514 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: On the morning of September 11, 2001, I was preparing to leave for work. As usual, I had the news on to check the traffic report and weather. It was interrupted for the breaking story of a plane that flew into one of the Twin Towers in New York City. I remember feeling shocked and wondering how such an accident could have possibly happened. I am a native New Yorker at heart, born and raised there. New York City was my playground when I was in my teens and twenties. I loved it there and the essence of it remains with me always. So, I was very disturbed by the image I saw on the t.v. of a plane hitting the building. I called my husband to tell him, because I was in disbelief that it had happened and wondered if he had heard about it. I then called my father, who now lives in Connecticut, to see if he had heard about it. As I spoke with my father and watched the news on t.v., we watched togther (over the phone) as the second plane could be seen coming around and heading into the second tower. We were both silent and then both of us said "Oh, my God. This is no accident". I felt something strange inside of me. It felt as though someone had come into my home with a gun, threatening my family and opening fire. It was a feeling of dread and my father felt it, too. I will never forget that morning for as long as I live. The images of those planes flying into those buildings will always be in my memory. My father and I hung up, because we were speechless and had nothing to say to each other. I went to work, but my job entailed contacting clients in the New York area and no calls could get through. I was sent home that day and every day after that, for the next week. New York City and the surrounding areas had been shut down. This vibrant, wonderful, amazing city had been sent into shock and the rest of the country along with it. Slowly, we all recover as best as we can. My prayers have been with all of the lost souls and their families. I know we must all be more careful and not take what we have in this country for granted. We must not allow jealous, angry zealots to ruin what so many have built and fought for over the years. This is not a "Holy War", because no war is holy. This is all about hate, power and control. It is a shame there are so many small men, with small minds, who somehow manage to gain control of uneducated, miserable human beings and turn them into killing machines. When will it ever end? Will I ever forget September 11, 2001? Will 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 story4907.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: My day started out like all the other's who have since fallen. I was at work, listening to Howard Stern on my headphones when my mother called to tell me about the first plane hitting the World Trade Center. This has happened before so I really didn't pay too much attention to it. Then alittle later, my mother called again, nearly crying. She told me a second plane had hit the second tower right while she was watching news coverage of the first plane! Then Howard broke in with his coverage of the events which I loyally listened to in between trying to console my friend, who's mother was down in Manhattan. (Thankfully, she was a few blocks away at the time and was home safely a few days later.) It was a very scary and surreal feeling. Everyone in the office was calling loved ones, watching a small TV someone happened to have, and generally trying to make sense of a senseless event. I called my parents and asked them to give my 2 year old twin girls a kiss from mommy and that I loved them all just in case anything more happened. The news coverage in the following days was almost too much to bear and feeling the lose of so many people, hopes, dreams was devastating. Fortunatly, I did not lose anyone in my family or circle of friends. But as Verizon is such a big company, I did hear horror stories of body parts falling on people and fire all around. I collected any paper work I could on the events for my daughters as I'm sure this will be taught in History some day. The feeling of not knowing what's ahead for us all is agonizing but I believe in America and all we stand for. I'm sure we'll prevail in whatever measures are taken. I have flown since the attacks, my first time and in October 2001. I overcame my fear of flying so that that freedom couldn't be taken away from me by myself or anyone else. I flew my flag on Sept 11 2002 and wore red, white, and blue in remembrance. I've brought essentials to the volunteers who were bringing down contributions to the cleanup site after the attacks. Most of all, I've tried not to make too rash judgements of other people and events and told my loved ones I love them every day since, because you never know what's going to happen. I'm sure that's the way the heros and victims of 9/11 felt on that day as they went to work only to have it all ripped out from under them in the blink of an eye. The blink of America's eye. 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 story5058.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 24.58.128.106 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: ON SEPTEMBER 11,2001, I WAS @ WORK , WHICH IS A NURSING HOME. I WAS ABOUT TO HELP A PATIENT WITH SOMETHING, WHEN SHE ASK ME TO LOOK @ THE T.V. AS I TURN AROUND TO LOOK, I COULD NOT BELIEVE WHAT I WAS SEEING. AT THAT MOMENT I THOUGHT TO MYSELF,HOW COULD A PLANE HIT THAT TOWER. THEN @ THAT MOMENT I SAW THE OTHER PLANE HIT & JUST HAD TO SIT DOWN. I KNEW THAT SOMETHING HAD TO BE GOING ON.THE NEWS SPOKENMEN THEN ANNOUNCE THAT IT WAS A TERRIOST ATTACK ON AMERICA. I COULD NOT BELIEVE IT,THINGS LIKE THIS DOES NOT HAPPEN TO THE U.S. THEN TO SEE THE TOWERS FALL TO THE GROUND WAS TO MUCH TO HANDLE. SO TO GET ME THROUGH ALL THIS SADDNESS, I TURN TO GOD,TO GIVE ME THE STRENGH TO GO ON & TO TOUCH THE HEARTS OF THE FAMILIES THAT LOST THERE LIVES IN N.Y.C,WASHINTON,& PENN. IF WE ARE GOING TO GET THROUGH THIS, LETS TURN TO GOD TO COMFORT US, & TO BLESS OUR COUNTRY!!..GOD BLESS YOU ALL!!! Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story7016.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. 2002-09-13 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 was under the shower, in my house in Rome, preparing to go to see the first soccer match of champions league Roma-Real Madrid. I was listening to the radio under the shower as I usually do... but I wasn't listening very well, I first tought it was a sort of radio-drama or somebody telling a bad dream, only when I got off the shower I saw on tv what was going on... I still can't believe it happened... I'll never be able to visit the twin towers, as I've always wanted to do sooner or later in my life... now I can't. God bless all the victims and may all the terrorists burn in hell! 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 story9455.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. 2003-09-02 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 213.156.54.136 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: Q: How did you witness history on September 11th? Share your experience. A: Mrs. Morrison came to my 1st bell class. She told me to come to room 312. The T.V. was on and we watched the burning of the towers. Then we saw them crumble to the ground. Q:Has your life changed because of September 11, 2001? If so,tell us how. A:I am more aware of the terrible things that can happen that are out of our control. We have a lot of freedoms that other countries don't have. Q:What do you think should be remembered about September 11th. A:We need to remember that along with the privileges and rights of living in this country, we have the responsibility to safeguard our freedom. Q:Did you fly an American flag after the event of September 11th? Have your feelings about the flag changed as a result of September 11th? A:Yes, our grandson Taylor insisted that we fly the flag over our garage. I think that it is important to display the flag, which is a symbol of 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 story8841.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. 