490 20 70359 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I was in American Lit class 2nd hour and we all had our seats in a circle to discuss and debate some book. I think that the book was the Scarlet Letter. Somebody had just gotten done talking talking about something when all of a sudden, a student assistant from the office, walked up to came to the door and anounced that "The World Trade Center and the Pentagon had just been bombed." A slight feeling of uncertanity crept though our class as we all thought it was probably a car bomb or some terrorist threw a generade at those buildings. We quickly turned on the T.V. and tried to find coverage of the events, it wasn't hard because it was everywhere. The first thing that I saw was the two buildings that outlined New York, with huge holes and smoke flowing out of them. A sense of disbelief went over me as I thought How could this happen and why now? My question of how was answered how how it happened when they showed a replay of the second 747 crashing into the the second tower. Some kid in class said that it was a small private jet and that there was nothing to fear. Quickly after that though, the reporter stated that a Boeing 747 crashed into the towers and the Pentagon. The next scene that they showed was of a smaller building that seemed to be crumbled up and on fire. I quickly realized after that this was the Pentagon, the United state's 'War building.' Class came to a halt as we all just sat there and watched the T.V. The bell rang and we got released to our next classes. On the way to Chemistry, I heard rumors being spread like wildfire. People left and right were either making up stories or telling jokes about what happened. For example i overheard some girl say that she just saw on the T.V. that the Pre-school that Bush went to got bombed. That all sickened me that fellow students could be so cold and heartless as to poke fun and laugh at it. But out of all the chuckles, smiles and things i heard, a statment stuck out to me as the worst. A kid that i knew, with one of the widest grins I had ever seen, walked up to me and said "Oh my god, America's getting it's ass kicked!" On that day that changed America, there were two things that stuck out the most in my mind. The first was the terrorist attacks. The second was the lack of humanity that fellow people showed for the incidents. It wasn't everybody in school but it was enough to make me lose faith in the integrity of our school. It's weird looking back at it all right now today, September 11th, 2002. I think about all of the worries that I had about papers that I had to turn in and tests that I had to take, they seem so insignificant compaired to those who were in New York and Washington D.C. that day. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story2239.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 198.109.168.234 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I had just got everyone out the door for work and school then left to go work out. When I returned home I was picking up and did not have the tv on. My husband called me from his office and told me to turn on the tv. I like everyone else was in shock as I sit there wanting to help but I was totally useless. Words can not tell how I felt and as I watched in horror the first tower fall I fell back telling my husband to do something.I am not real sure what I thought he could do from Monroe, LA. The first thing I wanted to do was to go pick up my children from school, then my Mother called and we sat there and cried to each other on the phone, both of us wanting so badly to be together. I can not begin to understand what the families have gone through. The strength they have to have to pick up the pieces and go on. My thoughts and prayers are always with the families, our great country and President Bush. 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 story8640.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. 2002-11-10 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 67.249.43.84 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I felt a vibration as I approached the corner of Liberty & Nassau St., two blocks from the World Trade Center. The sunlight across the street which was being reflected off another building started moving, and I thought this could be something big. People in front of me had stopped and were looking in the direction behind me, so I turned and looked. The sky was filling up with papers. I couldn?t see the World Trade Center because of the other buildings, so my best guess was that something had exploded high up in one of the skyscrapers. I had just gotten off the PATH train from New Jersey underneath the WTC 5-10 minutes earlier, as I had done almost every day for the previous 7 years. I half ran, half walked across Chase Manhattan Plaza, figuring if I got to work at 55 Water St, I?d be far enough away to be safe from whatever was going on. When I reached Wall St, paper and gritty bits were starting to reach the ground. I picked up a piece of paper with financial numbers on it that was partially burned. It wasn?t mine so I didn?t want to keep it or throw it in the garbage, and I put it back on the ground. Water St. had normal activity on it and I rushed to the 16th floor to tell my coworkers something had happened. Those who had gotten to work by now were already looking out our window toward the WTC, and we could see several floors very high in the North Tower were blackened and there were flames in at least 1 small part of the damaged area. Someone told me an airplane had crashed into the tower. I was thinking, ?People are dead?. Because of the other buildings, we didn?t see the 2nd plane until just before it crashed into the South Tower. I only vaguely remember a fireball and smoke pouring out of the building. I couldn?t tell how big the airplane was. I was thinking, ?A plane crashed into the World Trade Center. Someone is crashing airplanes into us.? Now I was nervous because anything seemed possible and no one could be sure what would happen next. I think I was outwardly pretty calm, but for many hours I was continually, anxiously wondering ?Where am I going to be safe?? 55 Water is a 15 minute walk from the WTC, so I assumed that was a distance of about 3/4 of a mile. The towers were probably no more than 1/4 of a mile tall, so I thought even if they fall over, they probably wouldn?t reach us. Besides, I was thinking at worst, the tops of the buildings will break off at the impact points and our building would be okay. But the possibility of more airplanes existed. Our building was 1 of many on the river, so there was nothing between us and the open air on our east side. There were opposite opinions among us on where we should go. Since I had no idea, I went with the consensus, which was to stay where we were for now. I called my parents and left a message saying ?Turn on the television, there?s a plane crash, two plane crashes, at the World Trade Center. I?m at work