to try the tunnel, since that's where my sisters' place was anyway. The tunnel didn't provide much refuge from the debris, I found to my dismay. I kept the breathing cloth pressed over my mouth and nose and forged ahead, walking on the catwalk, just above the sea of abandoned cars. At some point I came to a crossover to the other tunnel, and I ducked inside to see if it was clear on the other side. The air was just as thick with debris in the other tunnel, but inside that crossover I took my first clear breaths since the collapse-apparently this area was part of the air-handling system within the tunnel. Daylight was streaming in from somewhere above, and without even consciously thinking about it, I knelt on the floor of that tiny room, and thanked God for watching over my dumb ass. I enjoyed a few more clean breaths of air, and then emerged from the crossover and continued. I walked on and on, seeing few people along the way. I gave one of the people my water bottle, for him to take a drink from, and we continued walking together. Finally we got to where the cars ended, and from there we walked in the roadway. Ultimately, I ran into a bunch of detectives, in suits, and I walked with them, while the other people that I had been with got on a bus that was slowly backing its way out of the tunnel. While walking with the detectives, a cop drove up and we all piled in. He drove us the rest of the way out of the tunnel, and then left us at the mouth of it. I walked slowly towards the toll plaza, and then the overwhelming feelings began to flood in, and my emotions crashed upon me, interspersed with brief footage inside my head of what I had observed just a short while before. I wept as I walked, and two kind policemen came up to me and comforted me, and gave me a bottle of juice, and talked with me for a while. Their looks of concern, kind words, and hands on my shoulders helped me to calm down a little, and I gave them my information, and then asked them how to get to fourth and Pacific. They gave me directions, and some more words of comfort, and then I headed out for the last leg of my journey. Walking along Atlantic, I turned around as I heard a car approach, and two Spanish guys pulled up and asked me if I was okay. I said that I was and I asked if they could give me a ride. They told me to hop in. As we drove, the driver told me he was headed to the 59th street bridge, to pick up his wife. He said he'd drop me off before he turned. They said something about how we were all going to have to pull together now. They took me about a mile and a half, and then dropped me off, and wished me luck. Then I walked for blocks and blocks, pausing every so often to look over my shoulder at the huge pall of smoke that was rising above Manhattan. It was surreal in Brooklyn, because no one here really knew what had just happened in such close proximity to where they were. People were just going about their business, for the most part, talking, laughing, making phone calls, walking along the street. None of them knew what had just transpired a short way across the river. I walked, and wept periodically, not paying much attention to the people on the street, and they not paying me any mind as well. Finally I made it to Fee's apartment, where I now sit, trying to comprehend what has happened. Watching it on T.V. is just making it more unbelievable. I've seen footage of the second plane hitting the building, and I've seen footage of the buildings collapsing, but I still cannot fully grasp it all. I keep feeling like I'm going to wake up from it, and it will all be a nightmare. The human remains, the personal effects, the pieces from the aircraft, the guy falling, the panic in the streets, the buildings collapsing, it will all just be a nightmare. I wish I could wake up from this. September 17, 2001 Well, that last journal entry was something else, wasn't it? The further away it gets, the less real it all seems. That journal entry made it virtually unedited onto the front page of the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Since that time, I've been working at wrapping my mind around all that I've seen and heard, but I haven't been very successful. After showering and changing in Fee's apartment, I was shocked at how normal and unruffled I was. I came out of the ordeal completely unscathed, and that has added to my disbelief of the whole situation. I've received dozens of phone calls and emails from people asking if I was okay, complimenting me on the story, and just generally reaching out. From meetings, to work, and even just random people like Taisia's work, everyone has been wishing me well. The time that has transpired between that Tuesday and today is somewhat of a blur. I've been having a hard time remembering what day it is, and what I've been doing, and my sense of time has been skewed as well. I haven't done anything for my employer since last Tuesday at 9:15 AM either. But that hasn't bothered me too much in the whole of scheme of things. Well, I'll try and do a recap of events after I returned to Fee's apartment. My step-cousin Schuyler came over, after he learned from Fee what I had been through, and that I was alone at her place. I can't tell you how wonderful it was to see a familiar face at the door, after all that had happened. We hugged, and it just felt so good-I'm so grateful to him for having done that for me, walking across the Manhattan bridge and coming to see me. We talked for a while, and I recounted the story to him, and he graciously listened even though I'm sure it pained him to have to hear it. Then we watched the television together in silence for the most part, both flabbergasted at what we were seeing. After the initial shock wore off, we talked some more, of what exactly I can't remember, but it was all dealing with the days' events, of course. I think that will be mostly what I talk about for a long time to come. Eventually we decided to try and find something to eat. We walked down some streets in Brooklyn, and on the way to a neighborhood with some restaurants, I found a charred piece of paper on the sidewalk. It had blown there all the way from Manhattan. It had writing on it that was related to some real estate court case. Maybe it was from one of the many doomed law offices that once occupied the WTC. We finally found a place to eat, with seats inside and outside, and the front of the place was opened up because it was so nice outside. You could smell hints of the fire everywhere, and not the warm and cozy