2002-12-17 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 216.54.14.84 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: Iwas at school and everyone was leaving to and my friend told me the twin towers crashed down by the two hijacked airplanes.I was scared because they could of did that to Illinois.after that my mom took my sisters and I home and i watch the news all day.Then the next day i was scared to even go to school.I thought that they were goin to attack us again on september11,2002 but they didnt but now i think that they are goin to attack us again on september13,2002. 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 story6285.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: When it happened, I was only 11 years old. It was the first Tuesday of the school year, and I was pretty excited to be in a new school. I got a call from central office to report there. At first, I was confused and asked myself, did they call me? Once I found out it was me that was called, I was worried that I was in trouble, so I took my time. When I got there, I saw my brother waiting for me. He said to hurry getting my books and getting back to class to tell my teacher that I had to leave. I took my time and got my stuff, and my brother came by and told my teacher what happened. I didn't hear what he said, but he told me on the way to the car. He told me that a plane hit one of the twin towers, another one hit the other tower, and yet another plane hit the pentagon. I realized that I left the school so that if the school was hit, I wouldn't die. On my way to my other brother's high school, my dad called my brother driving. We were listening to the radio, and I remember hearing on the radio "Oh, my God! The South tower has just collapsed!" My brother goes "Holy Shit! The South tower just collapsed!" We reached the school, and my brother went in the school to get my other brother. I waited in the car, and as soon as we were all set, we went home. I watched the lonely tower burn, until I saw my other brother go on online, trying to get information. My mom said that he should get off, in order to help people trying to get loved ones on phones in NY. I heard a loud sound, and thought a plane was going to crash near my house! To this day, I still think it was all in my mind, but shortly afterwards, a news report came out, saying that a plane crashed in Pennsylvania. Was it just a conscience? I went into my room to watch in there. At about 10:30, I saw with my own eyes on the TV the North tower collapse. As it fell, I heard my dad say from the living room, "Oh, no!" He raced to the back to check on me and I saw the look on his face. I was full of fear and sadness. From there, everything is a blur. I took a nap in the middle of the day, and woke up about 3:00. I saw on the news that Osama Bin Laden was being blamed for all of it. My friend called me, saying that she was taken out of school, but didn't call until then because she didn't know if I was home. Later that night, my dad got a call that my uncle was seen near the twin towers, but is nowhere to be found now. We feared that he had died at Ground Zero, because he was a Port Authority police officer. We found out days later that he was near the twin towers, but he got a weird feeling and high-tailed it out of there. If he waited only a bit longer, we would have lost him. His guardian angel was watching over him that day. I found out that at school, an announcement was made about a terrorist attack on the World Trade Centers. A lot of people were taken out of school that day; the people who stayed throughout the day didn't find out anything until they got home and saw the news. The Sunday afterwards, I went to New York City with my dad and 2 brothers. From where I was, I was able to see the smoke rise up from Ground Zero. There were lots of signs about people missing from the WTC's. I'll never forget that day, for it is another day that will live in infamy. 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 story10951.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. 68.193.140.35 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: I was in school and my teacher told us that the World Trade Center was attacked. He told us that two planes crashed into them. I didn?t know where or what the World Trade Centers were so I didn't think much about it. Some people were saying it was too early so no one was in it. I wasn?t sure what to think. After about 10 minutes, all the alarms went off in the school. Many people we afraid, including me because we just heard about the World Trade Centers. We were all outside wondering what was going on. Then the teachers told us that is was just in case something else would happen. That made me feel better but not a whole lot. I still didn?t really know what happened. Finally, we got to go in. Later after lunch, I was walking in my classroom and the t.v. was on. It was showing the World Trade Centers being attacked. I heard someone say AWESOME!!! I didn?t see what happened but I knew what they were talking about. When they said that it was awesome, it kind of made me mad because it is not awesome that something like that had to happen. When I got home, my brother was watching the news. I decided to watch it so I would get a better idea on what was going on. When I saw the first plane go into the Trade Center, I was crushed. After that I thought it was over. Then I saw another one crash into the Trade Center. I saw people running they were covered in dust. Then they showed a person who was video taping it inside all the dust. It was horrible. All the cars broken, a lot of fire men. Then I heard the Pentagon was hit too. I also heard that there was another plane that had crashed before it could destroy anything else. I heard a woman saying that her husband from Bloomington, Minnesota was on that plane. He called his wife and told her that they were going to try to take the plane down because they knew if they didn?t, not just them but more people could have died. I heard that the firemen went in the World Trade Center to help the people in the tower because they didn?t think it was high jackers and they didn?t know what was coming next. No one knew who did this and everyone wanted to know. There were clips from a foreign country. They were celebrating on what had happened, so I thought it was them because I again didn?t really know who would do this. Although they weren?t the ones who did it, I was still sad and angry with everyone who was happy. When I went to bed that night it was hard to fall asleep. I kept thinking about it. Praying that the people would be found under the piles of dirt and pieces of the towers, were still alive. Then I just started to cry like crazy! I didn?t want my family to hear me so I cried in my pillow. A million things were rushing through me. Later in the year, I came to New York City. I saw all the shirts, signs, pictures and flags. I almost started to cry but I held it in. Then we walked past where the World Trade Centers used to be standing. We walked past something that used to be in front of the towers. It used to look brand new. But after what happened, it had holes in it and it was dented. I couldn?t believe it at first. I thought how could something look so new, look like this? To me, all the people who crashed the plane because they knew what would have happened and the firemen who died and who are still alive are the real heroes. If the Afganistans thought we were going to fall apart, they were wrong! This made us come together. Yes, we did lose a lot of people and that?s terrible! But we would like to think that they are in a better place now. Helping us get through our families deaths. So we are always going to stay close as Americans no matter what happens! God Bless America! Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story5568.