470 20 70359 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I, like so many people in the NJ area was watching tv (the Today Show), when the first plane struck the World Trade Center. It knocked out all of the tv stations, so I knew something terrible had happened, although I didn't know what. So, I continued going about my daily ritual of getting ready for work, my hair, make-up, etc... Finally at 9:00, I kissed my dog good-bye, locked him up in his cage, and turned on the radio for him. What I heard, I couldn't believe... The DJ's were announcing that a second plane had just struck the other Twin Tower. I thought it was an Orsen Wells type of joke, so I ran to the tv to see if it was true or not. I flipped from channel to channel, but there was no reception on any of them. So I decided to leave for work. On my ride in, my usual station kept on breaking in with special announcements and updates regarding the airplanes. I remember driving under overpasses on Route 22, and seeing people and cars stopped and staring in the sky. So I looked in my rear view mirror and couldn't believe what I saw. There were 2 cloudy smoke trails heading towards the heavens. I thought to myself "Oh my god, we're under attack! It's really happened!" Then I continued on my way to work. Once I was there, we listened to the radio in horror about the towers crumbeling, the Pentagon being targeted, the plane that went down in PA, and the missing planes from the radar. All I know is that I just wanted to be home. I just wanted to know that all of my loved ones were safe from all of this. Luckilly, my work let all of us go home at noon. (The owners themselves had loved ones who were in NYC on that day, and they were worried as well. I drove home like a maniac. I just had this intense need to watch the tv, and find out where and how everyone I knew was. I made it home in half the time I normally did. I was amazed. Once I was there, I immediately called my husband. I tried frantically to reach him, but no one was answering the phones. Since he works in Elizabeth, on the seaport, I figured he was in harms way. Next I called my parents, they were both fine, and on their way home. "thank God, I thought to myself, now to find out how my honey is". He called a few minutes later. He had been at his parents house, to find out how they were. His dad was in NYC that morning, and had just left the city at 9:30, just as all the commotion was in full swing. It took him almost 3 hours to get home, (normally a 45 minute trip). I was so overjoyed to know that everyone I know and cared for were all safe and sound. Once I found out everyone was ok, I focused on the tv set. I just ltared at the set with tears in my eyes for hours. I still can't watch the images without breaking out into tears. Sometime that afternoon, the wind kicked up in my area, and the air had the worst odor I've ever smelled in my life. Somehow I knew it was from the towers collapse. A mix of the gasoline, bodies and other vapors wafting through the air made the event seem all to realistic. Sometime after that, I had the need to donate blood to the Red Cross. I tried to get through for hours, but the lines were all busy. I was truly struck by the tradgedy. I felt blessed to be alive, and had an intense need to help those in the towers and in the planes. I just wanted to help in some way although I didn't know how. I was one of the lucky one's. I consider myself to be very fortunate that no one I personally know was lost on that beautiful, crisp September morning. Weatherwise, it was one of the most beautiful days I've ever seen. Now whenever the sky is clear, without a cloud in it, I can't help but to think back to that morning. 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 story5449.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 152.163.188.6 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: It was my daughters second day of kindergarten. I was just surfing the TV to see what was on and stopped on a local channell because of a burning building. The more I watched I could not believe the tragic story unfolding before me, they were saying it was terrorists. I was shocked, I could not believe something like this was happening in out country. I wanted to go get my daughter from school and have her with me where she was safe. I called my good friend and we sobbed together on the telephone, scared, confused and totally glued to our TV screens waiting to hear the lateset bit of infomation. I watched the second plane hit, I watched as both towers came tumbling down and I could not believe my eyes. My prayers go to all those who lost loved ones in this tragic event. 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 story4206.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. 208.137.76.40 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: My second child had just arrived at school. My oldest child had stayed at home saying she was ill. Their father was at work and myself(as usual) was at home with the other two children. The radio was on my usual country station. An average day in my life. Then all HELL broke loose. The radio announced a plane had hit the Trade Center building. At first I thought it was an accident, then all the proper info came in. I couldn't believe it. I was making chili for dinner that day. Good thing as you can cook it slowly without watching it much. All through the day I was glued to the TV, partly in hope and astonishment and partly in horror. One year later, I did not watch the news. I did not want to see it all again. I held my own vigil. The flags were lowered and four candles were lit. One each for the Trade Center buildings, one for the Pentagon, and one for the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania. And again I made chili for dinner. 