511 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: Hello, On September 11 2001 I was preparing to go into work at the American Red Cross. I am a work study student who works part time as an Administration Assistant as well as a full time student, single mother of two children ages 12 and 14. With not knowing exactly what was going on with some apprehension my children left for school. I quicky made plans for the care of the children should I be needed to stay longer then my normal shift, threw some clothes on and went into work as soon as I could get there. My co workers and I spent throat numbing hours answering the telephones, passing out maps to the local blood bankes as we listened to the news reports. Half way though the first day I had to stop listening to the reports,if I had allowed myself to cry I wouldn't be of help to those offering assistance. I instead focused on all the good that I was having the honor of seeing first hand. Personally, I got the blessing of seeing hundreds of people in one day "just show up" to "help" or to offer their services, to do whatever they could. After almost two years of of a horribly painfull divorce, the earthquake in Febuary that damaged my home and not having income for the repairs. I had started to lose faith in people and in humaity. Out of horrible losses there is good that comes from the rubble. Some of my faith in people has been restored because of the outpouring starting on September 11th for this I am very thankful. 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 story4656.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. 198.81.17.43 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: First, I want to thank the people involved with this site and say thank you for enabling me to come here, read stories and submit my own. I have had the need to express exactly how I felt that day and how I feel the same day 3 years later. I was at my home in East Liverpool, Ohio and had just got my son onto the school bus and was starting my morning routine of washing the dishes. I'm not a big tv watcher, but do like it's "company"...just hearing the tv is good enough sometimes. I usually tune into the weather channel but this morning, for no apparent reason, I had CNN on. I don't usually watch any news channels unless there is something of importance that I want to catch up on. I had no reason to have CNN on this morning, no reason at all. Or so I thought. All things happen for a reason (big believer in that) and the tragedy on our country was the "reason" CNN was on my tv that morning). As I was washing the dishes, thinking about the rest of the junk I had to do that day, I glanced at the tv because I heard "excited" voices. I literally did a double take at the tv. At first I thought it was footage from an upcoming movie or archive footage and wasn't sure what I was seeing, but had the feeling it wasn't good. I grabbed the dish towel to dry my hands and walked toward the couch where Steve was sleeping, got the remote to turn up the news and watched in disbelief. Still not sure what was happening I woke Steve and said he needed to see this. He sat up blurry eyed, asked what it was and before I responded he said "hey, that's the WTC". I sat on the couch with him at that very moment and only left it within the next few weeks a handful of times. CNN and various other tv channels became an obsession for the info I (we) needed. It was like a life-support system at that time...we had to know and see everything we possibly could to believe it and deal with it. I have never had so many emotions go on in me in my life. Fear. Guilt. Pain. Denial. More pain. More fear. Helplessness...alot of that. I wanted to drop my life and everything in it and drive the hours to NYC to help. I wanted to volunteer my time and services to everyone in NYC to do whatever I could to help these people. I didn't care if it was handing out paper towels or picking up paper...I just needed to be able to do something and to be close to NYC. I never went. I wanted to, I should have, but I never did. I still have the guilt from that. I instead, watched thousands of people in tears, my heart breaking for them all. I watched fire-fighters and the police look mournful. I looked so hard at the faces in the pictures of those missing. My God I should have went to NYC. Our lives had changed. That morning I wanted to go to the school and get my son and bring him home. I fought that urge though. I knew it would scare him and he needed to understand what was going on, but he needed to feel safe at the same time. I decided to leave him in school and deal with the fear of him being there just to make life as "normal" as possible. Whatever normal was from then on. As we watched the tragedy unfold that morning and the weeks and months afterward, every plane that flew over brought an uncertain quiet. Just not knowing who it was or where it was heading and who was on it actually brought fear and panic. I still to this day feel different when a plane flies overhead. I probably always will. That whole thing is intensified because I live a short distance from one of the very first nuclear power stations in the USA. Although it has been heavily guarded, both air and land, it is still a scary thing. Very scary. As we watched CNN that morning, my sister-in-law popped into my head. Oh my God. Melissa flew out of Pittsburgh on a commuter jet to her home base in NYC. From NY, I didn't know where she was headed. It took 2 days to find her. She is a flight attendant on American Airlines (still is). I called the airline. I was given the info very quickly, that Melissa was not listed on any of the flights that had went down. I still didn't feel any better for some reason. We still hadn't heard from her. Even her mom hadn't