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 63.231.147.39 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 going to work as usual that morning and I was listening to the radio and I heard that the first plane crashed into the World Trade Center. I thought it had to be an accident. I was in the parking lot at work, when I heard about the second plane. I was just sitting in my car and I called one of the guys I worked with over and we listened for a few minutes. He did not believe what was going on. To me it seemed like a movie, like "Independence Day." We rushed to work and turned on the T.V. It was unreal what we were seeing. Soon after we saw about the Pentagon and Pennsylvania. The military immediately went to Threatcon Delta and we split our shops to two 12 hour shifts. I had to go home and come back at 6:00 pm. I didnt go to sleep that day or night, because my eyes were glued to the T.V. for the next 24 hours. I remember doing century duty on top of a Reserve building with a M-16 trying to defend our country. That was my contribution. 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 story9602.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. 132.16.115.15 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 day started out in the usual way, getting my grandkids ready for school and dropping them off. I came home,read the newspaper and then went on my computer.Around 9:10am my sister came on and IM'd me and asked me if I had the tv on(which I didn't) and she told me to turn it on.When I did I saw the one tower burning and then I saw the replay of the second plane hitting tower two.I thought I was watching a movie it was just so unreal! Then I heard that terriorists had put the planes into the towers on purpose. I just sat and cried I could not believe what just happened. In the days that followed I watched as the Firemen.policemen and all the other people trying to clean everything up I could not imagine what they were going through all the pain,sorrow and devastion they must have went through. Being a Christian I know that God was with each and every innocent person that gave their lives that day and now a year later we remember all those people and their families and how proud God is that they sacrificed their lives for their country and the American people. May God continue to keep us all safe. 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 story4915.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. 64.0.99.233 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 thirteen at the time. We had begun school, and about 2nd period was in session. The one thing that me and my classmates distinctly remember, was that the lights went out. Briefly, but its still a small memory. As we entered 3rd period things began to get scary: the principle and staff made announcements over the PA system saying "If any of your parents or relatives are in the New York Area, please call them to tell them transportation getting home will be very difficult and that the subway is not in use." and thats all they would say. In the halls, rumors of people going home early and in tears began. During lunch, i asked my tutor what was happening. She explained that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center. Thinking that it was just a small (1 passanger type)plane, i pretty much shrugged and said "Oh, ok." I think that the whole school was then informed of the situation in NY and were offering students to make house calls. I go to call my dad to see if my relative was ok and found myself choked in tears as everyone was listening in. But she was ok. But when we were let out, and was about to get off the bus, i see through the window all the parents from the block standing at the hill to meet us. I was scared and nervous and didn't know what to think of this. We get home and they show me to the TV....and so, i was exposed to the horrible events. Reka, one of my dad's co-workers, was there. Dad said she didn't have any place to go till her husband came. I remember how i couldn't cry for the longest time. Even when i was alone. And finally when i could, my tears felt like they were burning. My tutor(who's also a close friend)stopped by that evening (i think we got out early now that i think about it) to see how we were. We were sitting on our couch in front of the tv when my brother Andrew comes in and tells us that our new neighbor was in the 2nd plane that struck the WTC. I ran out of the room crying. We stopped by their house that night as the old residence of the house were going to meet them too. They had just come from Temple services...one of the older brothers had lost his best friend. They were very emotional, especially the father. Anyways, we go to the new neighbors house and are told that the wife (who had just lost her husband that morning)was still in shock and it sunk in that she'd just lost her husband quite yet. We were to be careful of what we said. I remember her VERY pale face; emotionless it seemed and not mentally aware. It was kind of an awkward situation. When the grown-ups said something, it was short. I was afraid to say anything. I'll always remember her face. And also how her children were playing outside, laughing and prancing; oblivious to what was happening. He was the father of one toddler, an infant, and a baby. I didn't know them personally, but i spotted his name in the newspaper among the flight victims. It scares me sooo much...the reality of how close to home it hit. I mean, they lived just 3 houses down the street from ours! It could have been anyone of us. It could have been my dad who takes many buisness trips. They decided to move not long afterwards. I cried that night when my father came up to check on me. We cried together. "Its not fair" i said. That night i wrote a poem about 9/11 and had it published in several newspapers. What's kind of freaky is my next door neighbor had her Bat-Mitzvah 3 days prior 9/11 and her theme was City Rhythm, and as a gift, she gave us pillows with the Twin Towers up front and the surrounding buildings in the background. Its hard to believe that three days from then, those gorgouse towers would no longer be standing. I send my love and prayers to those whom have lost someone to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. God Bless you all! http://www.sonicmemorial.org/sonic/public/index.html 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 story10736.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. 2004-08-07 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 68.192.191.92 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I was at my desk at a neurology practice in Lutherville, MD going about my daily routine as usual. It was quite strange that the phones were not working at their usualy hectic pace for a Tuesday, and that patients were not arriving on time, cancelling, not showing, etc. A patient came in and informed us that a jet had crashed into the World Trade Center not once but twice. I called home to my parents in Dundalk, MD (a suburb 18 miles from me) and they were frantic telling me what happened, and as they were telling me, the third jet took out the Pentagon. At that point, I got frantic, knowing in my heart and from my priot military training that the US was under attack! My folks put the phone to the TV so I could hear the newscasts. I was totally numb, passed the news to my coworkers and we got a radio and tuned it in to hear what was going on. Then the fourth plane crashed in PA. A State of Emergency was declared for MD--schools started closing, etc. I put a message on the voice mail at home to reassure my daughter that I was all right, and to check in with me at work. I called my other daughter's dorm at college to let her know I was ok and to check on her. She put the phone to the TV to let me hear what was going on, at that point the World Trade Center collapsed! She also informed me that she was chewing out a classmate with a cynical attitude about what was going on. My boss at the time didn't have a total clue as to why someone would do what they did, or why they picked the targets they did, and no matter what anyone tried to say to him, we couldn't reach him on the magnitude or the gravity of the attacks--he was more p.o.'ed that he couldn't fly down south to give a lecture!! When I got home from work that day, my boyfriend and I just stood in his living room teary eyed at the TV, not believing what we were seeing--all we could do was hold onto each other. I lost that job 13 days later for a myriad of imaginative reasons (he never did say why he canned me, but it was for the better--after a short period of working temp jobs, I have redefined my life, priorities, and family, and found a great job with better pay and bennies!! Quite a lesson in priorities... 