smell of a fireplace, but the unsettling smell of a bad fire, a structural fire. It was unnerving. But people were there and eating, in fact the place was mobbed with diners, all chatting and eating, albeit in a somewhat subdued fashion. We ordered some food, and we sat and talked. When the food arrived, we both ate voraciously, I'm ashamed to admit. I discovered I was famished, despite everything that I had seen, heard, and experienced. After returning to the apartment, we found Fee and Brian sitting on the railing waiting for us. They had called while we were there, to let us know they had found a way out of Manhattan on a subway. So we went inside and continued talking. Eventually, Schuyler left, and so did Brian, and Fee and I stayed up watching the news and talking. I went to bed fully expecting not to be able to sleep, or to be plagued by awful incarnations of the horrors I had witnessed. Again I am ashamed to admit that I was not so burdened. I slept soundly, and until quite late for me, almost 9 AM. Upon awaking, I can't remember what I did, or at least I can't differentiate what I did on that day versus what I did for the remaining mornings I was in NYC. Drank coffee, watched the news, ate something, talked to Fee. It was all the same for the rest of my time there, I think. Thursday arrived both quickly and not fast enough. Fee and I got on a subway after having some coffee and something to eat. A bagel I think. Then we went to Penn Station, where I got my ticket transferred and then Fee and I went to a Dunkin Donuts place to hang out until the anointed time. Parting company with Stinky after so much time together and so many tragedies' shared was hard. We hugged and told each other that we loved the other, and then I walked down the escalator towards the gate. I helped a lady who was hauling a tremendous amount of luggage, and helped her stow it in the overhead rack, and we sat together. Her name was Daisy, and we talked a great deal on the ride home. She bought me lunch, and it was nice to have her as company for the trip. She said she was going to mail me copies of the New York newspapers that I had failed to be able to get copies of. I'm so relieved to say that the train ride was uneventful. I made it back to Richmond right on schedule, at 4:30 PM. Taisia was waiting for me, with a homemade sign welcoming me back. It was really nice to see her. She had a bouquet of flowers for me, and we hugged and kissed, and then she took me home. Home. I couldn't believe it. Just as I had left it, even the lawn didn't look like it had grown a bit since I'd last mowed it. Nothing had changed here, not one single thing. No indication here of what had happened a few hundred miles away. Events that threaten to change the entire planet. Since coming home, I've talked to and seen so many of my friends. Yesterday, Sunday, I went dirtbike riding with the whole gang of racers, minus Steve Sumner. Almost the whole old roadrace team, Tim, Steve Shoul, Me, Scott Nelson, and Bobb Seitz. It was great to see them all. We went to a motocross track down in Sussex county, about an hour south. I took Taisia's CR, after having raised it back up to its normal height the night before. The day was stunningly beautiful, the weather was absolutely pristine, and there were tons of people there. The track was not too terribly challenging, which was good considering how lousy a dirt rider I am. The CR ran great, and I had a pretty good time flailing about on the track, although I was one of the slowest ones out there. I managed to get the bike up in the air pretty good a few times, which was a lot of fun. I crashed a couple times, but nothing too bad, and I'm not hurting that much today, although I am a bit sore. It was a nice diversion, even though the horrors were never far from my conscious thought. Watching the little kids ride around the track was the best part, I think. Those little shavers were so great, doing their darndest to make it around the track. And when they'd crash, unless they got stuck under the bike, they would jump right up, and pick up their bike, and hop back on, and kick it back running and off they'd go! I almost began crying just watching them, because it brought me so much happiness, but at the same time I have this unbelievable weight on my chest all the time. Everywhere I go, everything I do, all the time, it is like my soul is weeping uncontrollably. I talked with friends, reminisced about old times, made jokes and did my standard routine, and had everybody laughing, but inside my soul was weeping. I just can't stop it. And so rarely do I show it outwardly. Every now and then it bubbles to the surface, but for the most part it is just inward. So here I am today, Monday, September 17, 2001 and I am going out in the canoe on the James tomorrow. I really should call work now, but it is too late. I guess I'll just have to be sure to call sometime tomorrow morning. I'm planning on going back to work Wednesday, and making the rounds for the rest of the week. That way, I'll only have to do that sort of thing for 3 days, and then I can go out on the road the following week and be completely anonymous. So I'm going to take tomorrow as my last mental health day, and then I am going to try and get back into a normal routine. I was just thinking about a picture I saw in the paper. President Bush and NYC Mayor Rudolph Giulianni were together, and Rudy was looking like he was going to break down and cry, and Bush was looking into his eyes, and had his hand on the side of Rudy's head. It was very touching. Rudy has been such a pillar of strength for the city, and I think Bush is rising to the challenge on behalf of the nation, too. I still haven't progressed to the stage of wanting revenge yet. I know we need to do something, but I'm still not ready to jump on the bandwagon of people crying for vengeance. I don't have the thirst for us to go over and do what I saw done to human beings in NYC this past Tuesday. So there you have it, getting things just about up-to-date in the old journal. Who would have ever thought that a piece of this journal would be front-page news? Life is crazy sometimes, I guess. It is only ten to nine right now, but I am already so tired and anxiously looking forward to going to bed. I wonder if this is the night where it all comes back. 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 story612.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. 2002-05-15 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 199.169.240.132