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 story6838.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-12 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 205.188.209.38 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: On the day of September 11, 2001 I was in the sixth grade at Hunt Valley Elementary school. My school didnt start until 9:00, but when i got to school me or any of my friends didn't know anything about it. I remember going through the first hour of school, when the principal came on to the loud speaker,and told us that we couldn't go outside for recess today. I was so mad, but i had no idea what was going on. We were all wondering why, and my friend Jason had said somebody had dropped a bomb on the white house. We were only in 6th grade so my teacher didn't want to burden us by showing us the news or anything. Alot of students went home early that day, because we only live 14 miles from the Pentagon and kids parents work there for military reasons. That night we kept the news on all night long, watching planes hit the twin towers and the pentagon over and over again. It will be a day that will always be im my memory as a turning point in American history. 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 story20820.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2006-09-12 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 151.188.16.21 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: The morning of September 11, 2001 started out just like every other morning for me. I woke up in my dorm room and thought I would watch some tv while I got ready for class. As soon as I turned on the tv it was everywhere, a plane had hit the World Trade Center. It was the scariest thing I had ever seen on tv. My roommate and I called our parents and quickly touched based with all of our loved ones. Being away at school my parents were so worried, no one knew what was going to take place next. I sat in front of the tv for days and cried. We walked around in terror to class and I talked to my family more than I had in weeks. I think it ultimately brought us as a country together more, but it was one of the scariest saddest times of my lives. 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 story9294.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. 2003-05-06 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 67.200.57.60 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: September 11, 2001 - A day never forgotten My husband & I were on vacation that week, it was Tuesday and he was outside sitting on our porch. I was going to fix us a big breakfast when I stopped to turn on the TV. I saw the first plane hit and went running outside to see if he had the TV on out there, he didn't so I told him about what I saw. We immediately went inside and were glued to the TV the rest of the day. We were supposed to go to a concert at the Beach that evening, needless to say it was cancelled. After school was out, we picked up our 9 year old son and tried to explain the days events best we could without knowing all the facts ourselves. We didn't do anything we planned on our vacation. We watched TV every day, all day to see the latest news. It was very heartbreaking to see everything else unfold with the Pentagon and Flight 93. I wish each family the best in their future endeavors and I would like them to know that their family members will not be forgotten EVER. They are true American Heroes and I respect every last one of them. Thanks to all the volunteers who worked together to get our Country together in this time of crisis. I can't believe it was a year ago already, I think this day will be remembered like it was yesterday no matter how many years ago it was. It will be a day never be forgotten. Jodi Meadows Richmond, VA 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 story2687.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. 63.108.51.67 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 class at Macomb Mall When the tragedy happened.I felt very angry and very sad. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story6382.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-12 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 64.88.0.135 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: Iam ahouse keeper . Ihad just gotten to the first house of the day . My partner and I had just started to work when the home owner called us down to the kitchen where she was watching the news. I stood their and just watched the screen wondering the news man was in this movie ,and why would they be making a movie where they blew up the twin towers. It was really sick .It took me quite a while to realize that wasnt any movie. When the reality of what was happening, finally hit me. Iwas to say the least scared. Ididnt understand why ,who or what was going on.Then i kept happening all morning the second tower,The Pentagon, Flight 93. When i got home to watch the news , I was horrified , so many people,I cried for their families,Icried for me.Iam still cring to this day . More then crying Ive been praying lately .Ibelieve the terrorist tried to change America . And they have but not for they way they thought they would , I feel we are closer , More united know then we were 1 year ago . We are a stronger nation, with many heros . God bless America Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story6745.