now, I?m waiting for directions on what to do next. I?ll talk to you later.? In the past I had told some of my relatives I walk through the WTC on the way to work, and later I learned some of them had gotten mixed up and thought I worked in the towers. My message gave them some relief since they knew I was not in those buildings at the time of the plane crashes. I think someone learned on the Internet that the Pentagon had been hit. I wondered why there was no announcement on the building?s public address system telling us what to do. This was an extremely rare event, but I thought surely there must be preparations for what to do in time of war. The sentiment on the floor had shifted so that most of us decided we should leave the building, and we went down on the elevator. Nothing bad happened there, but now I know to always take the stairs if there?s an emergency. Water St was now full of traffic, none of it moving. The sidewalks and plazas were full with people standing around talking. I guess none of them wanted to be up in a building. We heard a rumor that a bomb had gone off on Wall St. Some people were saying this was like a movie, but I didn?t think that way at all ? people were dying. There were men on megaphones telling employees of another company in my building to report back to work. I was glad I wasn?t being asked to go back - I felt safe here: We were under an overhang, so if a plane hit my building and stuff fell down we?d be somewhat protected. And I didn?t like the idea of trying to walk anywhere. Our building was very close to the southernmost tip of Manhattan. The only direction to go was north, which meant walking closer to the WTC before we started to get farther from it. Anyway, I couldn?t tell if we?d be any safer a few blocks away than we were right there. We couldn?t see the towers because of the building across the street. But as I look back, I think the people down at the intersection to our south could see them. They started running around and yelling. Some people around us were saying another plane had hit, others said one of the towers had fallen. I looked at the intersection to our north and said, ?Look at all the smoke coming from over there!? Now everyone was running around. One of the men with a megaphone said one of the towers had fallen. Since everyone was running around in the direction away from the WTC, I figured I might as well join them, and I went around to the side of 55 Water St facing the East River. I had no clue huge, gritty dust clouds were about to cover us and the rest of Lower Manhattan. It was still a bright, sunny day here. I don?t like being in the sun so I left my coworkers and went in a vestibule in the back of 55 Water St. As I went in I heard a plane overhead and I wondered what that was doing here. I was hoping it was there to help us. There were other people in the vestibule, but it wasn?t packed. When I walked in it had been a clear day where you could see across the river to Brooklyn. Soon, however, you couldn?t see past the other side of the street. It was as if a storm had come in, and instead of rain, gritty dust was filling the sky and falling to the ground. I saw hundreds of people walk by with clothes and rags over their faces to keep from breathing in the grimy air. Over the next few hours in the vestibule, a few people left and a few people entered, but it never got packed. At most there were probably 15 people in there. The dust in the sky started to clear, and then it got worse again. I figured the other tower had fallen. Through a window in a locked door, we could see people working calmly. A few people in the vestibule knocked on the door to use a bathroom and get some water. Some used the pay phone to call people and tell them they were okay. I think we heard an announcement on a loudspeaker saying the building was stable and operational for its employees. Most people were talking about when it would be okay to leave the building. I wasn?t saying anything because I wanted to stay calm, but I still wasn?t sure if the danger was over. Eventually the sky began clearing, and a man walked by handing out dust masks to people in the street. A bunch of us walked out and took a mask, and then went right back inside. Slowly, one by one, people felt safe enough to leave the vestibule and walk away. I was one of the last ones to leave. I walked north along South St. To my left I couldn?t see down the streets because they were still filled with dark clouds. I was afraid of what I might see anyway so I kept walking north. I actually wondered if my company would mind that I wasn?t working and I figured I could take a personal day. As I got closer to the Brooklyn Bridge I headed west and the streets got more crowded with other people walking away from the financial district. A few people were covered in dust but most were clean. They must have been squirreled away in buildings, like me, until they decided to evacuate. I stopped at a Jewish community center and got some water and used the bathroom. After a few minutes of sitting I got restless and wanted to keep moving. I walked north, occasionally looking back the see smoke pouring up out of the WTC site and heading east over Brooklyn. Facing north, I could see the Empire State Building, and I was hugely relieved and comforted to see it was still standing unscathed. My brother lived on the Lower East Side and I figured I could stop there for a while and rest. We?re not close but once I got in his place I sat on his bed and was very upset. Some of his friends were there but I couldn?t help myself. I think I kept saying ?I?m fine; I?ve just been so scared.? The gruesome brutality of what had happened and my uneasiness about what to do had caught up to me, and now that I was out of Lower Manhattan I didn?t have to be so tranquil. We went to a local deli and bought some food. My brother emailed my mother and said I was fine. I don?t think the phones were working. My brother?s friends left, and he saw on the Internet that ferries were leaving from the west side. I left and took a subway to midtown, and walked several long blocks to the Hudson River. I think there had been huge lines there early in the day, because I had to walk a path around many blocks to get to what was now, in the early evening, a reasonably short line with only about a half hour wait. On the ferry I felt like an exhausted war refugee. I could see the smoke rising out of the WTC site, and I still hoped many of the lower floors had remained intact and that most people in the buildings had been saved. I didn?t really understand that the Towers had been obliterated until I saw on television later a piece of the outer wall of the lobby standing on its own, crooked and surrounded by the smoldering remains of the buildings. In Hoboken, we were given bottles of water and those of us who had been in Lower Manhattan were doused with water, even though I didn?t have any dust on me. I haggardly walked home and called whoever I could get through to. I was