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 story2951.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. 162.129.67.187 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: At the time the first jet hit the World Trade Center, I was in my kitchen, ready to leave for Omaha and my job. My husband was getting ready to begin harvest on our farm. I dropped my briefcase and called my husband. We stood there with our mouths open, transfixed, as if we were watching some strange horror movie. After the second plane hit, I grabbed a small TV and headed to my office, so everyone could see what was going on. We were greatly relieved to hear that the President had landed at SAC airbase. His heading straight back to Washington amidst the uncertainty was the last thing we wanted to see. The entire day was surreal, as if we suddenly weren't in the same world. Someone mentioned the "Twilight Zone." We couldn't even laugh at that....it was too close to the truth. We live so close to SAC, in Bellevue, NE, that during the "cold war" we joked about having a bullseye on our back. Now, I have that feeling again, even more so. As the daughter of a retired Air Force officer, I have a much deeper understanding of how others in the world might look at us in the US - right or wrong. I am also beginning to think I have a more realistic view of international relations than many people I have known and many more I hear and see every day. What happened last year on September 11 had nothing to do with "relations", "diplomacy", Islam, or "understanding." It has everything to do with evil, hate for hate's sake, and a society so spoiled and coddled that we still can't imagine being attacked like that unless we somehow deserved it. My second thought on that morning was that NOW, maybe people will realize that sometimes you have to fight back. My first thought this morning - one year later - was that, based on what I have heard and seen from pundits and so-called leaders here and abroad, we still don't have a clue. I am more afraid of that than I am of the terrorists. 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 story3204.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. 67.0.26.155 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 bed when i got a call from my stepfather....I can remember the exact words "They got the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. I was amazed I needed clarification on what he had just said to me. That day there were kids everywhere watching the coverage and it was just an unforgettable 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 story9936.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. 134.53.214.160 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 spent September 11, like most of America, glued to my TV and on the phone, watching with a sense of horror and disbelief as the terrible events unfolded. The only difference was that, unlike most of America, I live in Arlington, Virginia. I heard the plane crash into the Pentagon, had a steady siren soundtrack for hours on end as one emergency vehicle after another from every neighboring jurisdiction rushed by on the state road near my home, and saw a marked decrease in my water pressure due to the volume of water being used to try to put out the fire. By mid-afternoon, burned out from the TV and the phone, I ventured outside and chatted with my Arlington neighbors. Gino, the old man Mayor of 17th Street, was holding court in someone's driveway. After remarking at how I had lost weight ("I can see it in your face"), he continued with a diatribe against the perpetrators he suspected were behind the day's awful crimes. "If I was President, I'd nuke 'em all. Iran, Iraq, the whole lot of ?em. Osama Bin whatever-his-name-is and the rest of them fanatics should be wiped out." He said that the plane that hit the Pentagon flew so close to his house, which is two doors down and across the street from mine, that things fell off his walls and shattered. As I hadn?t noticed any particularly low-flying aircraft, I decided to reserve judgment on this until the investigation determined the flight path. He also said that he was out directing traffic so that the ambulances could get through. Although I didn't see it, I have no doubt that he did and can clearly picture him out in the middle of the road leaning on his cane and barking orders. After more chit-chat, I told Gino to be sure to sign me up for his militia and bid him good-bye. Now it was about 4, and I decided to wander up Columbia Pike to see how close I could get to the scene. As I looked up the street, I was surprised at how much smoke was still coming from the building. I was also surprised by the above-average numbers of pedestrians and bicyclists, even though I should have expected that others, like me, would want to be a witness to history. I walked as far as Washington Blvd., which is the road that everyone takes who leaves my house heading north, swinging past the Pentagon toward home. They were stopping cars at this point, but I saw people walking toward me on foot and others on bikes, so I knew it was possible to go farther. Just as I was about to pass the vehicle checkpoint, a man who wore a brown "Sheriff" T-shirt and inexplicably had an Australian accent stopped me to ask whether I lived up that way or was "just sightseeing." I sort of resented his characterizing it as if I were going to have a picnic while the Pentagon burned, but I admitted that I lived about a mile back in the other direction. He told me that only people who lived up that way were permitted to go further. I knew it would do no good to point out that if I had only crossed the street and gone up the Pike on the opposite sidewalk, I would have been able to get past him just like the rest of the people strolling and biking toward the Pentagon. I also knew that, having already been identified, I couldn't just cross the street and continue heading east. I instead climbed the hill by Washington Blvd., crossed over the exit ramp, walked down the road a bit, then exited at another ramp on the other side of Sheriff Aussie. I was able to go as far as the Virginia Department of Transportation Building, which apparently had been commandeered by the FBI terrorist unit, across from the Navy Annex. At this point they had Marines stationed to keep you from going any further. Now when I say "Marines," I mean they were wearing Marine fatigues that had their names on them. But these Marines, a young man and young woman, looked like they should have been wearing McDonald's colors and taking my order for fries, so non-intimidating were they. There was a group of people, numbering about 15 at any given point, chatting with each other and the Marine-ettes as we looked toward the smoldering Pentagon. I had thought to bring along my late mother's old binoculars, so I was quite popular with the group as I freely passed them around. The side of the building that had been hit was facing us, so with the binoculars we could clearly see the section that had collapsed. The events of the day were, of course, the primary topic of conversation. I spent much of the time correcting the misinformation they were spreading among themselves. "No, it turns out that there wasn't a car bomb at the State Department. They retracted that story." "Well, actually, the second building that was hit collapsed before the first building hit did. I saw a diagram of it on TV." I also held forth with my ideas about why the World Trade Center imploded the way it did, based on the vast information I had garnered from watching the "Skyscraper" episode of the "Building Big" series on PBS. As we stood there, heavy digging machinery, porta-Johns, klieg lights, and telecommunication trucks passed by in a macabre large-scale search-and-rescue caravan. After a half-hour of this, I was about to head back. A Marine, a real Marine, not one of the pretend ones, was talking with