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-12 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 205.188.209.38 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: Tuesday, September 11th, 2001 started out like any other day at my workplace. We repair all types of electronic equipment, including computers, and a little before 9:00 am a customer rang the bell of our walk-in repair counter to drop off a broken laptop. He rang the bell four times in quick succession, and my coworker and I looked at each other and figured we had another impatient customer on our hands. In fact, the man had heard on his car radio that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center. My first thought was disbelief, but the man was very insistent, and we began to discuss what kind of accident might have occurred. While we were talking, a few repair technicians walked by, saying that the TV department had put CNN on a big screen TV for everyone to find out what was happening. I walked back there to see about 20 people gathered around, but no one was talking. Everyone was completely focused on the screen in front of them, and when I looked, I could see why. The images I saw of the plane crashing into the second tower were unbelievable, and I know I will always see it in my mind just as clearly as I saw it on TV that day. I had been to the Trade Center Observation Deck for the second time just four months before with my sister, Dana, her college roommate, Katie, and my boyfriend, Rich, for their spring break. We all posed in front of the Twin Tower skyline backdrop and bought the picture as a silly tourist memento because Katie had never been to New York City before. She was so impressed with the view, we took pictures from every angle. We had a wonderful time that weekend and I keep the photo in our guest bedroom. So when I saw the horror of what took place that awful day, my first thoughts went to the young men & women who worked at the fast food and concession stands on the Observation Deck, and the sinking feeling that they couldn't possibly have gotten down in time. I remember sitting on the floor of the ladies restroom and crying so hard I couldn't catch my breath. Being only about 40 minutes outside of New York City, my company shut down early in order for everyone to try and reach loved ones, and safely reunite. I am so thankful that everyone I knew in the city turned out to be alright. The events of that day have affected many aspects of life in our country, but I think more importantly, it has affected us all on a personal level as well as a national one. Even in one of the darkest times of our nation's history, the overwhelming courage, support and brotherhood that came out in such full force gives me hope that one day, we can unite like that in good times as well as bad. I will never forget. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story5111.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. 208.228.97.158 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I was in my third periosd spanish class. The morning had been boring because I had been in band first period and I hadn't done anything( there was a substitue ). The door opened right next to me because i sat in the back. The eighth grade assistant principal walked into the trailer classroom with tears in her eyes. "Students, something terrible has happened," she said. " I understand that some of you may not be from America, but you're here, and if you don't like it, you can just get out!" No one in the class understood where she was going with her comments. " All outdoor classes will be moved into the building. You will be designated classrooms in a few moments." Mr. Shroff, the spanish teacher, took the class into the building and put us in a classroom, some seventh grade room. Mr. Shroff turned on the T.V. to CNN. The screen was filled with the image a large building with smoke coming out of it. Unknowing grunts floated throught the classroom. The anchorperson came on the T.V. " We are shocked that this attack has happened, a Boeing 747 has flown into the first tower of the World Trade Center." Oh my God, What, and more Oh my Gods' rang throughout the classroom. The anchorperson came on again," We have also recieved word that a plane has fown into one of the walls of the Pentagon." Just then some faces went ghost white,some just got lighter. A few girls started crying, because they had mothers or fathers that worked at the pentagon. I first thought my moms job was near it because it was in Arlington, but later i realized that she worked on the other side of town. My father ws fine because nothing had happened in Washington, D.C. I think September 11 was a day of tradgedy, but it turned out later to be a day of togetherness. 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 story8132.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. 2002-09-25 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 209.244.209.123 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: We only heard about it all at 6.30pm on Thursday the 13th. There is no cel phone or radios allowed. We remember hearring estimates of 100,000 people Gd forbid having lost their lives. May America know the enemy is Arafatand those like him, and those who are currently selling late Daniel Pearl's videos in the mosques of Pakistan. Martin Charney 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 story10417.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. 