heard from her. 2 days later I got a call from her. Her voice was...I can't describe it to you. She had switched flights with another flight-attendant that day (9-11). The other girl needed to go elsewhere and offered Melissa her flight, which she took. Melissa always flew within the USA, but today, she had flown Internationally. Thank God she was ok. She said her guilty feelings were so powerful because of the trade. Her friend and colleague had been killed on one of the flights that had been taken over by terrorists. She had absolutely no idea what was to happen. Nobody (other than those bastards that took over the planes) did. I am a true believer that everything happens for a reason. So is she. She and her family and friends...and her small son had been spared that morning. She said she had no idea what was going on. She was on a beach with a cool drink in her hand with other flight attendants from American Airlines. No tv, no radio to hear the news. Her guilt will most likely be with her forever now. After 9-11, she didn't fly for quite awhile. When she did, she flew Internationally. Eventually she returned to fly within the United States. A few days after 9-11, I began searching on the internet for photos and stories, basically everything I could find. I also watched the coverage religiously and "went" to the funerals that were aired and mourned with the families and friends of those lost. Some of the photos I found were....evil. I say this because the smoke in the pictures "made" faces...faces of demonic things. My God. Tears were a way of life now. Pain and sorrow for the men and women killed when forced into the WTC, Pentagon and that field. Pain and sorrow for their families and friends. And the guilt from not going to help out. I kept watching the news. I kept saving the pictures and stories to my computer. I printed out many of one photo in particular that a child had drawn of Jesus, with his hands spread and a cloud in between them with the people from the tragedy on it and below that cloud was the WTC...the cloud had been made to look like the smoke coming from the WTC. God was welcoming his children home. That picture still hangs on my fridge for everyone to see. It was the most touching picture I had ever seen. It gives you a chill to look at it. My mind kept whirling. I needed to DO something. Anything. I started writing my words on pieces of paper and on my computer. Just words of how I was feeling. I needed an outlet of some kind. I had never been in this kind of tragedy before. All of the history of the USA had come way before my time or whenI was a kid and didn't remember. Now, as an adult, a tragedy like this occured that would change the USA and our lives as we had known them. I felt I needed to change too. Everytime I saw another person on the tv showing a picture of their husband or wife or friend...my heart broke again and again and again. Total strangers to me had become my firend and I mourned with them and for them. I wondered how many other people felt that exact same way. I wondered how others expressed their feelings about what was happening. I wondered if I knew anyone that was on one of those planes or in the WTC. I started thinking more and more about my own family and friends. I wanted to change the way I spoke to people and the way I lived my life. I know life is precious and can be taken away at any minute, but until a tragedy occurs, that thought is deep within us, not on the surface usually. I changed more than what I thought I would. I get sad and upset within a second of laughing and having fun. I don't always think about 9-11, but I wonder if that is why I am feeling the way i do so fast. And lately, I have watched a DVD called "What We Saw", a documentary that came with a book on 9-11 I had bought. But I am sickening about it, I watch it over and over and over again. And here it is, 9-11-2004 and I have it on as I write this. I know I should have went to New York that day and I will probably feel this "need" til I die. I still wish I could do something for someone, anyone involved directly with 9-11. I still feel that helplessness and empty. Antidepressants help with those feelings a little, but the thoughts of that day, the images, the voices on tv of the families and the people that got out of the buildings are still so hard to deal with. I cannot imagine what they feel each and everyday as they try to pick up their pieces and live day after day after day. I think about Rudy Guiliani. I think he was a "rock" not only for the city and it's residents, but for the whole country. That's what I like to see...just what he did, he got in there and DID, not just talk about it and tell others what they should-should not do. Rudy is a hero in my eyes. Everyone who dug in in NY is a hero to me. Just as a Texan had said, "we aren't Texans or New Yorkers now" meaning that we are Americans, all of us. And I do believe that this tragedy has brought us all (the US) closer together. It has opened eyes of so many. Blacks and whites worked side by side, cried together and helped together. There was no conflict of color. There was no conflict of sex or minorities. We were all Americans. So was this a wake-up call? I think so. I don't look at others and judge them by what they are wearing or what color they are. Who cares?! There are important things in this old world that need dealt with and it sure IS NOT what the neighbor is wearing or what color he/she is. So, once again, all of emotions are surfacing, 3 years later within the hour of the tragedy. And my story might not mean much to anyone else, but it's what I have felt since that day in 2001. A day I, nor anyone will ever forget. I just wish there was something more I could do now. Some way I could help. Hopefully though, even one person that was directly effected by this tragedy will read this...and if they do, my words to them is "I care. My heart still breaks for you and the loved one you lost. I will forever be changed by what has happened and I will NEVER forget 9-11, the people killed, the survivors, the men and women who gave up thier lives to help. You will never be forgotten". God Bless you. 