505 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: The Day That Changed My Life September 11, 2001 was the most tragic day of my life. It has impacted my family, friends, and generation. Since 9/11, my respect for America and the life I have, has changed immensely, with many other people. When the first attack happened, I was at school, and I remember an announcement came on saying there had been an attack. My teacher turned on the T.V. and there I saw it- a plane flying directly into one of the Twin Towers. It made me sick to think there were thousands of innocent people in there not knowing where to go and if they?d make it out alive. My teacher let everyone call home, and when it was my turn, my Mom picked up the phone. She started crying and I wanted to cry too. She and my Dad were impacted so much by Sept. 11 because my Dad?s job is being a pilot. He had just retired from the United States Navy. Because of his career, my entire family always had a deep respect for America, but now it is even deeper. My friends have also changed. Some of them ?get? how horrible it was, but others don?t care as much as they should. We?ve all become more patriotic and respectful to our country. Also, we?re more careful with what we say. Today, September 11, 2002, our school, to show our spirit, wore red, white, and blue. It was amazing to see how many of us showed our pride by wearing it. Also, our Student Council planted New York?s state tree in our front schoolyard. Around it is sandstone, from Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where one of the planes crashed, and they?re in the shape of the Pentagon. It shows how much we?ve matured and developed over the past year. My generation, I think, has been affected the most. We all saw what happened and we will never forget the plane crashing in Shanksville. We will never forget the Pentagon burning. We will never forget when the other plane flew straight into one of the towers. And we certainly won?t forget the feeling and sight of World Trade Center collapsing to the streets of New York City. As you can see, we?ve all been affected as a country and will always stick together as ONE! As the one-year anniversary comes and goes, the people who suffered from September 11, 2001, will always be in our hearts. By: Kim Begley 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 story6530.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. 207.103.166.40 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: SEPTEMBER 11TH 8:46 Herb calls -- A plane crashed Into the World Trade Center. I turn on tv -- flames, smoke, a black hole Through the heart of New York City. 9:02 a second plane, two craters, smoke surges, frenzied flames lash the sky. My ears shut. I don't want to linger More truncated than I am. Fear won't scorch me. Eyes up, I march to the bank notary, wanting to ask each person I pass -- Do you know? Inside, whispers of horror. I, who don't know how to cry, tears drop. Someone proclaims -- It's the fault of the liberals. Three blocks to Voice Stream -- My new, expensive phone, a weak signal since day one. The manager unlocks the glass door, explains, We are closing due to today's events. Other stores closing, closed, closed. Fifteen minutes have drooped our shoulders, Tear-streaked faces, hushed voices. We walk weighted by shock, loss. Communal sorrow - echoes of Kennedy, King. A pyre of thousands. I open my front door, run to the blaring pone. My son - Do you know, terrorists? No; oh yes, the tv said Terrorists. Now only channel 25. Stuttering Replays forward/back - planes, smoke, flames, people fleeing, Osama bin Laden, Afghanistan. War. Watching, nailed to the couch and phone, to hear family and friends. my son, sick, at home, his wife called - Their office - like an earthquake; all in the building ran to the cellar. Management won't let them out. I wish the attackers instant death until sanity softens rage. Next day I hunt in my closets for our 48-star flag washed last night. Wooden flagpole in my hand, where is our folded red, white and blue shelved since Vietnam? I need to drape it form our 2nd floor window to wave America This country, Ellis Island, my family, when others slammed their doors shut. I search between bulky sweaters, paper goods, a faded shirt, tax records. Oh, the red bled into the yellowed white. I tossed it out. I buy a rhinestone pin - our flag made of stardust, and tape a paper flag to my front door, my car window, on top of a gift box. I see stripes and stars in every size: on entrance and lobby doors, on men's lapels, in shop windows, next to Korean, Chinese, Arabic alphabets. The red and white bars - steel beams, the stars - rivets, our World Trade Center. This poem was read at the National Poetry Month @ The Writer's Voice of the West Side Y: After 9/11, Curated by Jane Herschlag. April 10th, Writer's Voice, 5 West 63rd, New York, NY 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 story485.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-05-01 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 146.96.93.228 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: We were playing Beachvolleyball when a friend of mine told of the incident! We thougt that it is a joke, but when I saw it at TV I knew that it was real. 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 story9925.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2003-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 80.121.31.70 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: An update to what I wrote about this day 5 years ago. My emotions are still so raw on this day...I find myself easily coming to tears and angry at such things as CNN playing real time coverage of the horror that happened that day. This is the first day I have to try to be "normal" since I worked the mental health response and was doing work helping others on the first two anniversaries, the past two I was home and able to commemorate and memorialize in my own way. Today I am at work and school and it's hard, very hard. I want to process it all and help others and remember.... FOREVER IN OUR HEARTS--WE 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 story20486.