extremely tired, because although I had kept it to myself, I had been frantically wondering all day, ?Where should I go? Where will I be safe?? But I couldn?t sleep because I was so wired up, and I couldn?t come down from it. The broadcast antennas on the WTC had come down so I could only get 1 UHF channel, and I watched the news on there until I fell asleep around 4 or 5 the next morning. When I was walking out of Lower Manhattan, I wondered what effect this would have on me. Immediately I was anguished and sickened over the attack, and I felt dread and anxiety that we?d be attacked again. I was able to work and go about my business, so I didn?t look for help, but I felt intensely awful. My new commute was the worst part. My train station was gone and the ferries now taking me to work past what was left of the WTC site were a daily reminder. I would tell myself I?m going to have to be a little bit cold about the attacks in order to function, but that was virtually impossible. My initial reactions haven?t changed, but slowly, extremely slowly, they?ve become less ubiquitous in my mind. It's 3 years later, and I feel better now than I did a year ago, and I felt better then than a year before that. I?m one of the more fortunate people who were in Lower Manhattan on September 11, 2001. The people who escaped from the towers, know people who were murdered, and saw the deceased have had a much rougher time. 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 story10979.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. 2004-09-12 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 63.154.44.174 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 first thing I did that day was drop off my oldest daughter to her first day of Kindergarten. I kissed her good bye and told her that I loved her while choking back some tears because it was such a big day for her. I came home and was sitting on the sofa to fold some laundry and watch a little t.v. When the channel had interrupted with the bulliten and the footage of the planes crashing into the WTC, I think that the first thing I remembered feel was a state of disbelief and total shock. I thought it was a bad dream. As the hour went on and they were showing people covered in ash running and screaming for their lives, I started to cry. Then, the school called to inform me that I needed to pick up my daughter right away and that the governor had called a state of emergency. There were parents crying in the hallways of the school and the poor school kids didn't know whether to cry or scream. That day, I had found out that my uncle was supposed to be on that plane that crashed in Pitts. but he missed his flight !! I think the hardest thing I had to do, was to try and answer my 5 year olds questions about what had happened and "Who were the bad men who did this." This tragedy has definately made a big impact in my family life. We never go anywhere without telling the ones we are leaving behind, that we love them. Tonight as a rememberance of the one year anniversary, my family and I plan to spend a quiet night at home sitting together as a family. I would like to take this opportunity to say , I hope that God grants those who were lost, peace and to those of us who were left behind to pick up the pieces and move on, I wish that God grants you solice to your hearts and know that as long as you carry their memories in your heart, you are never alone !! GOD BLESS AMERICA The Russell Family Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story3341.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: Hi, my mane is Shiwanda Key. I was driving my boyfriend to work talking about what we were going to do for my birthday, September 13, when we heard on the radia, 9.39FM, that a plane had crashed into one of the towers. We immediately thought that it was an accident, until we heard that another plane crashed into the second tower. We both looked at each other a pronounced that whatever was going on was not going to come to D.C., who would be that stupid to try anygthing. I dropped him off and headed to work when I heard about the Pentagon. You see I had four family members that worked there, My mother, my father, my aunt and uncle. I rushed to be with my sister, we worked at the same place. The only person that was not accounted for was my mother. My dad had just moved his office because he just finished remodeling the new wing of the Pentagon, and my aunt and uncle's office was moved months earlier. I called my mother's office and one picked up the phone. I called her cell phone, it was dead. The sheer terror and pain in my body made me weak. I thought how could I loose her. As my sister and I watched on TV at work the destruction, the tears never stopped flowing. I was praying that I would see her in a footage of the Pentagon, but I couldn't find her. My step father heard and immediately left his office in D.C. and started walking toward the Pentagon the search for my mother. The store I worked for was closing, but I refuse to move, I couldn't. I was to scared to move. I thought about all the people dying, hurt. I thought of where are they going to strike next. I thought how could this happen. Hours went by, and no word. I my heart I knew that she was alive. You see I have a praying family. My father is a pastor of his own church, my uncle pastor's his own church with my aunt, my grandmother is a missionary. So I knew that God was send many angels for my mom. Around 3pm, my mom calls or job and speaks to my sister as if nothing was wrong. She was calm. Someone she knew helped her out of the building and was bringing her home. Her cell phone went dead before she was able to connect to us. I cherish every moment I spend with my parents. I could have lost them all. My father help rebuild the Pentagon, coming home telling the stories of how the construction is coming, how huge the hole is in the Pentagon. My father said that even though this was a horrible ordeal, many would have been lost. He said if it was not for the grace of God and that plane hit another part of the Pentagon, many would have been killed, the whole building except the newly renovated part would have been destroyed. The plane would have reached the center of the pentagon and exploded, causing a chain reaction, spreading the fire aroung the ring. People ask, where was our God when everything happened. He was here, becuse if he wasn't, Sept. 11 would have been much worse. As I got in my car today, going to work, I started crying because I didn't tell my mom or dad that I loved them. It brought back the fear and pain of a year ago. Sometimes I feel shelfish is being happy that my family was spared, and so sad for others that lost. I feel like this world is my family, and I have lost many brothers and sisters out there. As I watch the flags outside of my building blow in the wind, I say, thank you God, and I pray that the healing for me and others will soon come to pass, and we will be able to cherish even more our and others lives and the freedom we have that God has given our great nation. 