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 story10905.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. 2004-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 64.12.116.210 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 live in Connecticut and invited my husband parent's to come with us to Disney World with our children. We were going to a business meeting and thought it would be nice to take the kids and grandparents. So we stayed at their house in New York and took a car to Newark Airport. On the trip down to the airport, my dad's cell phone rings. It's my brother-in-law calling to tell us a plane just hit the World Trade Center. I think he joking. We are on the NJ Turnpike. We look out the window, and the building is on fire. Then the second plane hits. At this point we are watching out the limo window and watching the TV in the car. We don't know what to make of it. Then we hear the Pentagon has been hit and that they think there will be an attempt on the White House. I start freaking out that we are going to have a war. I feel no control and very scared. I start to worry about my cousin who works down town 3 days a week and call her house to see if she is okay. No Answer. I find out that evening she was out, but not at work. My father-in-law is very upset. He came to New York as a young boy from Italy and made a good life for his family. He thinks the USA is the greatest place to live. The land of opportunity. You see,the company he owned, put all the fire doors and gragage doors in the trade center. My husband remembers going there as a child with his father to work and talks about how he went to the top of the building before it was completed. We cannot understand why someone would want to hurt innocent people. My seven year old son is very upset and becomes quite. He is just taking it all in. I decide to call the airline to see what is going on. I am told the airport is still open and planes are flying. We continue to the terminal. I get out of the car and go to the ticket counter to find out that all flights have been cancelled and that the airport is closing. I exchange my tickets for the next day. My husband takes our son the the bathroom. I get back in the Limo and wait for my husband and son to return. The police chase us away from the drop off area. We circle the airport and get them on the next passing of the terminal. When we are leaving the airport the first building collapses. People are standing at the side of the road with video cameras recording the event. We are all in shock. I still can't beleive the World Trade Center in gone. When I first graduated college, I worked at 140 Broadway and took the tubes from NJ to the World Trade Center and remember what a great building it was. Life will never be the same. We took our trip in November, but we flew out of Hartford. It was comforting to see the Army men there. 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 story5028.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 205.188.209.38 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I was at home that morning, placing a call to my physician. I was on hold when the first plane struck, and I thought,"Oh my god, what a terrible accident." As I listened to the Today Show, they mentioned terrorist attack, and I thought, "Why do they have to say that, maybe it was just an accident." I just could not fathom that in a country as great and secure as we were that something like a terrorist attack could happen. Then the second plane hit, and I knew we were in trouble. I placed a phone call to my husband Bill, he returned my call just as the third plane hit the Pentagon, he too was in disbelief. When the plane crashed in Shanksville, I thought of our son Bill, who is a teacher in the Upper Saint Clair School District in Pittsburgh. Even though this crash was two miles outside of Pittburgh, I knew that with everything else that had happened that morning he must be a nervous wreck. I prayed, for everyone, for the people who had already perished, the people who were trying to escape the burning buildings by jumping, for their families, for the police and fireman who were loosing hundreds of workers, and I prayed for my own family who I so much wanted to be with me at this time. It was just too hard to believe that The United States of America could allow something like this to happen. It will take a long, long time to get over this one. I didn't suffer a personal loss, and I have no idea what the families who did loose a loved one are going through, but I as an American did loose a little bit of that security in my own country. My son did call me about 11:30 on 9/11, and I can't tell you how relieved I was now that I'd heard from the two closest to my heart. Thank-you for allowing me to express these thoughts, for me I guess it's part of the healing process. 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 story3383.