2004-02-04 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 67.61.3.43 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 writing a letter to President Bush and watching T.V I had been having problems with the INS over my husband staying with me, which he is from Central america. Anyway I just finished the letter and dated it, when all of a sudden the news flashed that the first tower was hit, at first I thought oh what a tragic accident and then boom I watched in horror as the second tower was hit, I couldn't move I was paralyzed from shock and disbelief.I kept telling myself this is not happening, I called my mother and told her look at the news, she started crying and I said oh my god call grandma,she lives there around the area, no luck at all. so I kept watching the news and listening to the radio all day long.I went to pick up my kids from school that afternoon when I seen the effect it had on everyone around me it was so hurtful, and everybody was crying everywhere....THAT WAS THE DAY THE WORLD STOOD STILL..It seem like nobody was moving..In conclusion I never mailed my letter and I still have it..My heart goes to the families and survivors.....Thank you to all the firemen and police and all volunteers for their help in sparing 2 of my family members lives....... M.LOPEZ 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 story5296.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: My name is Jeff Benjamin and I was visiting a client, Axcelera Specialty Risk, on the 83rd Floor of the North Tower when we observed an approaching aircraft (American Airlines Flt.11)from a distance of aprox. 3-4 miles. At the time we initially spotted the plane, it appeared to be level with us. We could distinctly identify the American airlines insignia and my client commented that perhaps the plane had taken off from Kennedy and was experiencing mechanical problems. As the plane approached us it seemed to climb. I stood up from the conference table and walked over to the window assuming as everyone did that there was no imminent danger. As the plane came closer we could see that it was traveling at a high rate of speed and the sound of the engines intensified. Immediately before impact we could see images in the cockpit and the plane banked sharply. A split second later we heard an echoing shot, fell to the floor and observed a fireball followed by debris which struck the side of the building. At the same time you could feel the building sway every so slightly for a brief moment. We immediately retreated towards the main part of the office where we noticed a huge fireball shooting out of the elevator shaft which quickly disappeared. Fortunately, the glass door between our office and the elevator lobby remained intact as the drywall and ceiling tiles caught fire. The fire burned off leaving thick acrid black smoke some of which entered the office through the ceiling where some tiles had collapsed above the reception desk. We immediately went to the kitchenette in the office to locate hand towels and paper towels which we wet down in the sink to stuff under the door and to cover our mouths to prevent as much smoke as possible from entering our lungs. No one seemed to know for sure where the stairways were, and since the smoke was heavy in the elevator lobby, we decided to stay in the office for the time being. Almost as if on cue the phones began to ring. Relatives and co-workers called to provide assurance and to let us know they had contacted 911 operators and advised them there were people located on the 83rd floor that need to be rescued. I personally contacted a 911 operator and let them know our location. The operator stated we should remain in the office as they would provide our whereabouts to the firemen which were already in the building and on their way up. Shortly thereafter the phones stopped ringing. Minutes passed which seemed like hours. We closed the office doors located by the exterior windows as we were afraid some of the debris crashing against the side of the building could break some windows and physically located near the walls bordering the elevator lobby. It became eerily quiet as everyone seemed to pause in reflection. I specifically recall a woman, who entered our office from the elevator lobby immediately after impact, stating "If you think we are in bad shape you should see the South Tower". We had heard a large explosion but were not aware that it came from the South Tower. I proceeded to go to the far end of the office where I could see the South Tower. When I looked down I observed fire which totally engulfed one of the lower floors. It was the most frightening sight I had ever seen. Aprox. 30 minutes had passed when we decided to attempt to escape. We exited the office holding paper towels over our face to shield us from the smoke and began to walk slowly down the hall carefully avoiding smoldering drywall and ceiling panels that had fallen. We had walked only about 20 steps when we heard an explosion in the building and the lights went out. Immediately, everyone turned around and stumbled back into the office. We waited in panicked silence starring towards the lobby. No one spoke as we stood there clutching our possessions. Five minutes passed, and then miraculously, we saw the beam of a flashlight in the lobby. We all shouted as we watched the ray of light approach the glass office door. The door opened and a fireman appeared along with a building worker. They were very calm and advised us to leave everything behind as we would need both hands free to hold the railings in the stairwell as water was flowing down the stairs from the sprinklers on the upper floors. I led our group of eight as we began our escape. They directed us to the stairwell where another fireman held the door open. He advised me to proceed down to the 78 floor, exit the stairway and cross the floor to another stairway which we were to follow all the way down. Initially the smoke was heavy and there was a stream of water going down the stairs. The firemen advised the smoke would lessen as we went further down which it did. As we made our way down I don't recall meeting any other people for about 30 floors. Then we began to meet firemen going up as we were going down. I would estimate that we passed about 50 firemen. Though you could see the concern on their faces, there was an air of calm about them. They continually