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 story3029.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. 63.220.9.2 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I was in science and the class was almost over. My teacher was like, "oh did any of you hear about what happened in the states this morning?" Every one didn't know what she was talking about. Than she said, "I guess two planes hit each other in mid-air." I had to figure out what she was talking about. I wrote a letter to my friend telling her that I was going to skip school, to watch the news. When I got home I wished I stayed at school. My mom was like Teddy theres going to be a war. One of the first pictures I seen was of the people jumping out of the building. I just sat there for like seven or eight hours of the terrifying scenes of the attacks. That day I cried about seven times. I was felt with sorrow, as I listened to people who were looking for their family and their friends. The next day I went back to school. Not knowing what was going to happen. It was scary for me because that was the first time I ever seen something like that. September 11 is a day that I will never forget. And I will carry those images with me to the day I die. 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 story8145.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. 199.71.135.2 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: On September eleventh two thousand one, Naturally my day had just begun. Enjoying morning tea and watching the news, Now what I saw next were just happening in twos. A plane flew into one of the World Trade Towers, To think I would continue to watch for hours. I was terrified at what I saw, One more plane crash, then towers fall. Not for a minute could I move from my chair, Uncertain what came next, all I could do was stair. No one knew where a plane would crash next, Dam those terrorists are so perplexed. Experts say this was skillfully planned, Religiously we must fight for our land. God will give us the strength to stay strong, One Nation Under God is where we belong, Don't give up, we all must rebuild and get along. 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 story3587.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 68.45.216.63 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 began like any other day. I was in California, at the Marine Base in Twenty-nine Palms. I was attached to the First Marine Expeditionary Brigade, and I was preparing for a deployment later that month to Egypt. I rolled out of bed at 0530, as I had to prepare for an inspection later that morning. My plans were to grab a quick breakfast, draw my weapon from the armory, and then head over to begin setting up. At 0600, 15 minutes after the first plane hit, I was in the mess hall eating. I remember seeing something on TV about a plane crash, but I didn?t think too much about it. I was upset that I had to go through another redundant inspection, and I did not have time for a simple plane crash. I arrived at the armory at 0620, and talked to a friend of mine for about ten minutes. Neither of us had any idea of what was happening. At 0630, I found myself standing around waiting for the morning formation. There were people talking about what had happened, but I wrote it off as ?water-cooler? talk. I could not believe that our country had just been attacked. As the formation started, everything became painfully clear. The simple plane crash that I had ignored turned out to be a terrorist attack. As I stood there holding my rifle, I felt helpless. The first emotion to register was anger. I was angry not only because I wanted to get the people who did this and make them pay, but angry that all I could do is stand there. My feelings of anger soon changed to uncertainty when we were told that our supposed month-long deployment might be a little longer than expected. In fact, we were told to start preparing for a deployment of six to nine months. The full impact of what was going on finally hit me; America was at war. Events such as September 11th are tragic, but do serve a purpose. They unite us as a country in order to overcome the tragedy and begin to heal. They also give us common experiences that can be shared years down the line. Even perfect strangers have common ground when they share stories of the same 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 story11196.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. 2004-12-12 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 70.21.69.197 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 It was about 6:30 A.M. when I heard. I was walking to the bus stop with my friends when the neighbor across the street said to my mom that the Trade Centers went down. My mom said ?what!? Then the neighbor repeated once more that the Trade Centers went down. At first I did not know what the Trade Centers even were. But when I got to school I found out. That was all that people were talking about. When I got in class the teacher talked about it and we watched the news all day. This is how I found out - 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 story2917.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 163.150.15.187 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 10 YEARS OLD.I REALLY DID NOT KNOW WHAT WAS GOING ON ALL I SAW WAS PEOPLE RUNING AND CRYING YELLING FOR HELP SUFFERING FOR BREATH.I WAS IN PLAQUEMINE,LOUISIANA AT MY HOUSE PLAYING ON THE COMPUTER AND SOMETHING TOLD ME TO TURN THE CHANNEL TO CHANNEL 9. I CALLED MY MOTHER AND TOLD MY MOM TO WATCH THIS ABOUT THE TWIN TOWERS.IT WAS A VERY SAD EXPERIENCE. 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 story20461.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2006-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 68.186.239.238 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 walking into my first period class and the teacher had the tv on. At first I didn't know what was happening, I thought it was only an airplane that had crashed, possibly carrying someone of political importance or perhaps someone famous. That was all cleared up when I read the headline that read,"Hijacked Plane Crashes Into the World Trade Center!" I thought," Why didn't they just shoot it down or something," but that would result in a large sum of casualties also, then, by that time the tardy bell had rung, the teacher then muted the television and turned around and explained to us what had just taken place, then, out of nowhere, as if the first plane crash wasn't horrific enough, another plane crashed into the second tower this time. The class was stunned and speachless, when the class recovered from their shock, they only felt hatred for the terrorist that had done this terrible deed, but i wasn't really too mad I guess, still shocked, I was mad enough to think," Why don't we just drop an A-bomb on Afghanistan or something?" but I