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: That was my senior year of high school. I was sitting in the middle of my first period class when our school principal entered the room and whispered to the teacher. She stopped class for the day and told us that the World Trade Center had been attacked by terrorists. An airplane had crashed into one of the towers. We all immediately ran to the computers to get on the internet, but it was busy. All day we listened to radios and watched the news. I had to wait in line for almost an hour to get gas, and almost even longer to buy groceries. I later had to go to work, and I had the chance to talk to others and get their opinions on the situation. My brother-in-law is in the National Guard, and we were scared that he would be shipped off, and my cousin is also in the army. He was shipped to Germany, and will later be relocated to Croatia. A guy that I went to school with was shipped to Afghanistan to fight. He got to come home, but was shipped back a few months ago. That is a scary feeling. Especially since I have a family with a military background. I just hope that Americans will always remember September 11th, and the impact it had on everyone. I pray that we as a nation will stick together and never let anything like this happen again, and that we will always cling to God no matter what. For we are one nation, and by the grace of God, we are indivisible, with liberty and JUSTICE for all. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story6534.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. 66.0.164.43 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I remember 9/11 starting out as any regular day would have. I was maybe a week or so into my sophmore year at Sault High, when in the middle of my second hour the assitant principle announce that a plane had collided into the world trade center and we should all turn on our televisons. The teacher walked over and turned on the tv only moments before we saw the second plane strike the second tower. It was honestly horrifiying to see the twin towers surrounded by smoke and fire, only to later in the following class watch them collapse onto the civilians and public safety workers below. Its surely a day in american history that will not be forgoten about! 9/11 in Honor of those who passed on before their 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 story20311.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. 2006-09-08 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 198.110.218.223 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 at work. One of my team members told us a plane had just crashed into one of the towers in New York. There are about 150 people in our building. We all gathered around a television and watched the attack unfold. I remember feeling numb. Watching everyone around me, all of us in shock as the first tower went down. Praying for all of the people that you knew were not coming out of that tragedy alive. Praying they didn't suffer. I remember feeling such intense emotional pain, I didn't think I could bear it. A year later, I still sometimes feel that pain. After the second tower collapsed, we were sent home. My first impulse was to call my mother, just to make sure she was okay. It's strange, but, afterwards, when I thought about it, it probably wasn't to see if she was okay. It was for me to hear her tell me it would be okay. I can only hope that such a horrible attack never occurs again in my lifetime. My prayers are with the families of all of the people who perished on Sept 11th. Amongst them, one of my best friends sister. 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 story2841.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. 204.254.175.104 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: In the early morning hours before the September 11 attacks occurred , I didn't feel like it was an ordinary day. I was extremely tired and a little depressed and I didn't know why. I got up at 6:00 AM and left the house by 6:15 AM to get a parking space near my school. As I sat there waiting for the clock to turn 7:10 AM, I began looking out the window and noticing the little things. Of how the sun rose to the west of where I was parked and how its rays would make the cold morning warm. I also noticed that my mood was already in low spirits and I thought about how I wished I didn't have to go to school that day. When it came time to leave for class, I didn't look back at my car like I usually did. "Today," I thought, "is going to be a long day." I was in my fourth period class (we have block scheduling) watching "Ferris Bueller's Day Out" when all of a sudden our principal comes on the intercom and announces that one of the World Trade Center Towers was hit by an airplane. I turned to my friend Paula and gave her a surprised look. But I wasn't all that concerned because I just thought that it was your everyday accident, although a bit unsual. My teacher made a joke to lighten the moment and I remembered us all chuckling nervoulsly. Then the bell rang, it was time for my fifth period class, AP English. As, I was walking down the hall I just kept thinking, "It's just an ordinary day...just an ordiary day." I arrived into class wanting to know more about what happened...we all did. So, my teacher turns on the news and it was the first time I found out that the Pentagon had been hit also. "WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?" I thought. It was a huge shock because it was so close to home. It was at this time, I understood the seriousness of what had occurred. The reporters were saying it was a terrorist attack... a terrorist attack on America. And as I sat there hopeless, angry, wanting to do SOMETHING...ANYTHING, I saw flashes of images of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. People running here and there frantically, screaming, yelling, and the worst sight of all people jumping from the towers to their quick death. As all of America tuned in, we began to realize that we were all victims. That the attacks happened to all of us AMERICANS It was a moment in my life where I finally realized how I wished it had been an ordinary day. But we all know that it was wasn't. I came home and rushed to call my mom and sister. Were they okay? I just wanted to tell them I loved them. Ane then a few minutes later, my father called from California. A couple weeks before we had gotten into a fight, but you know, it just didn't matter anymore. I was glad that we were talking...that we had a chance to set everything right. I know that some people will never get the chance to do that. After the attacks, I have days where I reflect about the meaning of this country. And what a country she is. The question is, are we still going to take this country for granted after we were violated? I now know I never will. GOD BLESS AMERICA...MY HOME SWEET HOME. 