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. 128.164.229.78 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I was sitting at a desk in a high school classroom when I heard about September 11th. We started the school day on September 11th just as we started the school day on September 10th. We went to first period and worked until the morning announcements came on. We were told a commerical airliner had hit the World Trade Center. We thought of it as no more of an accident and were anxious to hear the bell ring to release us to break. As we exited into the hall, several students joked about the plane crash. We had morning break and chatted as usual. We sighed as we heard the bell signaling us to go to class. We went to our seats as if we were trained animals. I sat in listening to my teacher's sophomore English lecture. We heard a knock on the door. A biology teacher stuck her head in and ask to speak to our English teacher. Our teacher re-entered our classroom, she said, "I have just been informed that the Pentagon is on fire." She hurriedly moved to the televison and turned it on. We sat in awe as we saw the twin towers fall and the Pentagon go up in smoke. A usually chatting class fell silent. We sat back in our chairs as we tried to take in what was happening to our country. We looked to one another in astonishment. We realized that this was no joke this was a serious terror attack. We all sat in quiet wondering why. Our teacher related our events to "All Quiet on the Western Front" our recent novel we were studying. We wondered if our future would hold bomb shelters, drafts, and another world war. Most of all, we wondered what September 12 would hold in store for us. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story1645.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. 2002-09-01 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 67.240.139.69 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 sleeping soundly, oblivious to the world when I heard the startling ring of the telephone. I had a fever and hadn't been feeling well, so I had taken the day off from school. I figured I wasn't going to miss anything, and from what I had collected the previous day, my classes would be quite uneventful. I was none to pleased to be rudely awakened from my slumber. I remember cursing out the phone as I picked up the receiver, and grumbling out a "h'lo?" It was the voice of my sister, but it had a wavering and shaky tone that concerned me. "Are you alright?" I quickly replied. I thought she might have been in an accident or something, since she normally would be at classes that day. I remember what she said next quite clearly. "I think we're under attack. Terrorists have attacked New York and Washington, turn on the news!" I couldn't believe what I was hearing, but the rest of the conversation was brief. She just wanted to call to let my family know not to worry about her, and that Philadelphia hadn't been targeted. I ran into my room and turned on the radio. Every station was saying the same thing. I heard a brief conference from our President before I ran to turn on the T.V. It felt so strange watching the billowing smoke from a WTC. I couldn't take my eyes off the TV. I wondered what my classmates were doing a few miles away at school. I felt so alone. Nothing I saw seemed real???but it was real, and now I'm tired of it. The media has beaten the subject to death. Today as a school-wide event I was forced to watch CNN's coverage of September 11th - again. Over the past week the only thing I've seen all over the TV Guide is September 11th coverage. I do recall children experts claiming that we should be cautious about how much our youth is viewing regarding the tragedy. How can this be achieved when the horrors are aired twenty four seven all over the network? When is enough, enough? I feel for the victims of the families. I feel for the people of New York. But everyone needs to find closure and move on with their lives, never forgetting the mistakes we made and with the resolve to never let something of this magnitude happen 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 story3508.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. 209.50.139.249 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 for work a little late - a couple of minutes past nine. I had a feeling immediately that something was strange around the office as two of my coworkers were staring intently at a TV scree. They looked up and told me that two planes had crashed into the World Trade Center buildings. For some reason it didn't completely sink in immediately - I turned on my computer. As we were sitting there, trying to figure out what was going on, the reality began to dawn on all of us. My chief of staff and legislative director disappeared into the Congressman's office. Looking out our window, we have a perfect view of the Capitol Building - about 400 yards away. I remember asking, "Are we safe here right now." A friend from another office called me, to see what we were doing. Our chief of staff came out,looking visibly shaken. He said that we were closing down and that we should all get go home. Avoid the metro, he said - no one is sure what's going on. I tried to call my girlfriend who also works in the city, but she wasn't answering because she was in a staff meeting - she didn't find out for another half hour. I called my friend back and she offered her apartment as a place to go. I refused, seeing how she lived on Capitol Hill and I wanted to get out of the city. We decided to go to my apartment in Silver Spring, MD. It was at that point that a news report came on that there had been a car bomb explosion at the State Department. We all