realized that was selfish, and shunned the idea. Then an announcement came on the intercom instructing that all the teachers should turn the tvs off so as to not cause grief to any students who may know a relative who was on one of those flights or visiting New York. During 7th period, there was another announcement explaining that any students who wish to check and see if their parent or relatives are alright. Toward the end of the class a girl in my class named Whitney, went to the office, when she returned she was crying. Now, a year later, all i seem to hear about in some classes is "whining" about how the press is dragging this out way too long, but in my opinion, I don't think that anyone at all could forget such a tragedy as this, I feel as if this will go in the history book as one of America's most depressing hours/days/months/even possibly years, this is just like Pearl Harbor(except for, that was the military, and on ships, and not as many deaths) and we learn about Pearl Harbor in History class, and I don't hear people whining about that. Overall, this was the worst tragedy i have seen in my life up to this point, who knows what the future holds, can be for good, or may be for evil, hopefully for good. 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 story3516.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. 207.193.126.63 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I woke up that morning, and like many mornings decided to go for a bike ride. My dad was coming along with me and was going to work later that day. I thought it would be nice to bring my digital camcorder. I got dressed , checked my camcorder, but the batteries were low, so I left it by the door. We headed out to the new bike path on the West side highway on 42nd st. When we reached the West side highway my dad looked at me and said "WTC?", I nodded in approval, as we headed to the WTC area for a morning coffee and bagel. It was such a clear and beautiful day! sparkling and unlike any other is its perfect temperature and crispness. We approached chelsea piers, me on my purple low rider custom cruiser, sparkling bandana and blonde dreadlocks blowing in the wind, I felt so free. Just having returned from Finland a few days before where I had a hit record on the charts all summer. I just performed in front of a crowd of about 10,000 and I was still feeling elated from that experience. But also sad that I left so early, they wanted me to stay all week, but I rushed back because I had a toothache. Just before coming around the bend of chelsea piers I looked at my dad, and said, would be a nice day to be at the beach. he said, "yes it would be a perfect beach day". He rode ahead of me vigourously into the golden late summer sunshine. I looked up at the cinematic skyline of lower manhattan. Just as I looked up thinking how wonderful the Twin Towers looked beaming in the rays of the morning sun, I saw a plane flying suspiciously low over the skyline. "Weird" I said to myself, thinking, well ive never seen a plane fly directly over the skyline like that. Next moment it seemed to be headed downtown , and then I was shocked, stunned and speechless. i couldnt belive my eyes as it neared the WTC, and veered in the building. There was no noise, and it slipped into the WTC like a hot butter knife into butter. There was an explosion, it looked cinematic. But ill never forget that gaping hole, it looked like the whole plane just went through the building. I yelled for my dad, he was oblivious, and I couldnt get the words right. I screamed "look!" , he was looking all around but not up, then he looked up and said "holy shit". I said "Lets go!, now!" and he was staring, we stopped a few times along the way. it was so surreal, it was just burning there, no helicopters nothing. Then I saw an asian lady on her cell phone, staring up at the burning building. then I heard the first police car whiz by me. I felt like paul revere now, yelling "The WTC is burning", as people looked at me as if I was crazy. I told my doorman, and he didnt belive me until he turned on the TV. As I came back to our apartment, I was looking at my camera, wow, imagine if i had brought it. I would have had amazing footage. But then maybe if I brought it, the timing would be different. I started to pack a survival kit, a knife, flashlight, my passport. Then we watched the second plane hit the towers on TV. My dad said he had to go to work, I said 'Are you joking?" , he said no he has responsibilities. I told him thats crazy, but im not leaving you alone. I went with him, the feeling on the street was intense. We watched the events unfold on TV near Lincoln Center. Then that too was evacuated. I saw people on the street running, crying, withdrawing money. There was some panic. I got back on my bike and rode uptown, free, not knowing if the world was ending today, but somehow happy riding in the autumn sunshine on my low rider cruiser. www.z-mc.com/911 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 story828.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-06-26 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 213.113.199.68 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 think what I will remember first about September 11 is how beautiful the weather was, in sharp contrast to the horrible events that unfolded that day. It was a picture-perfect autumnal morning, dry and sunny and clear. I work at one of the museums on the Mall. It felt unusual to be riding the Metro that day, as I normally drive, but as it happened, having a car downtown would have been a liability. When I stepped off the elevator around 9:00 a.m., a colleague called over her shoulder to me. "Did you hear that a plane just struck the World Trade Center?" I thought it must have been a small plane that went astray, but I pulled up the Post web site to see what the news was (no TV in our office). Several of us looked at the gaping hole in the north tower and wondered how large the plane must have been and whether it was an accident. I called a brother in Ohio and asked him what was going on; he was almost in tears. "You can't believe this. It's so awful!! Another plane just hit the second tower! Oh, my God!" I asked to speak to Dad, a WWII vet, and his first words were, "This is worse than Pearl Harbor. My first concern was for my niece, a student at NYU, who I later learned was woken by the first crash and watched the second from her dorm window. I was so thankful a broken foot kept her home. The rest of the morning is more images than a linear memory: my colleague assuring her mother on the phone, "No, Mom, calm down! It wasn't the Pentagon that was hit..it was the Trade Center."; a frantic call from my sister begging me to leave immediately as there were reports of a fire on the Mall; and soon a rumor that a fourth plane was only minutes from DC. It was at that point that my office mates and I left work. We encountered an unsettlingly calm but impassible gridlock of cars leaving downtown. No