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 story7773.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. 2002-09-17 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 151.188.17.4 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 school on sept 11, 2001. I say a teacher come in to the room and tell another teacher that planes were highjacked and terrorist were holding the people hostoge with knives.I felt very angry at the people who did it I felt that the person that told them to do it sould die slowly and painfully they sould burn. 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 story6280.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. 209.175.105.14 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: On the morning of Sept. 9, 2001, my father and I embarked on a week-long backpacking trip along the Mid State Trail in central Pennsylvania. By Tuesday morning, 9/11, we had hiked 30-some miles, our food reserves were fine, and we were planning to continue at least until Thursday afternoon. We hadn't seen another person in over two days. At around 9 am, about the time the first planes hit the World Trade Center, a bizarre omen appeared to us: a six-foot black snake appeared in the middle of our path. After a few well-tossed pebbles, the snake departed, and we continued. Still, we had absolutely no inkling that anything beyond our trail was even remotely out of the ordinary. At 2pm, after a difficult ascent and then descent of some particularly rocky pinnacles in the Rothrock State Forest, we arrived at Raymond B. Winter State Park, where we decided to stop for an hour or so to catch our breath and eat some lunch. Soon after entering the park, we encountered a road crew doing some work, and we were stopped by the project foreman. He asked us how long we had been hiking, and after we replied a few days, he said, "so I guess you haven't heard what happened. Government's been shut down." Dad, thinking it was some budget impasse or other nonsense, said, "Good, it's about time." The foreman said, "no, you don't understand. World Trade Center's been destroyed, the Pentagon's been hit, they're talking about something else out near Pittsburgh, we're under attack." As we walked away, I asked Dad, "you think he's yanking our chain? You think he tells this to all the guys who walk out of the woods looking like us?" Dad said, "I dunno, but I suspect he's probably full of shit." As we walked on, we discussed the possibility that it was real, and who was to blame. I mentioned a name I had heard, Osama-someone, but I also brought up the fact that it might be someone home-grown, an extraordinarily successful Timothy McVeigh. Dad agreed, but said that the first thing we should do is find a pay phone and call my mother, who was at home about 40 miles away. All lines to my home town in Pennsylvania were busy, but I managed to get through to my office. My office was then, and is now, in Alexandria, Virginia, about three miles from the Pentagon. My receptionist told me that, yes, this had all really happened, and that Alexandria was like a ghost town. The facts were confirmed by a park ranger who was closing up the park office, despite the fact that it was the middle of the afternoon on a Tuesday. All state offices had been closed. Still not remotely comprehending what had happened, Dad and I discussed continuing the hike, and I even took some pictures of hummingbirds buzzing around a bird feeder at the park office. But when we finally reached my mother, she said, "you aren't going anywhere. I'm coming to pick you up." I guess the enormity of it all didn't come home to me until I actually saw the images on the news that night at my mom's house. I just kept thinking, "this isn't real. This is something out of a movie." 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 story10104.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. 2003-09-15 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 68.100.107.1 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: Todd and I were married on September 2, 2001. We went to Hawaii for our honeymoon. The main reason we went to Hawaii was for the Arizona Memorial. The day we were there, which was days before 911, my husband took a beautiful picture of the American Flag waving on top of the Arizona Memorial. We were scheduled to fly back home on Tuesday, September 11th. My husband got up first and started getting ready as I turned on the television set. What I saw was unbelieveable and I didn't quite understand what whas happening. My husband heard the words that an airplane flew into the World Trade Center and he immediately said that we were being attacked. I kept asking him why would someone would attack us. I immediately called my family and no one understood what was going on. We then heard that all flights were cancelled. We had no way of getting home. We were in Hawaii and we obviously couldn't drive back to California. We were stuck in Hawaii for another week. People said to us that we were lucky to be stuck in Hawaii of all places. We didn't feel that way at all. We were glued to the TV the entire time. We had our flag waving from the balcony of our hotel room. We were both just so sad that thousands of people had died. I couldn't sleep for nights thereafter thinking that something my happen in the middle of the night. 