left the office quickly, and I headed over to the Cannon Building to meet my friend. I remember taking the stairs, rather than the elevator out of a fear of being trapped if something happened. Everyone was moving quickly, but not in a paniced way. Capitol Police were moving tourists along - the evacuation order hadn't come down yet, but it would in a matter of minutes. I met my friend and we immediately got in her car. I turned on National Public Radio to see what was happenign. It was almost surreal - they were broadcasting a report on the budget and the Social Security lock box! Flipping throught the dials, we found Elliot in the Morning, a local shock jock who dumped his usual schtic for real reporting. He was great and helped to keep us a little calm. We drove north, past the Senate Office Buildings. Traffic was heavy, but moving. We were stopped at a light near the Hart Office Building when we heard a "boom." Pedestrians immediately started looking up toward the Capitol. Our first words were, "Shit, they hit the Capitol."We couldn't see the dome because of buildings in the way and I started to get out of the car to try and see what happened. My friend yelled at me to get back in and we drove off. I was so wrapped up in what was going on, I almost didn't notice that she was crying. For a period, I was afraid that she wouldn't be able to drive, but she held it together. The drive thinned out after we got off the hill. At this point, we still didn't know what the noise was, so when we got to North Capitol Street, I looked back to see if the dome of the Capitol was still there. It was, and we found out later that the noise was a jet flying overhead. The rest of the drive was relatively uneventful. Traffic was about the same as a usual evening commute and we made it home in 40 minutes. Coworkers who were going to Virginia were not so lucky and were stuck for hours because 395 goes by the Pentagon. Two thoughts kept occuring to me. 1. Since we didn't yet know that the state department car bomb rumor was false, I was nervous about the parked cars we were passing on the road. 2. It was strange how so many of the people we passed at stores, gas stations and other businesses seemed to be going on with their lives as if nothing happened. I wanted to yell, "Don't you see what's happeining?" When we got to my apartment building at around 10:45, we went upstairs to my girlfriend's apartmen - I don't have a land line, and my cell phone was not working. We called our parents to let them know we were safe. My girlfriend was still in the city. I was not happy about that and told her that if she didn't get out soon, I was coming in to get her. There were many calls trying to reach her father who was understandibly upset. It was difficult to get though as he worked on Long Island and all NY phones were jammed. I remember speaking to my mother several times, at one point suggesting that she and my father might want to pack up and head to my uncle's house in Maine, my father's plan during the Cold War if missiles were launched. My girlfriend got home about an hour and a half later and we spent the rest of the day fixated on the TV. At one point, we tried to give blood, only to be turned away, because the center wasn't set up for a drive. That night, I needed to get out and went to the gym. At one point, the President addressed the nation and I remember a good number of people going over to watch. Some people kept working 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 story324.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. 2002-03-27 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 143.231.115.221 Annotation Annotations to this item. Gov't workers (non-military and non-rescue) Politics and politicians Radio Coverage Rumors Struggle to get home DC:2 Feature 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 life changed for us all, I was fast asleep in my bed thousands of miles away. I had started my first semester of grad school and had an 8:00 class that gave me fits. I woke up late again, and rushed out of my apartment without checking the day's news. The shuttle was full of people on cell phones, and I caught bits and pieces of their conversations. "Somebody's going to pay for this." "Ohmigod, one of them's leaning?" I didn't know what they were talking about or that they were talking about the same thing. It wasn't until I got to class that I learned the news. Like many Americans, I'm sure, I thought the damage had been exaggerated. Hadn't the towers withstood a bombing a few years earlier without too much incident? The Pentagon? Indestructible. It didn't take long to learn that wasn't so. I got home in time to see both towers collapse. The image haunts me. I'm one of the lucky ones. I don't know anyone who was lost in the attacks. I don't know anyone who lost anyone, but we all lost something that day. We lost our innocence. 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 story1389.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. 66.136.199.114 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 gotten off my 12 hour graveyard shift at 0600 hrs,,,i am a 911 dispatcher and emt for the city of san diego fire and life safety services,,,,i had just gone downstairs to clock out and the television was on and my coworkers told me what had just happened,,,,the first plane had hit wtc 1 approx 20 min earlier and as we were all riveted watching the tv,,,all of us thinking this was a horrible accident,,,we then all witnessed the second plane as it hit wtc 2,,,,there was utter disbelieve in all of us of course as we watched this horror happening before out eyes, but eventually i knew i had to start for home as i knew i had to get some sleep to come back to work 12 hrs later for my next shift,,,,i couldnt wait to get home to tell my family what had happened as i knew they were all probably still sleeping, but when i arrived home they were all awake and watching, the neighbors had already called, so we watched together in horror, and as the first tower start to fall, immediately all i could think of were all those firefighters, paramedics, emts, police officers and all the innocent folks that hadnt gotten out yet,,all in that order, i knew they were gone and i cried,,,,eventually knowing i had to get some sleep cause i had to be back on shift at the fire dept at 1800 hrs,,,i think i finally went reluctantly to sleep around noon that day only to get up around 1530,,,when i awoke and it slowly came to me that something horrible and unbelievable had happened to our country and was hoping against hope that it had all been an awful dream once i came fully awake,,,,,i realized it wasnt a dream,,,it was undeniable reality 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 story5987.