one seemed to panic; it was as though all of us were shellshocked. With the subway closed, several work friends walked home (several miles in some cases), while I walked to my brother's office several blocks north of the Mall. I will always be grateful for the help and support of his colleagues in getting through that terrible day. We later took the subway to Virginia and smelled the acrid smoke as we went through the Pentagon stop. No one spoke. We later attended an impromptu Mass at All Saints Church, where a United airlines attendant, still in uniform, sat in tears in the pew behind us. I later learned that my cousin, a Navy commander, lost 7 friends at the Pentagon; he had worked in the damaged section only two years earlier. Of all my 9/11 memories, there is one that will always stand out for me. As I left work, I looked up into that crystal-clear morning and saw the moon, still visible in a cloudless blue sky, then turned my gaze down Constitution Avenue, where the Washington Monument was silhouetted by the smoke pouring from the Pentagon. I thought to myself, "It's a beautiful morning and my country's being attacked," and I broke into sobs. Our country would never be the same. For the sake of the victims, their families, those who serve to protect our nation, and indeed for all of us, we must 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 story1831.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-06 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 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: I was a student at the University of South Florida in Tampa, FL. I woke up early on the 11th of September to finish some research for one of my classes. I signed online and noticed a hot link on my computer that said a small plane had crashed into the World Trade Center and a plane had crashed into the Pentagon. I thought it was one of those respond to the survery hypothetical story links. I then decided to click on it and the response never went through. I went to my television and turned on the Today show on NBC. As I sat in my living room, I was in disbelief as I watched Katie Couric talk about the crashing of the plane into the building. Being an ex-military Air Force man, I kept wondering how a plane could crash into such a huge building. As I watched in horror the second plane hit the second trade tower. I could not beieve my eyes and my heart was crying for the loss of life. As the events of September 11 unfolded, I was totally caught up in the entire news coverage. I left for class about 11:00am and turned on the radio expecting to hear some kind of good news, of course that never came about. I arrived to the Tampa campus around 12:00 and all of the students on campus were huddled around a small television set that was broadcasting the events of this horrific day. People were crying, hysterical, it was an unbelievable scene. One which I hope I never have to experience again. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story6590.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. 63.49.97.52 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 mom and I were just beginning to take our walk with my two dogs Casey and Annie. We had just been talking about where we should go and how we should spend the day. It was the fifth day of our visit together and we ended up spending it like millions of others clued to our television. We had decided just the night before to go into the city on Wed. instead of Tuesday. We might have been right down the street from the tragedy, instead we were safe.I am grateful for this and yet we never were able to take our trip into the city because of all the repercussions due to the tragedy. My parents are not well now and cannot visit me this year. So there is regret and sadness and gratitude for our safety but always there remains the unbelievable cirumstances that this was the only week my family could visit us here in NY.The week we will never forget a day we will always remember..Sept.11,2001. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story6247.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. 64.158.181.73 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: When I exited the room, there was a stirring of commotion over the radio of a plane hitting the World Trade Center. My first thought was an accident as so did many others. Most everyone was working, but I had found a few minutes and began listening as I heard that the second plane hit and witnessed the collapse on the TV news. Peole were running and screaming. My first thought was to go to a small area and pray for the people in the building and the families that would be devistated by their loss. On June 3rd 2001, I had given myself to the Lord, to die unto self to give myself totally to minister to others. I had been praying the Prayer of Jabez for 5 months and had found myself becoming so overwhelmed by the unbelievers and non christians all around me. So when all of this happened, I found myself understanding that God had rescued be from from 7years of self destruction and I had become so totally aware of my purpose in life. Yes, at that time is when I realized that, even though God did not cause the anger and hate, he would use it to bring the nation together and cause those non believers and non christians to began questioning everything around them. My hope would be that prayer would be restored in the schools, Others would be aware of what the nation had lost and how fast our freedom could be taken. Here one minute, gone the next. People began pulling together and for a short time before football games and schooldays there was a reverence and not once did those that complained about prayer spoke up. We had truely pulled together. 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 story4614.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 24.98.70.218 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 9-11-01 i was working in the seafood dept of the store when i heard another girl say that we were getting bombed and that a plane had gone down in Somerset.So i rushed to the phone to call my grandmother to see if she was alright.Then she said another one went down at the trade center,and another one at the pentagon.I did not know what was going ontill i got home from work.When i got home and turned on the tv and seen what had happened i was sick to my stomach to see human beings murder other human beings.The first thing that i thought was what were they thinking and how could they do this knowing they were going to die that day too.Now on the one year anniversery of this tragic day i still ask the question what were they thinking and how could they have done this knowing they were going to die.But on this day 9-11 us americans must be strong and pull together and become united to fight for our freedom and to remember the ones who died fighting for theres.As the foundation shook and the earth gave way the foundation of our freedom,hope,spirt,and our prayers did not.We remember those who gave their lives fighting for what they belived in,remembering the rescue workers giving there all to save the ones who might be alive,the rescue workers who lost their lives trying to help get the ones who were alive out,and to every american that belived in every other american.The americans that pulled together and built the stongest foundation we stand on today.No one could ever break this strong foundation we call America.It is very nice to know that we live in a nation that cares about one another.I am so glad to be an AMERICAN.GOD BLESS AMERICA THE FOUNDATION OF HOPE, SPIRT,PRAYERS, AND TOGETHERNESS.To love is to live and for us to enjoy and happiness will follow. 