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 story4670.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. 209.125.249.29 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: Sept. 11, 2001 On Sept. 11, 2001 I was in my junior class at a new school with no real close friends. When it first happened everyone was pretty quite about it. No one really talked about it, or tried to explain what was going on. When I got home my grandmother was crying and I could tell she had been crying all day long, she had the news on and asked me to sit with her and watch the news. As I sat there I realized how many people were killed and how many kids were left without mothers or fathers, or how many parents we left without children. Or sisters and brothers lost. And I tried to put myself in their spots, how would I be able to deal with losing someone so close? I didn?t think I could do it. When my mom came home, her and my grandmother talked and cried together. They just couldn?t believe it. How could so many people be killed and never get to say good-bye, or just think they were off to a normal work day and never be going to work again? And the people who saved the lives of the few who were still alive, or the firefighters who lost their life?s trying to save people they didn?t even know. When I grow up, I know I will look back on this day of my child hood and still have questions, of how could me and everyone else be in school at work, sleeping where ever they may have been and know we didn?t have any idea of what was going on and it took this much pain and lose of life?s to realize how much people mean and how things can happen with out knowing. I will also always remember how the next morning, every house I passed there was a flag, people had patriot shirts on, and flags on there car windows, on there books and I will never forget how after it seemed like everything was ok, everyone quite, you don?t see to many flags on the cars now, every here and there, you?ll see a flag in a yard. It makes you think about what people really think about where they live. And how they care about America Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story2442.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. 64.18.33.4 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 feel for every last person who's soul was taken over something they didn't have anything to do with. So many lives were taken and it has affected each and every last soul all over the United States, for the people who lost loved ones, I am so sorry, if there were anything that I could have done to prevent that I would have because if someone I knew was in any of those planes,I would have went after Ben Loden myself, so those of you who lost loved ones keep living and life will go on. 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 story1987.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. 2002-09-09 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 152.163.188.195 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I was in my sixth grade classroom when I learned about the attack. I remember that other teachers came running into my class, telling my teacher to turn on the television. A female teacher explained to my teacher that the rest of the students in the school were not being told what was happening, I assume because they were deemed too young. They were, however, told that a crisis was occuring. We switched to the news to see the swath of smoke coming from the first tower. Then, in utter silence and shock, we watched the second plane careen into the other tower. Some of the kids uttered remarks of astonishment, but most of us were silent. I remember my teacher kept saying "this is terrible.... oh, this is terrible." No one could concentrate on school after that, so my teacher ignored his schedule for that day and we began to discuss the events. Every class was called down to the cafeteria, and I remember that all the others student were very confused, having no idea what was going on. My class was the only class who knew and we were instructed to keep quiet. A while later teachers walked around the room and asked every table of students if anyone's parents worked in the Pentagon. Seeing as to the previous events, it wasn't hard to guess how the Pentagon was involved. Some of the kids who had parents who worked in the Pentagon got very upset, now realizing what it meant. My father works in DC, and I was a little bit worried, but was relatively confident that his building was far enough away, assuming that the Pentagon was the only building attacked in DC. The teachers tried to get us to continue the day as normal, but the air of calm that usually surrounded their authority was broken. We were not allowed outside for recess, and all after school activities were cancelled. At the end of the day, instead of waiting in front of the school for buses as usual, students were made to stay inside until their bus came. At home, I learned that my soccer practice was canceled. The rest of the day is a blur, so many people saying so many things, so much emotion... 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 story20850.