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. 198.81.17.166 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: My father had a triple by-pass performed at the U of PA hospital 9/10/2001. I travelled from my home in CT with my 9yr. old daughter to stay at my sister's house with my mother, who came from Atlantic City; and my brother who came from Canada. My husband called when the first plane hit the WTC. He woke me up. As if what he said was in a dream, I went back to sleep. I thought it was a part of my dream. He called again when the second plane crashed. I woke up my family and we watched CNN,like the rest of the nation, in horror. Since NJ is separated from Phila. by bridges, and all bridges were closed to traffic, we could not visit my father on his 1st day of recovery from surgery. He later told us that when he woke, the first thing the docs told him was about the attacks. He, too, thought it was a dream and didn't believe it until he watched it on TV. It took me 3 days to return to CT. I would have to drive over one of the bridges that connect NYC to NJ & CT. They were all closed to traffic. Two years later, on this the anniversary date of the tragedy, I am still tearful and I stop what I'm doing for a moment of reflection, sadness and rememberance when the radio or a co-worker marks the times the planes went down. 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 story9667.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2003-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 12.154.86.2 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: Christmas in New York ~ December 23 & 24, 2001 Arriving We tumble off the train and move forward in fits and starts. On the Main Concourse at Grand Central Station, words and footsteps echo. If I look up to admire the vast ceiling sprinkled with stars, I?ll stop the traffic flow. So we keep moving, searching for the subway to Times Square. We walk deeper into the bowels of the station. Everything around us is concrete and orange light and litter and screeching metal. When a train barrels past it brings with it a hot, fumy smell. From behind a pillar I hear a song. Someone is playing a trumpet. The notes bounce off the walls and resonate all around us. When we climb onto the subway car, though, the doors seal away the music. We?ve packed ourselves in quite nicely, though some of us are stuck standing. Near me a girl of about 10 is resting her head on her mother?s shoulders. "There are so many people, it?s scary," she whispers. "I know," her mother whispers back. She smoothes her hair again and again, as the train begins to move. ? Central Park The city looms to on either side as we walk down winding paths, past gnarled trees. Clip-clop, clip-clop, clip-clop. Horse-drawn carriages prance by on a thoroughfare. Each one is decorated a little differently for the season, with bows and wreaths and flowers. Red-nosed couples or families sit under blankets and watch us. There are rocks everywhere. I never knew that about Central Park. They are great climbing rocks. Kids see them and start running, ready to attack the mountain. One mother is yelling, "Get down from there NOW!" Her son is dangling off a ledge about 20 feet from the ground, a big grin on his face. The mom looks at me with exasperation that hints of a smile. There is a skating rink. It is so crowded that if you happened to fall, you?d probably just tip into someone else and bounce back up. No one seems to mind anyway. They are laughing or chasing each other or trying to stay balanced. ? Last-Minute Shopping We walk into Macy?s and for a moment, I stand and look. Ahead of me, above the shoppers? heads, are countless arches of garland. They are clustered with glittered fruit, ornaments, and ribbon, and attach at each end to golden angels that hang from pillars. There is floor after floor of anything you could ever want to buy. We take the escalator, which is wooden and ancient. I?ve never seen anything like it. As I get off, I see a woman in her seventies standing and admiring the endlessly moving stairs. Then she takes a picture. Outside FAO Schwartz teenagers wearing Red Cross T-shirts are handing out hot chocolate. A line stretches from the front doors and out behind the building. A man squawks out through a megaphone, "Come on over, folks! The line?s moving quickly." Inside is a crush of people and children. "Look! Cotton candy making machines!" Someone exclaims behind me. I see lots and lots of teddy bears, a room dedicated just to Barbie Dolls, and Lincoln Logs. A man tending to his three children loses sight of one, a little girl of about three, for a moment. I watch her drift into the masses of shoppers, her eyes widening in fear. She begins to cry. Just as I head over to help her, another woman stops and asks her what is wrong. She beckons a store employee to help. There is so much to see. I wish I could play. But there are so many people that I am sweating and it?s hard to see in front of us. So we head back into the crisp December afternoon. ? The Church At St. Patrick?s Cathedral, the ceiling arches far above us. There is a smattering of people