reassured us and advised us to take a brief rest if we need one. We encountered office workers carrying their injured colleagues down the stairs. One of my colleagues gave his nitroglycerin to someone who was suffering an apparent heart attack. As we proceeded further down we encountered firemen on each of the lower floors. They had broken into soda machines and were handing out drinks to ease our parched throats. As we approached the 10th floor, we heard a loud noise. I asked a fireman what it was. As I recall, he said the 65th floor collapsed. Shortly thereafter, a rush of dust came up the stairwell and stopped everyone in their tracks. The firemen on the floor motioned us out of the stairwell and into a hallway on the floor. They advised us they were opening up another stairway from which we could exit the building. Another five minutes passed as we waited in the cramped hallway. Finaaly, I heard a fireman behind me say the stairway we had been in was clear. I grabbed ahold of my client and we ran down the remaining floors to the main lobby. As we exited the stairwell and proceeded to pass the security area we heard what appeared to be an interior wall or elevator shaft collapse behind us. The main lobby was almost unrecognizable. Debris covered the walls and floor and all the windows were shattered. We exited through a window onto the street where we only saw a single policeman. He directed us to go under the covered walkway over Water Street where we ran into a group of firemen. they directed us to another policeman who told us to go towards the waterfront. We ran to the waterfront and tried in vain to call our families on cellphones that were offered to us. Within five minutes I looked up at the North Tower and noticed the antenna begin to lean. Soon the whole building began to implode. We ran up along the river but soon realized we were well away from the debris cloud. We boarded a ferry boat that had pulled up along the seawall and rode the boat back to the safety of Union Station in Hoboken where we were finally able to contact our families. 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 story7639.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. 206.41.10.132 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: Last Sept 11 was just another day, at the beginning. I was doing my usual walk to work, only 5 blocks, no big deal. I was relishing the day, the sky was sooooo blue, no clouds, the air was fresh - it was a beautiful day! At about 8:45 I reached Lexington Avenue & 79th Street - just one more block to work when I saw a Police Officer on the street pay phone. That's "odd" I thought, then when I saw that his "vehicle" was one of those little "Pope Mobile" type little scooters that you usually see just driving around giving tickets.....By the time I reached the corner, this Police Officer hung up & RAN to his "vehicle" & sped off, lights & sirens blaring. Again, didn't know those little things even HAD sirens & lights. I know now where he was speeding off too & what that phone call was about. What I don't know is if he made it outa there. I have thought about him every day for the past year & hope....& pray. 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 story4868.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: September 11th, 2001 was the fifth day of kindergarten for my 5 year daughter. I was 7 months pregnant with my son. After the first plane hit the Trade Center, my Mom called to tell me to turn on the TV. We assumed it was a tragic accident. However, as we watched on horror as the second plane hit, it became apparent this was more than an accident. Terrible thoughts about the potential loss of life raced through my mnd. I then thought of my beloved brother Mike. He is a crew chief for the Port Authority Tunnel and Bridge agents at the Holland Tunnel. He won an award in '93 for being one of the first emergency services personnel on the scene when the WTC was bombed. I frantically called him over and over on the cell phone and finally got in touch with him. I was so nervous that I made him promise to call me every few hours so I could be sure he was safe. He worked many, many hours in the next few weeks, without pay and sometimes 40 hours in a row in the rescue/recovery operation. He is my hero-one of those people who runs to help while others run away. He lost many friends at work and a dear friend- a beautiful 40 year old woman from Australia who worked for Cantor-Fitzgerald for a mere two months. As I walked to meet the school bus, I was struck by what a beautiful, quiet day it was-no planes and beautiful blue skies-so incongruous with the horrific events that had just transpired. I was so relieved to hug my daughter as she arrived home from school. She had heard that planes had crashed into the Trade Center and was very worried about Uncle Mike. It helped her to make cookies, light candles, and deliver supplies to our town's relief efforts. I didn't want her to feel helpless, although that is how the rest of us felt. I was sad that my son would be born into a world that had changed so much. My heart still aches for all those who lost so much, especially those women who delivered babies who would never know their dads. United We Stand, Theresa Ryan 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 story7952.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. 