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2006-09-12 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 151.188.16.21 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: Tuesday, September 11, 2001 began the same as any Tuesday for me. It was my day off and I had paged a friend of mine who is a cop and waited for his responce. I never did get that call back. Little did I know the country was being atacked. I sat down to watch Martha Stewart and Guiding Light. When I turned on the tv my whole life changed. I saw the country I love being attacked. I thought that there was something wrong with my cable service and then I relized that this was real. The first thing I did was call my mother in Maine. I told her what was happening and she asked me if I was playing some kind of crule joke on here. Then we got disconected. I was so scared that something had happend to my mom that I franticly called her back. After three tries I finaly got a hold of her. We did not hang up for almost six hours because we were not shure what was happening, and we did not know if we would ever speak again. Mom is ok, I am ok. I have never felt so heart broken for my country before but I know as a unifed country the USA will always prevail. God Bless all the loved ones we lost and God Bless our heros. God Bless Our Future. Today is September 11, 2002. One year has past. The sadness still comes sometimes, but the heartbreak will always be there. At the time, one year ago, I drove a taxi in Woburn Ma. I usualy went to Logan Airport two or three times a day, without thought. After the tragedy I always was nervous about going to the airport. I ended up leaving the job because I was scared I might pick up a terorist in my taxi. What happend to me on that day is nothing compared to the victums and their familys. God Bless them and I love them dearly for giving their live for the rest of us Americans. May they all rest in love and peace Love, Trina M. Hilton 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 story4920.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 205.188.209.38 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I have a very dear friend who lives an works in NYC, my first concern was of his safety. I found him home and crying, his wifes sister worked in that building. I immediately drove into the city to be with him, as she was a very positive influence in my life several years ago. When I arrived in NYC, I realised I still had on my uniform from work, I am a nurse, it served me well, as I was allowed to join the many who had volunteered. I worked in a near by hospital for nearly two days straight. I was asked to go home when I fainted from lack of sleep and food. I was driven home, on the ride I slept, and dreamed all of this was just a nightmare. When I woke back home, 35 miles from the city, I remembered it was reality. I found that our hospitals were calling for volunteers. I showered, ate a sandwich and went back to help. All I could do, and still it was not enough. Several days later they found my friend. One of her legs was completely gone, the other was partically gone, she had managed to drag herself down several flights of stairs, before she bled to death. These terriorists took her legs, and ultimately her life, but not her soul or her spirit, for it lives on in many Americans. I feel it deep within me each and every 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 story5931.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: Our teachers told us what happened and turned on the tv. I don't really remember seeing anything on it though. I think we could see a little bit of smoke, but nothing big, just some of the air was kind of grayish. Before lunchtime about half of our twenty-student class was gone, their parents had come in and brought them home. I stayed at school. We didn't really do anything that day, just watched the tv. After-care was cancled for the day, so my dad picked me up around three o'clock. By the time I got home I was sick of the news and wanted to watch my favorite show, the Simpsons. Instead the news was on. I was annoyed and sat around for awhile. My mom was on a business trip so I did my best to down my dad's cooking. About five minutes after we finished, my great aunt and uncle who lived in West Virginia called and aksed if we were alright. I said yes and put my dad on the phone. I listened for awhile I think, and then I probably watched tv some more and went up to bed. At some point my mom called, she knew we were fine, she was just checking in. That's really all I remember. 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 story11479.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. 2005-06-13 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 206.158.3.10 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I had just returned from my morning break at my work , and we had the radio on low. It was my 64th birthday! We had the radio low and i thought i heard the D J's talking of some type of accident, so i turned the radio up a little . Itwas so unreal to think some thing so sad could happen. It didn't seem real until i got home and watched it on t v. How Sad, so many lives and their families loses!! It was so emotional, still today when i watch, it brings tears, and saddness. It will Never be forgotten!!! Donna Mundell 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 story4911.