inside. Some walk in and immediately light a candle. Others rush down the aisles to get to the front. Cameras flash. I see a man holding a little dog. Others have obviously come in for just a little while for a respite from the cold and to rest their tired feet. Many people are sitting in the pews, straight and gazing ahead, as if they are waiting or hoping for a mass to begin. And some have come to pray. I see them from the corner of my eye. I feel guilty watching and invading a private moment. They sink to their knees and bow their heads, oblivious to the constant din of voices. There in mid-afternoon as children run by laughing, they hold their conversations with God. ? The Movie We decide to go to the movies across the street from our hotel in Times Square. "Lord of the Rings" is playing. We have to take three escalators just to get to theater number 12. Many people are already seated. We squeeze past at least 10, apologizing at every step, then sink into our seats. I like the movie but find my mind drifting at times. There are many characters to keep track of and I?ve never read the books. Still, I?m mesmerized by the special effects and the story. There is this moment toward the end when the main character thinks about the hardships he is enduring. He is close to giving up. "I wish I had never been given the ring," he says. "I wish all of this had never happened." "We all do," his mentor tells him. He continues with something like, "There is nothing you can do now except take the time that has been given to you and try to make a change. It?s up to you to change the world." I hear sniffles in the darkness around me. At first I think it?s just one person with a cold. But then I hear more, and I see several people nearby quickly wiping their eyes. I realize that the words have either struck a chord or hit a nerve with the people around me. How we all wish none of this had ever happened. Most of us are silent as we pour out into the lobby, and then the night. The sidewalks are wet. They reflect back thousands of lights, chasing away the darkness, keeping the streets alive. ? The Subway It?s the morning of Christmas Eve, and I?m riding the subway alone. Dan is still buried under warm blankets in our hotel room. The train is quiet and far from crowded. As we start moving, a black man with a white beard steps in from the car behind us. He?s holding a saxophone. As we rush ahead into the darkness, he begins to play. Inside I sing with him. Have yourself a merry little Christmas. Let your heart be light. From now on our troubles will be out of sight. A man next to me in a suit and tie does not look up from the newspaper. Others gaze vacantly ahead. Their eyes tell me nothing. I listen and stare across out the window and see that another train is racing beside us. We are moving just slightly faster. It is so close I can see the faces inside each window. The notes from the saxophone swell and wash over me. Suddenly I?m alone with the music and these brief flashes of other lives. I watch and see mothers and children, an Asian teenager, an older white woman; a black face looking back at me or through me. This is New York, I think as we pull ahead of the other train and the faces vanish. The man finishes his song, picks up his instrument case, and moves haltingly forward. A young blond woman gives him a dollar. He smiles and thanks her and walks to the next car, as we barrel on toward 34th Street. ? Ground Zero Everything is different. It has been nine weeks since I was here last. The streets are streets again. Stores are opened. And the smell?that awful, electrical, dank smell, has diminished. Of course life here cannot be normal. Normal must now be a dim memory for the people who live and work in these buildings. This is still a grim, somber place. But as I walk and watch, I can sense a change since October. I think it is acceptance. On the ground floor of One Liberty Plaza, which once faced the World Trade Center, the shops have reopened. Starbucks employees are wearing Santa caps and are passing out samples on the sidewalk. Inside, people are milling about and ordering bagels. I ask for my standard Cchai and tell the woman to keep the change from my $20, as if that?s going to help business. Still, seeing the smile on her face makes me feel warmer than my drink. Outside, I keep walking. There are people everywhere, with cameras, with their children, craning their necks to see the rubble. All any of us can truly see is the tops of cranes. You could almost pretend that this was just a big construction job going on; that is, those of us who don't really belong here. I stop at a cookie shop. I don?t even want a cookie, but I walk in anyway. "Chestnuts roasting on an open fire?" is blaring from somewhere. Two women behind the counter look up and smile. One is sliding fresh baked chocolate chip cookies off a sheet. Everything here is so warm and cozy and feels so nice, it?s almost surreal. For a split second I think of these two incredibly kind faces and imagine what they were doing on September 11. Then I?m embarrassed because tears have come to my eyes. I realize they are tears of relief that these people are here and alive and are able to smile. But I can?t tell them that. "Um, I?d just like a chocolate chip cookie," I say, not really looking one of the women in the eye. "Just one?" she teases. "You can?t have just one." Back out in the cold I hold my cookie and my Chai and watch other people see it all for the first time. Their eyes drift across the flowers and banners and pictures and teddy bears that still adorn some of the fences and building walls. Some wipe tears from their eyes or just stand in awe. These people are the minority, though. There are less reverent visitors now. Some lean out of the windows of cars slowly driving by, pointing video cameras. Others try to sneak past barriers. A group of Japanese tourists are laughing and arguing about how to line up in front of the camera. One