2002-09-18 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 arrived early to work that day at appoximately 8:20am. Instead of taking a morning walk at the pier I decided to have breakfast in the hotel's cafeteria. Strangely, the cafeteria was empty. Perhaps everyone was out voting I thought. Only myself and one other co-worker was eating breakfast. We exchanged greetings across the tables where we sat. I heard noises above me but did not respond. A cook came into the cafeteria and said that the Green House restaurant's room had collasped. But then again they were always renovating. At approximately 8:45am I punched into the time clock. Around this time a handful of employees came into the cafeteria for their morning meal. As I prepared to go up to my office Human Resources managers approached us saying that something was going on outside. They were not sure what but it would be safer if we left the building. No one hesitated. Some of us were veterans of the 93' bombing, and things didn't feel quite right. I started walking out of the building. I was on the B1 level below street level. Fellow co-workers were already feeling anxiety. As I neared the end of the B1 corridor I smelled a chemical smell. I walked up the stairs to lobby level. When I opened the door and exited the chemical smell became overwhelming and white smoke drifted like clouds in the concourse. A big difference then the black smoke of the 93' bombing I thought. People were filing quietly out of the exits. I did not leave through the first available exit. Don't know why. I walked and exited through 4 WTC. As I exited through the revolving doors and glanced to my left I saw to my horror debis like confettie from a ticker tape parage and a charcole flamed WTC Tower. Those people didn't survive I thought. I walked over to the square. People were standing around looking. I never looked back. My life flashed before my eyes and I thought of my grandchildren. Then a voice said to me, you can come with me. It was a fellow co-worker. He said he had family nearby. We never made it. He must have felt like I did. He went into the first office we came upon and went in. Please, he said may I make a phone call, something is going on outside. They hesitated but in the end let him make the call to his family. We walked back outside. You can drop that stuff he said. I realized that both he and I still held our cups of orange juice, coffee and bagels in our hands. While discussing where to go there was the sound of a bomb and the grond shook. I couldn't keep my balance. Everyone started running like crazy around us. I was afraid to run for fear of being trampled. Yet we had to escape. We started to run with everyone else. We ran, and ran, and ran. When I looked up I realized we were at the Staten Island Ferry. This was the end of the line. There was no place else to go. We started walking toward West street. We came to a small church. The people in the church welcomed us. They allowed people to use their phones. I lit a candle and said a prayer. My friend said that he was going back to the World Trade Center. I said I was not going back. We parted company. 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 story8612.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. 2002-11-02 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 205.188.209.40 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: A fellow instructor came to my classroom to tell me of the WTC attacks. I tried to see what was happening by going to njo.com. They have a NYC Skyline cam there, but the web traffic was too heavy to get on the site. I spent the day doing what most people did. I kept my ears open, watched the TV, listened to the radio. The next day, my father, my brother and myself were deployed with the Salvation Army Disaster Services to NYC. We arrived in NY to the 61st Armory on 26th street. The city was using this building as a place for people to file missing persons reports and to wait for news about loved ones. Our role was to provide comfort and supplies. When we arrived, our truck was already filled to the max with food, drink and supplies. It wasn't long before people were asking what they could do or simply bringing things. Outside the armory, greiving people lined around the block. All of them were waiting in line to file their reports. People were in the streets talk to TV crews, holding up pictures of someone they couldn't find. They all spoke into the camera as if whoever they were looking for had simply gotten lost in another part of town. But as soon as the cameras shut off, you could see in their faces, they knew where their missing loved ones were. The street next to our truck was filled with food and cases of water. People from restaurants were bringing us chicken, baked ziti, all kinds of stuff. No one outside was eating though. They only thing the people in line seemed to want was the occasional bottle of water and someone to hold their spot in line if they had to go to the bathroom. Inside the armory, there were thousands of people. National Gaurd and NYPD were all over the place. Rudy Guliani has just left after speaking to the people inside the armory. We went in hoping to put all of the food to good use, but no one inside wanted to eat either. I couldn't blame them. Everyone looked like they had been gut kicked. There were tables filled with supplies with nurses giving first aid to some people. I asked one of the nurses if they were low on anything. "Advil and Kleenex." she said. Shortly after, two average looking passers by asked us if there was anything we needed. I passed on the Advil and Kleenex request and although they looked like could use $100 bucks themselves, they returned with two grocery bags full of both. President Clinton was walking the streets that afternoon. While he was speaking to someone in the crowd, a young girl, early twenties, was standing there with a blank expression, like she had been up all night. As soon as President Clinton turned to her, she showed him a picture of her husband and started crying. If you didn't know what was going on or what was being said, It looked like a little girl turning to her father