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 story5519.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. 63.147.4.254 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I remember it being a really beautiful morning. September mornings in New York City are always beautiful. The sun glows orange and warm, it blankets the buildings in a soft, gentle light. Warming their cement and brick structures from the cool of the evening before. I've lived in New York City, in the same apartment, in the same neighborhood for all of my 33 years. I was saying goodbye to my mother who was on her way to work, when a flash of news broke onto the tv screen. They were reporting a fire at the World Trade Center. It seemd as if there had been an explosion. I was shocked, but I seriously thought it was something under control, something that NYC and it's emergency services units could easily handle, no matter how tall those Twin Towers were. We've been through alot, this tough little city, and we always seem to make it through. My mom and I commented on how terrible the fire was, and then she left for the day. Then the second plane attacked the second tower and I immediately went to my grandmother's apartment across the street. I laid with her in her bed, and we watched as the building collapsed into the cloud of dust that lingered over the next few days. I hugged my grandmother and felt terribly sad that she saw that happen in her lifetime. I went back home and called friends, and e-mailed people I knew all over the us and the world. I was worried for my family and for all of my friends. I went to the grocery store and found that it was crowded unlike I had ever seen before. The shelves were bare of water, milk and bread. But people were sweet and friendly to one another and surprisingly calm. I bought food for my family, and went home to drop it off. From my apartment, it overlooks columbus avenue on the upper west side, and there is a breathtaking view of the manhattan skyline. The Empire State Building has stood tall in my view for all of my life, and when I looked to downtown Manhattan, there loomed a massive cloud of black-grey smoke that moved eastward towards Brooklyn and LI. I was lucky that day. I had all of my family and friends safe in my sights and in my thoughts. I am sorry for all of those people lost and the families that have had to endure such tragedy and suffering. I'll never forget how the smoke from lower Manhattan proved to me how different that day was. THe booming engines of the F-16's flying overhead was very frieghtening, though I know it was meant for our protection and defense. That night, and the following nights until the smoke disappeared from the WTC site, I sat on my terrace, curled up in a blanket,and with the storm lamps lit aglow, I cried for many hours. I hope this doesn't sound awful or offensive in any way, because that is not my intention, but the smoke, though abnormal and sad with its presence, in some ways gave me comfort. For as long as the smoke was there, I knew that the WTC was still there, that I could always mark its spot in my memory. For I knew when the smoke was gone, the WTC would be gone forever as well. The one and only time I visited ground zero, was in early december. It was a cloudy, cold day and I was thinking I could deal with seeing this place, and I felt my knees shake as I climbed the steps from the subway. Nothing, absolutely nothing could prepare me for what I saw and what I felt. It broke my heart. It completely broke my heart. The tears came so quickly and they were so from my heart. I had no control over them. This sad graveyard for so many brave, innocent people. How do you tell all thses souls that you are sorry for what happened to them? Hatred did this? Why did this happen? So many questions, so many emotions. I watched the recovery workers in awe and admiration, working through the night, the cold, the rain. How beautfiful and thoughtful of them to not leave those lost souls alone in this vast and horrific gravesite.How can you nto feel for all of them? I never wanted to go 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 story1404.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-08-22 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 24.46.242.215 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 recap of my work day on September 11, 2001 in mid-town Manhattan. 8:10am - Sat down at my desk, 22oz. coffee and a corn muffin. 8:56am - Got up from my desk and headed for the kitchen microwave to heat up what was left of my coffee (as I always do). This is where the best view of the towers is and I usually take a glance at it every day while my coffee is heating up. Taking notice to the smoke, I stood and stared along with a few others questioning and guessing about what was going on at the WTC. 9:05am ? 3 of us watched as the 2nd plane crashed into the south tower. People in the office started running around frantically; before I knew it 20 of us were in the kitchen. I couldn?t stay there any longer, had to find out what the hell was going on. 9:15am - Went to talk to the boss.....lent me his radio.......headed back to my office...... sat and listened, while my family and friends used AOL Instant Messenger telling me what I saw from the kitchen window. Heard on the radio that all the bridges and tunnels were closed in and out of the city.........made some phone calls to family & friends before the phones cut out. 9:45am - Radio reported a third aircraft had hit the Pentagon. U.S. Capital begins to evacuate. 10:00am - Heard someone in the office yell that one of the Towers had collapsed, I had to see it with my own eyes. 10:10am - Office meeting to take a head count and talk about what to do, office is now closed. 10:15am - Went to the roof, spent the next 15 minutes on the roof waiting for the dust clouds from the first tower to clear. Up there I heard the second boom and watched the North Tower crash to the ground, that's when I began to run. The thought that either of the towers would crumble to the ground never even crossed my mind. (actually, I remember thinking about how they would ever go about fixing the hole and what the hole would look like when the fires were put out). Seeing them burn is one thing, but to see them crumble to the ground scared me. 10:29am - Back to my office to call home, phones were now completly dead, went to the stairwell to make my way down to the street and up to Penn Station to see if the trains were running before it was too late. 7th Ave. was at a stand still, running around all the cars and people, I looked down the street towards the towers, all I could see was smoke and all I could hear were sirens. 