man is trying to capture Ground Zero as the backdrop to the picture. I watch them giggling and feel anger rise within me. Then I see a police officer, a beautiful black woman in her thirties, watching them also. "Does this bother you?" I ask her when they walk away. "All of these people, taking pictures?" "No," she says without hesitation. "Everyone has to process this in their own way." She doesn?t sound resigned or even sad. I detect this strength about her that I wish was contagious. Maybe it?s resilience. I see it everywhere, as I walk back to the subway. Recovery workers are greeting each other and laughing. Some of them hold surgical masks in their hands and are soiled with soot. They have seen unspeakable things. These days are long from over. But in this little moment, they are smiling. ? Going Home There has to be a seat somewhere, we are both thinking as we walk briskly past car after car. This is the 1:07pm train to New Haven, and everyone else in New York has decided to take it. We walk and peek and walk and walk. Every seat is full. People are sitting on the floor. Others are squeezing through the doors with bags of Christmas gifts. I see a man holding a cat in a carrier. In the last car, we are able to squish into two tiny seats across from a brother and sister. The boy, about 14, is engrossed in a Game Boy and simultaneously listening to music over headphones. His sister is working on subtraction problems in a workbook. That is, when she can sit still. Another girl, maybe 12, gets on with her mother just as the doors are about to close. She has braces and a sweet quietness about her. In her arms she holds a plastic case with a parakeet inside. In five minutes, the two girls become friends. "Your name is Katherine?" the older one says softly. "That?s my name!" The little one grins and swings her feet. "How many stops until we?re there?" she demands of her father. "Lots," he says in a voice that tells her not push it. We burst out from the tunnel and into the light. Already the city around us seems like a different place; just gray buildings and bridges in the hazy distance, so I don?t look for long. And anyway, the man is collecting tickets. "I?m having a bad day today," he says, but doesn?t sound like he means it, chuckling as he pushes to the back of the car. The city is gone. When my eyes tire from reading I watch the girl with the bird gaze out of the window. She cradles what she holds instinctively and protectively in her arms, as if she?ll never let it go. ? ? 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 story637.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-05-17 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 146.96.95.21 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I was taking my daughters to school that morning. We had our favorite christian radio station on when the news of the first plane to hit was announced. My daughter and I looked at each other and said "oh, that's terrible", we were only thinking a small plane. I dropped her off and headed home to pick up a few items before going to work. On my way to work I heard of the second plane and by the time I reached my job the 3rd plane had hit the Pentagon. I worked at television station and when I walked in everyone was in the lobby and news room watching the tragedy. I couldn't believe my eyes. My heart hurt. Fear gripped me. All I wanted to do was get my kids, my husband and go to our home and be together. I will never forget that day. It is a day that changed how I look at life. I will never take my life for granted. I make sure to hug and kiss my children and husband every day and tell them I love them. God has become even more important in my life. My family and friends are always in my heart and mind. I am very proud to be an American and to wave our flag with pride. 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 story5566.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 152.163.188.6 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I had been at a birthday party of a friend and I was getting home at 10.30pm Australian time (8.30am NYC time). I decided to turn on the TV for a while before going to bed. A local sports show was interupted by a breaking news story. It took me some time before I realised that the burning building in the picture was one of the WTC Towers in NYC. I could hardly belive what I was seeing. I was trying to make myself belive that it was something that could be detained and put right until....out of the side of the TV screen came a plane. As they say - the rest is history. NYC had a special meaning to me at that time. My best friend had just excepted a 2 year contract to work and live in the city. He was due to fly out of Australia on September 27th. He took that flight and is still there. Even though I am on the other side of the world my heart breaks everytime I see the images of that day. I have had the chance to visit NYC in May 2002 and I fell in love with it and the people. I just wish that I had had the chance to see the Towers tall and strong. I did visit the WTC site with a heavy heart. In a way I felt like I was intruding. All those people who's lives ended in such a senseless way - their families desperate for something to hold onto. I felt like I was prying into their lives. If I was - I'm sorry. My love goes out to everyone involved in the rebirth of a great city. Stay strong. 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 story2066.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-10 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 203.103.166.35 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 the second week of college and I was sitting in the lecture hall waiting for the chef to begin his lesson. Although it was early morning, the room was filled with noise and excitement. The television in the room was set on a cooking show while we waited for the chef to begin. Just before the class began, a student came running into the room prompting the chef to change the channel to CNN. As the news came on, the entire lecture hall fell silent at what was being put in front of us. The lively spirit of the room quickly flew out the window as we watched the twin towers burn and collapse. Soon after, we were evacuated with the rest of downtown Toronto, to reflect and watch what had just 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 story1232.