a couple standing near me. They were trying to convince the Marine that the woman might be useful, as she was a nurse and had experience with smoke-inhalation victims. The Marine, something-Sergeant McClellan, asked who was there to volunteer. Someone else asked, "You mean experienced medical workers, right?" Sergeant McClellan said, "No, I mean all sorts of volunteers," and he gave us a description of what he had in mind. I think we were all surprised, since we hadn't heard any call for volunteers on TV. Seven of us advanced forward, including me. We got to move a little further up the street, a little closer to the Pentagon and beyond the reach of the Marine-ettes. Sergeant McClellan then reiterated the speech he had given us back at the checkpoint, but in just a little more hard-core version. "You could be waiting around here for four hours before you're called to do something, so if you have kids at home, this probably isn't for you. Of course, I told the last group it would be four hours, and then I sent for them in a half-hour. But I can't tell you how long it will be. You will be doing what I tell you to do. Is that understood?" As we realized the gravity of the situation and the need for discipline, we all stood in silent assent. "I saw someone earlier down there who was dressed in, well, I guess you'd call them his dress greens. He was spattered with blood all over his shirt and slacks. You have to realize that you'll be seeing things that made him look that way. There will be bodies. You may be carrying water to the rescue workers. You may be carrying bodies. You have to think if you can handle seeing this type of thing." Could I handle seeing this type of thing? How the hell should I know? The only dead bodies I'd seen that weren't on TV were ones that had already been carefully coifed and made-up and were lying in a casket. Could I handle it? To me that really wasn't the issue. In my mind, the issue was, "Are you going to pass on a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity?" I looked down at my beige khaki shorts, buttoned shirt, and sandals, and tried to imagine them covered in dirt, sweat and blood. There was no way I was leaving. All seven of us stayed. There were the nurse and what looked like her husband. There was a yuppie late 30-ish couple, he dressed in Ralph Lauren Polo shorts and she in New Balance running shoes. There was a 55-ish guy dressed in a Seventh Calvary T-shirt who had ridden his bike to the scene. Finally, there was a 5'-4" gentleman with a black moustache and a blue cap who appeared not to understand English very well and, if you had put us all in a line-up, would have been voted "Most Likely To Be an Illegal Alien." I sat down and leaned against the fence, trying to conserve my energy for what might turn out to be a very long night. I thought about the credit card bill I had due and wondered if I would get back in time to pay it the next day. I wondered why the other volunteers were still standing and acting so nonchalant. Hadn't they just heard what they had volunteered for? Eventually, I got up and joined one of the conversations. It was now about 5:30, though I thought it was more like 6:30 until somebody corrected me. I was in the middle of regaling the group with my tale of how I had sneaked past Sheriff Aussie when Sergeant McClellan came up and interrupted me. "Excuse me, sir." Of course, I piped down immediately. "I just got a call from Quantico. They are sending a bunch of people up who will be here shortly. It looks like we're not going to need you after all." He thanked us and made it a point to shake each of our hands individually. I wished him luck. Our stint as rescue workers was over, maybe 25 minutes after it began. I headed west on Columbia Pike, looking back over my shoulder and thinking about what might have been. I stopped at the supermarket and picked up groceries in a fog, not the usual fog of routine, but something altogether different. I returned home and there was the American flag I had put out before I left. It was still in the sun. An hour before and one mile away, I had pictured it hanging in the dark most 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 story1330.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. 2002-08-20 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 162.33.63.199 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: A fellow co-worker and I were busy preparing to open the restuarant for the day, when her mom called. She explained, crying that someone flew a passenger aircraft into the World Trade Center in New York. She called 20 minutes later to tell us that the 2nd Trade Center had been hit as well. Stunned my co-worker and I just stood there with silent tears running down our faces and saying prayers for the people who's lives would never be the same. Including ourselves. Normally, we listen to music throughout the day, however we turned to talk radio so that we could hear the latest up to date information of what was happening. We also heard of the Aircraft Flight 93 going down in Pennsylvania and cheered and wept at the same time. Cheered because it would never hit it's intended target and for the bravery and courage of ordinary citizens who made an agonizing decision to protect our country. We wept for those families who lost a loved one, that would never return home. When the Pentagon was hit, we once again stood in shock, lots of people had already seen the terrible tv footage, it would be hours before we would even comprehend the attack on our country. For one month in honor of those in the Armed Forces, Police, Fire and EMS I had the employees give those people in full uniform their meal free. It was a small way for me and my store to give to those who put their lives in jeopardy every day to protect my right to Freedom and Liberty. God Bless, Stacey Spellmeier Subway Manager Part Time Kansas EMT-Basic 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 story4771.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. 65.168.30.98 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: The first hint of what was unfolding came from a radio news report that a plane had run into a building. My wife and I were getting ready for the day (6:46 AM, Mountain Time), and while the report caught our attention, it did not, at first seem dramatic. Even the broadcaster, though he reported it as breaking news, did not seem overly alarmed. We thought it was probably an isolated incident. We weren't even sure what kind of plane or where the incident had occurred. We continued our morning routine, but decided to turn on the TV to see if there was any more news. The coverage of the second plane slamming into the Twin Towers was just hitting the airwaves, and we, like most other Americans, sat riveted to the TV screen, unable to fully comprehend all that we were seeing. We shook ourselves free and took our children to school then hurried home to watch the coverage for about an hour afterward. When I reached my office at the church (I am a pastor), we immediately lowered our flag to half mast to honor those who had undoubtedly perished. The schedule for the next day, Wednesday, included our normal Midweek Prayer and Bible Study service. It is also the day we had planned to kick off our AWANA Club children and youth ministries. We decided to postpone those ministries and began to plan for a special service to pray for our nation, our leaders, those who had lost loved ones and those who had been injured in the attacks. In the mean time, our oldest son's scheduled High School soccer game in Denver was cancelled, and our yonger children were released early from school as precautionary measures. As evening approached, the enormity of what had taken place was sinking in. This could mean war. With whom? When? Where? Here? Since we live in the shadow of NORAD, the possibility that whoever had done this might want to strike Colorado Springs seemed all too probable. My wife and I sat down with our four children and discussed the events of the day. We told our oldest sons (15 & 14 at that time) that the attacks we had endured could mean there would be a war. I looked at my teenage sons, as so many other parents have down through the years and realized with a mixture of pride and apprehension that the defense of liberty would be falling on the shoulders of young people like my boys in the next few years...and that some of them would die in the process. Before we broke up our family meeting, we prayed together. We asked God to give our leaders wisdom and to protect them. We asked Him to comfort those whose loved ones had been killed. We asked Him to spare those who were trapped and still living in the rubble in New York and Washington, DC. We told Him that we trusted Him with our nation, our lives and our futures. We thanked Him for His love, and we went to bed. 