10:42am - Frantic, I ran around inside Penn Station to find out if the trains were still running. They announced one more train was leaving and that it wouldn?t leave without you. Track 15, down the stairs the train was still there, it seemed there was no room left on the train, but I managed to squeeze myself on, half of my body outside the door I held on. 10:48am - Train door finally closed and jammed packed on the last train to Jersey, I began to sweat profusely. After about another 8 minutes they told us the train was not going to leave, Penn Station is now closed, please exit the building immediately. Off to the ATM machine in Penn Station for cash, I had no idea what to do or expect next. 11:05am ? Not wanting to waste time, I began to run again, making my way up to the street level onto W33rd. Thinking I better get away from the Empire State Bldg. (on 34th & 5th) I headed towards the Hudson River. Running too close to the Post Office (which was surrounded by men with guns) I was stopped by 2 Police Officers that thought I was some kind of nut. How was I to know there was was a bomb scare there. 11:10am - Standing in a line of thousands holding cell phones at the 38th St. pier near the Javits Center, I waited to board a NY Waterway Ferry to NJ. Watching F16 fighters fly above and an endless line of emergency vehicles headed south, all I could do was wait and hope they wouldn?t shut down my last hope of getting off the Island. I honestly contemplated swimming to NJ. 11:50am - As I boarded the John Stevens, they announced we weren?t going to Hoboken (where the trains are) and that we were headed for Weehawken (Port Imperial?). We were told there would be buses waiting at the pier to take us to Hoboken. Standing at the stern of the overcrowded boat I watched as smoke billowed for miles and thought about all the innocent lives that were lost in the rubble. 12:05pm - Thank God, I made it to NJ, as we all disembarked, EMS workers were getting on. Walking to the parking area I saw the line for the bus to Hoboken.....no way was I was going to stand in another line, so asked for directions and began to walk towards Hoboken, hopefully get a train anywhere near my car or home. 12:30pm?? ? Exhausted both physically and mentally, dehydrated and tired of walking in the hot sun, I thought why not hitch hike, so I did. Picked up by an older gentlemen in an SUV, he noticed my disarray along with all the sweat and turned the air conditioning on high for me. I explained to him my situation and he happily agreed to drive me as far as he could in the direction of Hoboken. 12:40pm - Dropped off and a bit cooled off somewhere along Park Ave. in Hoboken, I began walking again, looking for a pay phone or someone?s cell phone I could borrow, I stumbled upon a restaurant that looked to be closed. Knocking on the door the women inside agreed to let me in and let me use the phone, but no luck, still couldn?t get through to home. 12:48pm - On the corner of Washington St. and ? in Hoboken, I found a payphone, this time it went through. I spoke with my Dad, told him where I was, my situation and what I was planning on doing from that point forward. 12:51pm - I entered the bar near the payphone, had a large shot of bourbon (Knob Creek) and headed down the street. Stop for a slice of pizza and a bottle of water, then slowly walked towards the Hoboken train station. 1:30pm ? I was told by a local police officer the trains were running again and made my way into the station. Before entering the station I noticed a triage set up right outside where they were helping all the injured from NY, I couldn?t look. Hoboken is the first stop on the PATH train into NJ, so a good part of the injured that made it out of the WTC ended up here. So that?s why the boat didn?t go to Hoboken. 2:11pm - The train finally left the terminal and headed for Newark because at that time the trains weren?t going to New Brunswick something to do with the electricity I guess. Looking out the train window, back at the city, that cloud of smoke seemed to stretch for hundreds of miles. The beautiful blue sky that started the day, was gone. 3:00pm - Finally a train arrives in Newark to take us all south, down the Northeast Corridor towards Trenton, hopefully stopping at New Brunswick where my car was parked. On the train I spoke with a man who work in the WTC for 22 years at Morgan Stanley, I?ll never forget his face as he told of the whole ordeal. 3:50pm - Arriving in New Brunswick, I got in my car and cautiously drove home thinking of all those innocent people who were just going to work making a living, died for no reason at all. How fortunate I was to be alive, going home to my family and friends. 4:20pm - Home at last. 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 story10860.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. 2004-09-10 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 12.161.1.33 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 I went to school just like any other day not knowing what kind of tragedy was bout to happen in a couple of hours. I remeber sitting in homeroom with Mr. Johnston, when the teacher from next door came rushing over to our room saying "turn on the news, a plane just crashed into one of the world trade centers!" At first I didnt really know anything about the towers and didnt think anything of it really, becasue I didnt know all of the people that were just killed and involved in it. As the day went on though i realized that this was a big deal. The news was on in every class we had and after hearing them talk about it, I didnt want to believe it becasue i was scared for all of the people trapped inside and what must have been going through thier minds, if they were thinking they were going to die or thinking bout thier kids, husbands, or wifes. When the the reporter announced that the first tower had just collapsed i feared for all of those lifes trapped inside and for all of thier loved ones watching them collapse with it. Kids were leaving school becasue they were scared, and for the first time ever Disney closed. Everyone was scared of where they may strike next. I remeber being frightned that they may hit Floirda since it if one of the major tourist attractions in the United States. This was a huge tragedy and I hope that nothing like this will happen again and that we will never have to lose so many people at once again. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story9225.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2003-04-26 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 205.188.209.74