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-08-19 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 24.101.154.48 Annotation Annotations to this item. INTERNATIONAL 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: Beth English 9/11 essay 9/11/02 On September 11, 2001 the United States was changed dramatically. Early that morning people from the terrorist group al Queda hijacked four planes and sent three of the four into buildings. Two smashed into the World Trade Centers and one crashed into the Pentagon. The planes hit the Twin Towers so hard and fast that they made them collapse killing thousands of innocent people. The other plane that was hijacked by the terrorists, crashed into the earth in Somerset County in Pennsylvania killing the people on board. That day was very traumatic for me hearing all these things happening near by. Around ten o?clock that morning someone came on the loudspeaker and announced that there was an explosion at the Pentagon and Twin Towers. I didn?t think much about it until I went into my science class and my teacher had the news on. I saw the plane crash into the towers and them falling. I was in shock. I didn?t think it was real, it looked like a movie. They canceled afternoon sports and everyone went home. When I got home my mom was home from work early and gave me a huge hug. She said all she wanted to do was hug me and my brother the whole day. I was really scared since I live right outside Philadelphia, thinking they might blow up some of the historical sites, like the Liberty Bell. Thank goodness they didn?t, but no one knew what was going to happen. Thankfully no one from my family was hurt, but my mom was calling our family members seeing if everyone was alright. Especially her sister who lives in North Jersey. I knew a couple people who were supposed to be at the Twin Towers, but weren?t going to be their until later that day. Before 9/11 my family never really showed a lot of affection, but now we do. I give my mom hugs and tell my parents that I love them, because you never know if that will be the last time you speak to them. I do think America has changed in the last year, but not dramatically. We still are obsessed with stupid television shows and music, but we are more aware of the things around us. I also think we became more united as a country. When the tragedy happened we bonded together and helped the people who lost loved ones. The United States was extremely surprised at what happened to us. We never thought that anyone could come into our country and hurt us so hard. Now we know that things bad can happen. Hopefully people will remember September 11 and what happened, so we can prevent anything like that happen to us 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 story6554.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. 207.103.166.40 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I had been a member of the Pentagon police department, the Defense Protective Service, from 1988 until September 2000. I no longer worked at the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, but I knew many people that did. When I heard what had happened, I boarded a Metro Subway train to go to the building, or as close as I could get. The smoke from the fires was visible eight miles away in Alexandria. I could only get to within three miles of the Pentagon. The train would go no further. I decided to walk the remaining distance along Route 1. From the time I left the train (about noon) until the time I reached the Pentagon parking lot (about 1 pm), I was the only person walking toward the site. However, there was a continuous line of people and cars going in the opposite direction. Those on foot were making better time, steadily putting distance between themselves and the crash site. (Traffic was virtually at a stand-still.) There was no sign of panic. I saw only one civilian aircraft land at National Airport, and it was escorted by a fighter jet. I thought that unusual, and ominous, to see and hear the sound of a fighter over the Nation's Capital, but it was a sight/sound that would become familiar in following days. I arrived near the Pentagon, wanting to help in some way, but, of course I could not enter the compound. I climbed a nearby hill and watched the fires burn out of control. A lone fire truck kept up a pathetic and ineffective stream of water. There was a black scorch mark running along about half the west side of the Pentagon--evidence of a fireball. A small crowd had gathered on the hill, which, had at one time been the site of a Union Fort built to protect the Capital. Ironically, it bore silent witness to an assault that could not be prevented. Radios told the story of the Pentagon and what had happened in New York and Pennsylvania. People wondered where the terrorists would strike next and whether such an attack, if launched, could be prevented. For me, it was personal. I trained and prepared for years to protect the building, as had my colleagues on the police department, yet when the time came we were bystanders. Nobody had expected an attack by civilian aircraft. Fortunately, no officer on the Defense Protective Service was killed. But, in subsequent months, talking to the police officers, there was universal frustration that they could do so little and could not save more people. They took pride, however, as they pointed out that they stood by their posts and did the best they could responding to the attack even as most people evacuated the area. I left the Pentagon overlook around mid-afternoon and walked the ten miles to my home (it was quicker that taking a bus, with traffic at a stand-still). I felt a bit anxious, guilty and powerless and, like others, wondered what the following days would bring. 