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 story3526.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. 204.33.116.245 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 worked downtown in the financial district for an environmental consulting firm four blocks directly east of the World Trade Center. That fateful Tuesday morning, however, I was scheduled for a downtown dentist's appointment at 8:15 am to get my three wisdom teeth removed. I was actually half excited that I was finally going to get the procedure over with and was even planning to take the next couple of days off to recuperate and relax from all the previous days of demanding field work. Oh, and what a beautiful day it was! The cloudless sky, an ocean blue and the air, clean and balmy. Who would ever have imagined the events to come this day would be of epic proportions? I reached the city from Brooklyn by 8:00 am and walked over to Broadway and Maiden Lane (a block away from the World Trade Center) to see Dr. Azar. I remember feeling refreshed that morning because of the pleasant weather and the fact that I was able to grab some coffee along the way while it was still early. And then I also remember looking forward to the actual procedure. I don't know why, I was just looking forward to it. I guess I was interested in finding out how much tolerance I had for mouth pain. And maybe even the prospect of keeping my own teeth as morbid trophies from the surgery. At 1 Maiden Lane, in I hopped in the old-fashioned, small capacity elevator which slowly eked its way up to the seventh floor. There, Dr. Azar personally greeted me at the receptionist's desk and I was led upstairs to one of the rooms to sit in a dentist's chair that faced a west-side window with the twin towers in near perfect view. I even remember peering out the window and marveling at the towers' height and architectural simplicity while I waited for Dr. Azar to gather his extraction tools. It wasn't long before Dr. Azar went over the whole procedure, telling me what tools he was going to use, how long it might take and asking whether I was comfortable with local or general anesthesia. I opted for local; a decision that was perhaps later proven to be near life-saving. I'd much rather be conscious and sound like a half-wit than be hopelessly passed out in a dentist's chair during an emergency. I doubt anyone would want to pick me up out of the chair and carry me out of that building. I've always sort of enjoyed my past appointments at Dr. Azar's mainly because he has one of those spotless, high-tech dental offices. Not to mention the fact that he, himself, is a tremendously interesting guy whose real expertise is in cosmetic dental surgery and deep-sea fishing. Soon enough, he performed a series of anesthetic injections that seemed to take a very long time. During that period, I could tell he was trying to gauge my emotions and determine whether or not I was feeling any kind of anxiety. It was clear enough that I showed no anxiety, but he handed me these audio/video goggles that played off a DVD player anyway. He then offered me a selection of DVD movies to choose from. And as I looked through them.... "Ms. Congeniality," "Family Man," "Runaway Bride"... I was thinking, "Wow, this is a pretty poor selection of movies." But I realized I missed one - "Armageddon." Then I thought, ?Well that?s perfect.? All the explosions and destruction would serve as a great distraction from the surgery. So, "Armageddon" it was and boy... was I in for more than I had bargained for. Numb at last, about quarter to nine, I donned the video goggles and watched the rolling credits, when all of sudden, "KABOOOOM!!!!" I ripped off my visor, just in time to hear my dentist say, "What the hell was that??!!" I mean, of course, it sounded like a massive explosion, but in my mind, I had rationalized it as a tractor trailer running over a massive speed bump at about 80 mph ? then multiplied that by 10. I remember Dr. Azar and I looking out the window only to see literally millions of office paper, stationery, and binders dispersed so perfectly throughout the city sky, it was like watching oversized confetti being strewn at the ticker-tape parade after the Yankees beat the Padres in the 1998 World Series in New York. Only it was scarier. Dr. Azar immediately turned the radio on. We started listening to Howard Stern who was telling his listeners in disbelief that a small plane, what looked like a Cessna, had accidentally hit one of the World Trade towers. We all believed it as we looked on in fear. I watched from a 7-story height, people running out from the ground level of the WTC looking confused and frightened. The dental hygienist and assistants were already becoming very upset, concerned for the welfare of the people trapped in the building. Then, fifteen minutes later, at about 9:00 am, while Dr. Azar and I were already viewing the fire trucks, cops and other vehicles creating a massive log jam down below, it happened again... only much, much worse. Right before my eyes, I saw a sight I will never forget. A second plane hit the south tower - "KABOOOM!!" - at such a velocity that upon impact, it caused a devastating explosion that produced a ring of fire that spread out in every direction for hundreds of feet (because the plane's impact happened so quickly, the explosion looked almost as if it had come from inside the building). I could see the flames up close as they rolled and churned like orange liquid in strange patterns that I had never seen before except in movies like "Die Hard." At that very moment, amongst all the onlookers, the radio-listeners, and the TV-watchers, one single thought passed through everyone's minds - the U.S. was under attack. It was New York's Pearl Harbor. Total chaos ensued as thousands of people poured out from the ground level of the WTC in droves with great panic and confusion. Traffic was at almost a complete stand still and the sound of sirens and horns was deafening. It was an eerie sight for me to see because I was already imagining how many people must have literally vaporized upon impact from that second plane. I called Kieran. When he answered, I realized that I was barely coherent. The Novocain had set in well and all the muscles in my face were almost completely immobilized. I actually used my left hand to assist in moving my lower jaw to create words that were comprehensible to him. It was tremendously frustrating knowing that I was going to have difficulty communicating to anyone else how I was feeling and what I had seen. In an urgent, forceful tone, Kieran instructed me to leave the building I was in immediately and take whatever possible mode of transportation I could "to get the hell out of the city." I agreed and we said good-bye. And that was the last I would speak to him for a long, long time. I tried to call my parents, but the cell phone lines were already completely tied up. People were in a panic, trying desperately to call their spouses, lovers, parents, brothers, sisters, children. It wasn't long before the city was on *lock-down*. Every subway, train, PATH, and bus was evacuated and shut down. Inaccessible. There were no available cabs anywhere. There was no way out of the city, except by foot. And so, I resigned to walking. After consoling a dental assistant in my arms for about twenty minutes, I finally left her alone as she wiped away her tears. She asked me, "How will I get home??!!" And I told her, "We?ll have to walk to the Brooklyn Bridge. It's the only