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 205.188.209.38 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: The following essay was written Sept. 12, 2001 at the request of an OP-ED editor at Newsday, a NYC-LI newspaper. The editor decided not to use it - I believe she had asked several people, and used the first one she got back. However, the story has traveled quite a bit, particularly among artists, both here and abroad. ----------------------------------------------------------- We had a studio in the World Trade Center. On the 92nd floor of Tower 1. Until yesterday. Our art/architecture collaborative Ocean Earth, had been granted this space by the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council through their World Views program. It was an exhilirating place to work, to watch a thunderstorm, to look out on the waters we sought to utilize as sources of alternative energy. To replace our reliance on BIG OIL. To alter the ecological, economic, political and social consequences of our reliance on BIG OIL. I had watched the World Trade Center being built. As a young architecture student, I visited the big hole in the ground which was to become the WTC. A huge hole crisscrossed by the tubes of PATH trains They hung in the air like artifacts of a Flash Gordon movie. Later my mother worked in the building, and I'd meet her for lunch. We'd look out the windows, watching airplanes pass below us. Later it became a place of transit for me as a commuter from my home in New Jersey, the first hints of New York City I'd see from the train, the place I'd arrive, and the last place in New York on my journey home. I'd watch the changes in the mall on the ground floor, waxing nostalgic for the bank, the Japanese sushi vendor, the other transient elements of what seemed like a permanent place. Tuesday morning I left my daughter's apartment on the Lower East Side at 8 AM, whispering goodbye to her as she slept. Later she arose, and looking out her window, saw the first plane strike Tower 1. She called my wife: "Mom, a plane just hit the World Trade Center!" "Don't watch it - it's going to be horrible!" my wife replied. Our studio in the WTC required us to obtain special photo ID cards. For security. I remarked to my colleague: "This is stupid. It just feeds an atmosphere of hysteria. It makes as much sense as airport security. It won't stop anyone who is determined to plant a bomb, it actually encourages them to try." Why did the buildings collapse so rapidly? What can we learn from this? What lessons does it have for current architectural practice? Steel is very sensitive to heat. In most skyscrapers, the steel skeleton in encased in concrete, to protect it in case of fire. The World Trade Center, with its' steel structure on the outside of the building, would have been immune to fire of ordinary proportions. In the event of an inferno, however, the steel will weaken, twist, and collapse under the weight above it. This is apparently what happened. This collapse then progresses like a house of cards. It is a consequence of the arrogance of scale - as we stretch ourselves heavenward, we have created a condition in which we are literally placed on a slender support, vulnerable to small pertubations. This morning, the day after, I asked myself what I can do. Dressing, I pulled out my tee shirt with Dr. Martin Luther King's picture on it. I need to assert the spirit of Dr. King. I need to shout it to the world, to place it on my chest. I wish our President would speak of the need for reconciliation, not retribution. We don't need more innocent victims. Today, Ocean Earth, in the shows "Policy Models" at the Rockford Art Museum in Illinois and "Sea Change" in Spacex Gallery in Exeter, England offers a vision of a world not dependant on petroleum and free of the conflicts and hostilities attending our reliance upon it. Had our proposals for the Persian Gulf and other locales producing the raw materials for energy been adopted, the hostility evident in this act would have been defused, replacing the need for conflict with the need for cooperation. George Chaikin, September 12, 2001 Plexus 1.618 Assistant Professor of Art Lehman College, CUNY Associate Professor Adjunct Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture The Cooper Union 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 story213.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. 2002-03-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 209.204.87.112 Annotation Annotations to this item. Afganistan/Mideast Economic effects Foreign Policy Newspaper and Magazine Coverage Politics and politicians U.S. retribution WTC, pre-911 WTC, worked in (ever) NY:3 Sep 11- Sep 21, 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 September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I am a fifth grade teacher and prepared my day on September 11 just like any other; lesson plans, paper work, etc. At 8:50, I was starting my social studies lesson when my sixth grade colleague ran into my room saying that a plane crashed into the Twin Towers. Somewhat incredulous, I had my aide take over while I learned the truth. There, before now watering eyes, I saw the smoke and flames shoot into the sky. Little did I know the day was over. Teachers were in shock and several had family that worked there. An announcement came over our intercom that all televisions must be shut off. I did not understand, but I soon realized that some of our students had parents who worked there. I explained to my class what had happened (from what I knew) and who had done this. At the conclusion of my explanation, to the exact second, the roar of a jet plane echoed throughout our school. I have never seen fear like I saw in the faces of my students and I hope I never see fear like that again. We learned later that the jet was flying in to protect New York. As teachers, we were told to "keep it together" and for the most part, God love them all, they did. However, in the halls many of us, myself included, could be seen wiping our eyes and supporting each other. It wasn't until later in the afternoon that I saw those magnificent towers falling to earth. I have changed. I am not the same as I was a year ago. I do, however, believe that I am living in the greatest country in the world with the greatest citizens in the world. God bless America and all of our heroes! May we never forget and never be fooled again. Anthony Bender Proud American Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story5114.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 205.188.209.38