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 story5978.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-12 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 152.163.188.6 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I first learned about the attack as I was laying on a hospital gurney, strapped into a fetal monitoring system. My obstetrician came dashing into the observation room another expectant mother I shared, and turned on the television. As I watched the newscasts, my adrenaline kicked in and the baby started reacting as well, a reassurance of a hopeful future at a time when the world seemed to be crashing down around us. I was expecting my first child. The pregnancy had gone well but at the beginning of the third trimester, I started experiencing early contractions and developed gestational diabetes so was sentenced by my doctor to weekly hospital visits to ensure Baby?s and Mom?s well being. The mother next to me had just been told she was sufficiently dilated such that she would deliver that day. As we both stared in disbelief as the story of 9/11 unfolded in front of us, we shared our fears about the future, not just for us, but for our soon to be born children. We were also less than a mile from the largest military base in the free world, Fort Hood where both our Army husbands were stationed. This base also serves as a landing site for the President Bush when he visits his Crawford, Texas ranch. We were quite concerned that it too might come under attack. Fortunately, I was able to reach my husband by cell phone and her reassured me the situation was under control by then. After the other mother was wheeled off to labor, I wondered what would happen to her and her baby as nurses started discussing the hospital might close. We didn?t realize it then, but the free world was experiencing the fear, rage, disbelief and uncertainty along with us. Almost a year later, we?re both new moms and our lives are vastly different in many ways. We both get less sleep, but have a beautiful new life that brings us joy. We share sorrow for the families that lost loved ones, but have seen the American people come together with resolve and observe countless heroic acts from everyday people. My husband was deployed to Kuwait for almost five months of his new daughter?s life, but we as a family recognize the weight of his serving to uphold the values of our free democracy. The possibility remains that he may be deployed again, but we will carry on as strong and independent military families have before us, proud of him that he is a soldier, brave and willing to fight for the democratic ideals that affords us the wonderful life we as Americans live. Although we see daily, minor inconviences resulting from 9/11: it is more difficult to get on post; air travel is less convenient; and the news from the Middle East demonstrates the threat of violence is ever-present; we need to remember the big picture: who we are as a country and how much our freedom is worth. 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 story1035.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. 2002-08-16 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 24.26.208.177 Annotation Annotations to this item. Military Patriotism DOMESTIC 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 the day off, listening to the news, I saw the burning first tower and while the newscaster was talking I witness the 2nd building get hit, I was in the military before, and I instantly knew it was no accident. Then news of planes hijacked, then Pentagon, then Pa. I wondered what else, the President ordered planes down, I went toJob Corp in Long Beach to get my daughter Jessie, because she was close to the shipyards, in case they were to be attacked, my husband came home, we tried hard not to worry about our daughter in the Navy in Japan, because we had to wait till she called, and it was days before she was able to. 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 story5197.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. 172.132.124.223 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 born and raised in NYC. I moved to MAryland to attend college, soon met a man and got married. I woke up that day like any other, got dressed and went to work. I had recently started a new job and was still in training. I will never forgot 9:00 am a co-worker walks into the room an says "a plane hit the World Trade Building!" I sat in my sit thinking how stupid could you be the not see a huge building in front of you. Less than a minute later she said "I was wrong 2 planes hit the builds." I jumped up from my seat, picked up the phone called my sister in NYC to get my mom's number, only the operator picked up and informed me that NO calls where being placed into or out of NYC. So here I was trapped in Maryland with NO way of knowing if my family was alive, dead or missing. I did not find out that they where ok until Thursday morning. That was the WORST days of my life. The not knowing can tear your mind & heart up. God bless those souls who lost their 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 story3367.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: When I first heard the story of 9/11, I was just on my way to Mr. Sell's room for biology for 3rd hour. I felt very sad when I heard about it, and I felt like crying about it in class but I did it inside so everyone couldn't see me crying. When I went to bed that night, I prayed for this not to happen again and for America to be free and have peace in our country. 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 story6537.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. 64.88.0.131