way out." She nodded in agreement. And so we walked. As I made my way to the East River and towards my office on Maiden Lane, a woman abruptly approached me, seizing my forearms tightly and staring with crazed eyes into mine as she spoke these words: "The bodies.... I watched the bodies fall. Did you see the bodies?" Her ghostly pale face frightened me as I stood there speechless. Then she released me, and walked onwards, staring blankly in front of her. And before I knew it, someone else had approached me from the office. It was Jeanne, our office manager, who had seen virtually nothing from their building, but stood outside to see the towers billowing smoke, dense and black, already wafting towards Brooklyn. I tried to relay everything that I saw from the very beginning, but she nodded with furrowed brow, half comprehending what I was saying. Finally, we returned to the office on the 5th Floor. There, all were visibly shaken and many were crying, some hysterically. There was a lot of confusion amongst our office because we were not entirely sure how many people were planning to come in today and how many had actually already left to evacuate the city. To make matters even more complicated, we happened to be having a project management meeting that day that encompassed personnel from several other offices in the country. It was about 9:30 am when someone in the office who was listening to the radio informed us that two passenger planes that were allegedly hijacked had caused the explosive impacts. Everyone was stunned. "Both planes?!," someone yelled. I managed to get a hold of my roommate, Lisa, in Brooklyn who also worked with me in the office as another geologist. Though it was no surprise, I was still glad that she hadn't made it into the office yet. It was perhaps the first time in her life, coming late to work had gotten her out of trouble. Her voice trembled. She was panic-stricken. She told me she would not have had any idea about what was going on except for the fact that while she was in our bathroom, she happened to overhear the blaring news reports from a downstairs apartment that the World Trade Center was hit by two hijacked planes. Then Lisa screamed as she watched the news, having just learned of the fact that another hijacked plane had crashed into the Pentagon! It was 9:40 am. Lisa started to get upset. I was stupefied. Jeanne convened a staff meeting to report who was missing and where they were. As it turned out, there were several people in our office that had left almost immediately after the second plane hit and had walked uptown to meet their spouses and loved ones. All were eventually accounted for. And we were grateful. Those who were left were still in the office, trying to determine our course of action. The events that continued to unfold were astounding and numbing. All of a sudden, it was about 10:00 am when we heard on the news that yet *another* plane was hijacked and had crashed about 80 miles southeast of Pittsburgh in an apparent botched terrorist attack. Just when I was unable to comprehend any more catastrophic news, the south tower collapses. There was a low rumbling noise followed by vibrations through the floor like a small earthquake. Someone screamed, and then people were crying hysterically. I didn't even know what was happening until it was too late. And then there was darkness for a long time. And I cried. I told my work-mate that I had seen everything as he stared at me with a saddened face. And so I cried in his arms for a long, long time. And for coming to the realization that man could be capable of such cruel acts of hatred against our own kind. And so we stayed and we waited for further word to evacuate our building. Maybe we were safer in the building then we were outside? We didn't know, we weren't sure about anything. When the air began to clear again, I opened the window and peered out to see the single most apocalyptic sight I had ever seen in my whole life. People were literally buried in dust and debris and I already knew that this wasn't the end of it all. It was a whiteness that was eerie and strange. All the pulverized concrete had begun to settle on every surface area and every human being that was still outside on the street. They looked like the walking dead. We forbade the worst - the north tower was due to collapse as well. In fact, it was less than half an hour, when the north tower did collapse. And again, like a minor earthquake, I felt the low rumbling beneath my feet. And I watched it with my own eyes the black cloud of dust and debris that came rolling down our street on Maiden Lane like a pyroclastic flow from a volcanic eruption - only it wasn't pulverized rock, but concrete, metal, glass and perhaps even flesh. Jeanne yelled over at me, "Shut the windows!! Shut them quickly!" So I shut my window and it was barely 3 seconds before the black cloud of ruin reached our office windows and suddenly, it was pitch blackness outside. All the people, the cars, the street itself, were completely shrouded in darkness like night time once again. And the sight of that *really* scared me. Eventually, the dust began to settle again like before and it was then when the building manager commanded everyone to evacuate the building immediately. We gathered ourselves and proceeded down the stairwell. And for a moment, as I climbed down the stairwell, I imagined what it must have felt like being those people trapped in the towers. How frightened they must have been when they realized that they would not likely survive against such incredible odds. When we reached the lobby, we were crowded together, shoulder to shoulder with every possible tenant in the building like Penn Station on a Friday night before a holiday weekend. We must have stood there for almost 40 minutes before someone tested the air to determine whether or not it was within breathable limits. Finally, we left the building, placing wet rags over our noses and mouths, along with thousands of others who had left their homes and their offices downtown. It was a sight to be seen. The sun, barely filtering through the clouds of dust still unsettled in the air, felt like an unnatural fluorescent light shining down on us as we walked uptown to the Brooklyn Bridge. And so we walked in stunned silence over the thick layer of incinerated ashes of everything that was once the World Trade Towers. I was still not able to fully comprehend the fact that both towers had completely collapsed. I saw the aftermath. I saw what material was left behind. And conservation of mass tells me that it wasn't physically possible. But somehow, it was possible. The events from this day were enough to drive any person to insanity. It seemed to defy all probability and all the laws of physics. It wasn't long before we reached the Brooklyn Bridge and we continued to walk along with thousands and thousands of others. As I looked north of us up the East River, I could see thousands of other survivors march across the Manhattan Bridge also heading over towards Brooklyn. These were the only escape routes for the young and the healthy and the old and crippled alike. I remember looking back towards the towers while on the bridge, but I could see nothing. The pall of smoke was so thick and so pervasive that the entire downtown area was no longer visible. I walked on, passing abandoned cars and a FedEx truck. It seemed like the end of the world. It was truly apocalyptic. Upon reaching Brooklyn, the atmosphere was completely different. All the businesses were still in operation and postal workers from a nearby post office were handing out bottles of water and paper towels for everyone walking by, much like a marathon. Every business, church and caf? opened their doors to the public, allowing the use of restrooms and drinking water. It was these flowerings of kindness that made me feel warm and alive again. And it almost made me tearfully joyful how so many people had come together despite incredible adversity to help and assist perfect strangers. And then I thought about all the rescue workers and firefighters, those who had already lost their lives so that others could survive. Eventually, our large office group broke