right after her puppy had been run over. I cried for over an hour after that. All I could think about was my wife. That was only parts of our first day in the city, but for me, it was the most profound. I can't say I reacted the way I thought I would. Personally, I thought the whole experience brought out the worst in me. I was irritable and impatient. I was frustrated over the lack of organization we were dealing with. But now I can say, I did my best. How do your organize a tragedy of that scale? I'd like to thank all of the people who came and helped. NY is a big place and you could have stayed north of 40th street and not even seen anything of what was going on. I'd also like to convey my extreme pride in NY's former mayor, Rudy Guliani. Most of the time, when a politician's term is up, the people aren't opposed to electing a new official. I can't recall a time where the American people loved a politician so much, they were ready to modify the law the allow Rudy to remain in office beyond his term. 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 story6372.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-12 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 63.112.148.1 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I was just getting the patients all into the dayroom when one of my co-workers came in and said did you hear what just happened, you better turn the T.V. on. So I turned it on and I was just devastated by what I had seen, I started to cry and so did some of the patients. We all started to pray for all the people and their families that were affected by all this devastation. I then started thinking about my son who is in the United States Army and how his unit had just gotten orders the other day that they were going to Bosnia. I was worried enough about him going to Bosnia, but when I seen this I worried even more. So then I started wondering if he would be okay. So when I got a chance I went and called my son, he said he couldn't say much just that they were on a high security alert right now, he assured me that he would be okay and that he was well trained for this type of thing. So after all that my co-workers and I then started a fundraiser and made patriotic pins and sold them and sent all the funds to the Red Cross Foundstion in New York City. My heart goes out to all those people and their families. I pray for them everyday since this whole thing happened. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story3325.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 66.190.37.218 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 had just got home from taking my son to school. I sat in the drive way talking on my cell phone to my friend. My husband is in entertainment and he was out of town. I turned on the tv like I do each morning I get back home to see the second tower being hit. You know I look at the tv thinking what is this. Then I said on lord the is real that say live. My soul hurt for all of the life I knew was gone. I cried for the pain of the families that I did not know. But you know what it hurt just like it did when my brother in law was shot and killed at the hands of his own brother. So I ran to the phone to call my husband and could not get him on the phone. By that time my phone was off the hook ringing. Before I could get off of the phone with one person someone else was calling. The thing to do for me was pray for peace for all. My husband was in Canada, they closed the border so my husband could not get home that day. It took weeks to pull my husband and my self away from the tv, and months to sleep for more than a few hour at a time. With time God heals all pain. One thing good happend on that day a good friend of ours brother was late for work that day and he worked in WTC on Sunday in church we got that wonderful news. Gods Peace to you all, Tamiko 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 story5653.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: Posted at http://www.authorsden.com/visit/viewarticle.asp?AuthorID=15731&id=11078 If the URL expires, here is the plain text... Where were you? By Carma Stewart Tuesday, November 25, 2003 www.AuthorsDen.com An American remembers 9-11. No American should ever forget. Where were you that day, when you heard, and what did you hear? A challenge to everyone to preserve their perspective -- share your story, read others'' stories of that horrible event in history. When the subject of the present war comes up, I cringe. It''s too complicated. I am completely grateful to all who are fighting to secure the world, to destroy (or at least greatly diminish) the threat of terrorism. Sometimes, when non-Americans criticize the fact that there is a war going on, a feeling of great sorrow and isolation creeps over me. It is as if only Americans understand what they did to us that day. WHERE WERE YOU ON 9/11? ________________________ It was seven o?clock in the morning, Mountain Time, USA. My daughter called, her voice breathless, urgent. ?Turn on the TV,? is all she said. I did. The tone in her voice had told me this was no time for questions or hesitation. It was a dead serious, severe, scared command. ?Turn on the news,? she said. I did. I saw the first of the Twin Towers smoking. It had just been hit. There was chaos. The news people did not know what was going on. They were looking for anyone who could tell them anything. The report was that a plane had crashed into. The news people were trying to get through to the airlines people to find out if any planes were missing. I stood there, watching the scene on our 27-inch television. Puzzled. At this point, it was just another horrible event I could do nothing about. My daughter was still on the telephone with me, ?Are you seeing