into smaller groups to go to individual homes. I walked 11 miles home and along the way, found bits of office paper that had flown across the river all the way to Brooklyn; a grim reminder of what was lost. Our company was on administrative leave for a week and was quickly followed by grief counseling upon the return of employees. Still, some did not even return for the next two weeks. I remember feeling angry all the time, especially at the grief counselors who didn't even know what the hell they were talking about. Everyone told me that I was suffering anxiety symptoms, but I didn't think so at first. In time, it became apparent to me when I came home again with Lisa. For days and days, she would watch the footage and the rescue efforts 24 hours a day, non-stop, not sleeping, and not eating. And it drove me insane because I would hear people asking about members of their families as they flashed pictures of their missing loved ones on television, weeping and pleading to the public for hope that they had miraculously survived somehow. It was the single most heartbreaking footage I had ever seen in my whole life and I would just turn away from the voices and the photos and the people because it was too much for me to take. I would just cry and cry all over again. And it wouldn't stop. After being subjected to this for four days, I started to develop genuine cabin fever, leaving the house for the next 3 days. Eventually, I went back to work again and thankfully, immediately out on a field assignment. But I knew that I would never forget the events that occurred that day for as long as I live. And as long as I am alive, I will pass down my experiences to those whom I love so that they will always be reminded of what great acts of horror and what great acts of heroism our race has achieved. As for my three wisdom teeth, Dr. Azar eventually did extract them. As a matter of fact, by some twist of fate, my new appointment occurred on March 11, 2002 ? exactly six months after September 11. When I came in, we looked at each other and smiled. It was the last time I was to see Dr. Azar before I moved to Philadelphia. I'm sure I will be a patient of his whom he will never forget. And you know, I never did see "Armageddon." I suppose I never will. But I guess, in a way, I already have. 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 story10354.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2004-01-19 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 68.84.32.217 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: this is not a really story about what happend 11 september 2001, but it's to remind you all not to forget the people who were in the four airplanes! they were the ones who knew what was going to happen, who knew that they were going to die! they knew it longer than the ones in wtc and pentagon! but all we think about when we hear the date, is the one in wtc! dont missunderstand me; im NOT saying that we shouldnt think about them; WE SHOULD THINK ABOUT THEM! but we must not forget the passangers in the planes! specially the ones in the plane who crashed in a feld, or something like that; the one that didnt crash into a building, because the reson for that it didnt crash and kill more people, was because the passangers in the plane tried to stop the terrorist from crashing the plane; thats heroic too!! And we also have the people in the third tower that fell, tower 7, here in Norway, we haven't heard anything about them (almost anyway!) * DON'T FORGET THE PEOPLE THAT DIED 11 SEPTEMBER 2001 JUST BECAUSE THEY WEREN'T IN THE WORLD TRADE CENTER! 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 story6441.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. 217.70.229.54 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: Since I am originally from New York, I thought it was a little more than strange when a co-worker popped her head into my office the morning of 9/11 to let me know "a plane had flown into the Twin Towers." Sitting at my desk, where I worked at a hotel in Virginia Beach, I suddenly had a very bad feeling. I went into the restaurant in the hotel lobby and of course on TV was the vision of the burning Tower. I was in shock. No body there could understand however, because no one knew how astronomically big the Towers were. They were all native Virginians, they had never been to the World Trade Center. They thought a tiny little plane had accidentally lost control and hit the building. I tried to explain to them that a-that was more than a tiny plane, b-how big the Towers were, and the hole in the building had to be at least 10 stories and c-planes don't fly over NYC so something was not right. They didn't get it until the second plane hit. I think I screamed but can't remember, maybe it was just in my head. I sat on the floor but my eyes never left the television as I watched. A million thoughts were running through my head...family & friends in NY who worked in the city, where were they, who did this, am I safe? I called my boyfriend to let him know what was going on (he was home sleeping). He picked up the phone and by then I knew...my exact words were "America is under attack." He hung up, thought I was joking or something. I called back on told him to turn on the f**king TV, any channel. He did and said "Oh my God" then hung up. It was absolutely horrible to be in another state, surrounded by people who didn't know or had never been to Manhatten...they couldn't understand why I was so upset, they didn't get the mass destruction, the lives lost. As we watched the first tower fall and then the next, I think they began to get it. I didn't talk for a long time. People kept coming up to me and asking me if I knew anyone in the city; all I could do was nod my head. I had been to the Twin Towers a million times, but had always taken advantage of them. They were there, a part of the city. I never knew their beauty until they were gone. I remember after the second tower crumbled I had seen enough (I didn't know that those images would be replayed over and over again, to haunt me). I walked across the street to buy a pack of cigarettes. I felt like I was in the Twilight Zone. I remember looking at the beach, and the sky, it was so beautiful outside, the sky so blue. This had to be a dream and I willed myself to wake up. But I didn't. I felt very unsafe walking across the street. It was so quiet. I kept listening for planes. I went home to watch the news and all day they kept replaying the planes, and the fires, and the people running, and screaming in torture and pain. I cried. I cried for America, for my generation who never had to think about war on our soil, who were taught that we were a 'superpower.' Where the hell were our superpowers now? Someone had come onto our turf and destroyed our freedom. I got mad at our governement and military for being so relaxed and letting this happen. I watched people on TV holding pictures of loved ones who were missing. This should have been prevented. The days to follow were hard. I wanted to be home, in New York. I heard about a few friends that had died, some who worked at the WTC, some were firefighters. I heard the stories about the people who took over the plane tat crashed in PA. I had never in my life felt so much pride for America. It took me almost 3 months to go home. The first time I saw the city sky line, I had to pull over. I couldn't see through the tears. It didn't even look like the New York City Sky Line, it never will again. I went to Ground Zero and apologized to all the people there who lost their lives that I was so fortunate as to be alive. It was a very eerie feeling, I felt as if their spirits were still lingering. I am so proud to be a New Yorker, because of the way we came through, as Americans. I feel for all the families and loved ones in NY, DC, PA, of the people who were on the planes, of the military personnel who were and still are fighting for our country. There is no better place than America and it is a tragedy that it took something so horrible for me to realize it. 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 story9920.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. 68.85.31.75