this?? ?Yes.? We listened to the television reports and hung onto the phone in silence. Then she decided she had to make some other phone calls. My daughter is very sensitive. It was bad enough for her that an airplane full of ordinary people had crashed into a skyscraper and killed hundreds of people who were at work in their offices. She needed to talk about it. At that point, we had no idea it was an act of terrorism, a plotted thing, an evil conspiracy. We let go of each other on the phone. I watched the news. My husband watched the news. What was going on? It looked real bad. Then, as we watched, the second plane slammed into the second tower. I blinked. Hundreds of people had just been killed. We did not know at that moment it was murder. It was, at worst, at that moment, a horrible, hideous accident. Yet, it seemed intentional?two planes, the Twin Towers?why? It did not occur to us that it was a kamikaze attack. It was just awful. We sat mesmerized, watching the two towers smoldering. We watched the towers crumble in on themselves and fall. We heard later that a friend of ours had been on the ground and had seen the second plane hit the second tower, and had seen people leaping to their death (rather than die in the painful flames and fumes). He can never be the same. It was a horrid, wretched day. The worst thing that had ever happened to America. It was worse than the assassination of Lincoln or Kennedy: it was uglier than anything. I felt sure that people in other countries were watching it, but unable to comprehend the impact it was having on America, on Americans. I felt that it was only happening to us, to the U.S. I watched all day, gripped, as most everyone I knew was. The facts unfolded, but the unraveling the mystery of why it happened did not change a thing. It was a huge mess. Huge. Not only the hole and the job of trying to rescue anyone who might have survived, but the whole stinking mess?the political mess, our response. My family lives just three doors away from the only mosque in our small Colorado town. The Muslims had been kind to us, allowing us to use their facilities at no charge for our neighborhood space club in 1998. They had given me thirty dollars to pay for the application fee, so that we could be an official chapter of the Young Astronauts Council. They had been good neighbors; ordinary people who had migrated, as so many before them from so many countries had come to America. They were here from a variety of Middle Eastern countries, wanting to give their children better opportunities and healthier environments and freedom to be. Now they were getting threats. My heart went out to them. It wasn?t fair. It wasn?t right. The neighbors banded together and kept watch over the little building. The police parked outside when they were inside praying. We, this town of Christians, cared for them. It felt like a soothing balm?the terrorists could destroy our peace, they could change America forever, but they could not make us hate everyone that looked like them. They could not make us hate. Period. I refused to hate them. Still, there was the problem of what to do. That day, other planes were missing. All the planes had to be grounded and located. Another plane crashed, damaging the Pentagon. Another plane crashed in a remote area in Pennsylvania. There were rumors. We all know them now to be true?a passenger called his wife and learned what was going on. They were doomed. They might as well thwart the evildoers? plans to crash into Air Force One or the White House. We were so inspired. We cried. We felt numb. We were stunned. We prayed together. We sat and watched out televisions day after day. We talked to our children and soothed their fears. We were so proud of George W. Bush for the way he handled the crisis. We still are. When it was time to deal with Saddam Hussein as a major supporter of the terrorist network, we hated that it meant we would have to send our men and women to war, but we understood the consequences of allowing him and his sons to continue building power, financing those whose lives were dedicated to killing Americans, to ruining our quality of life, here, on our soil. I am grateful for our allies. I am grateful especially to Tony Blair. I am grateful because we do not fear going to the market or to worship. There are many, many people working very hard to thwart those who would like to torment us and destroy our peace. It is a terrifying thing to have such a hidden, cunning enemy who hates you as much as the terrorists hate us. This too shall pass. When the subject of the present war comes up, I cringe. It's too complicated. I am completely grateful to all who are fighting to secure the world, to destroy (or at least greatly diminish) the threat of terrorism. Sometimes, when non-Americans criticize the fact that there is a war going on, a feeling of great sorrow and isolation creeps over me. It is as if only Americans understand what they did to us that day. Sometimes I fear that Europeans are saying smugly in their minds, ?Now you know what it?s like.? Or worse, ?Welcome to the club.? As if we are all supposed to get used to being bullied and just put up with it. You have to understand what it is to be born and raised American. We did not ourselves understand our heritage, our personality, our place in history, until 9/11. It is too hard to define. It hurt us real bad in our psyche. Please don?t expect us to turn the other cheek and let them suicide bomb all over us. It isn?t going to happen, even if we have to fight them all by ourselves. We?ll do it. And we?ll win! 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 story10303.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2004-01-06 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 208.234.80.228