546 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 standing at the bus stop with my Son, Daughter and Nephew. As we were waiting for the bus to arrive we saw a United Airlines plane flying extremely low above our house. My Nephew loves airplanes so I pointed it out to Him and the other children. " Look at the Airplane", I exclaimed. We were all staring at it and talking about how low it was flying. " Wow, I said I hope it's not in trouble" ! about 5 minutes later my children got on the bus and my Nephew and I returned into the house. As soon as we got in the door my mother called and said; " Jennifer, get up here and look at this an airplane crashed into one of the twin towers" We ran up to my mother's house and were watching it on T.V. Then all of a sudden we saw another explosion. " Oh, God... I said, Mom this isn't an accident". We watched for a few more minutes, I was shaking I couldn't believe it. Who would do such a horrible thing. Then we started seeing how an airplane crashed into the pentagon and how another had crashed into Pennsylvania and heard the rumors that it was potentially headed for the White House. I panicked. I told my mom to watch Tyler (my nephew) as I went to the various schools that my Children and my Niece were at picking them up one by one. I brought them all to my home where as I suppose anyone would, I felt we were the safest. I didn't tell my children until I we got home what happened, Telling them was one of the hardest things to do. How do you explain something like that to your family and still make them feel safe? It's impossible. When I told them what happened we all just started crying, you feel like you've been violated, There's anger and helplessness, not to mention the fear. My daughter completely panicked because her best friends Father worked in the towers and she couldn't get through to see if he was o.k. Two of my co-worker's ( a mother/ daughter) lost their (husband/ father) in the WTC. Waiting to hear rather or not he got out was pure agony. The feeling of helplessness was unbearable. Then There's the fear that we all felt. My family dosen't live far from stewart Airport in Orange County so airplanes fly over our house all the time. Everytime (even to this day) when one goes over our home, My children come running in to me and I have to try and reassure them that it's o.k. I tell them that the good guys are up there watching over us and that I doubt anything like that horrible day will ever happen again. I pray that none of the future generations will ever have to see anything like this generation has. 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 story6452.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. 129.42.208.150 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I had just finished cleaning up the kitchen after getting my kids on the bus, and sat down for some coffee. When I turned on the television, I saw that a plane had crashed into the tower. I was shocked and upset. I watched for a few moments with my hand over my mouth in horror. I could not begin to understand how the people who were sitting at home seeing this on the television, all the while knowing that someone that they loved was in that tower. I called my parents to let them know about it. I started off the conversation with a glib..."boy am I glad that I live in a small town with no tall buildings...." Not knowing yet that this was no accident. As my mother turned on the television, we watched as the second plane plowed into the second tower. We knew that at this moment, our lives had taken yet another turn. Terrorism had struck us where we live. No, not in the town we were in, but in our Country and our Hearts. I remember silently praying for angels to protect the people who were still alive. For God to send comfort to the ones that were lost or hurting. Finding out that the Pentagon was also hit was the news that made me feel so vulnerable The tower began to fall, and all my hopes went with it. All too soon, the second tower fell.I had to hang up the phone with my Mother and sit there glued to the television. I asorbed the horror, terror, and panic from the faces of the people who were running for their lives. Tears were streaming down my face. For the people who have died, for their families, for the United States, but most of all for the children. They will never know what it was like to grow up in a world without terrorism at their door step. How to board a plane without fearing for their lives. How open our borders used to be. I pray that they will not grow to hate anyone different than themselves....just because they are not sure if they are terrorist or not. I drove to my childrens school to pick them up for the day. The principal asked me why I was taking them home. After all, she didn't think we were a target. I could not believe that she asked me that. I needed to hug my kids, to feel them, to know that they were alive and safe with me. I wanted to be the one to comfort them and try my best to explain what was going on. Yes, it is a day that I will never forget, but it will bring mixed feelings.....Sorrow at the lives that were lost, Pride in how our country responded, Guilt for how some people looked at neighbors that they have know, and now don't trust because of their religion. Of course I will fell Anger....I am angry that people feel the need to kill others in the name of their "God" 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 story8019.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. 2002-09-20 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 24.50.220.60 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: My classmates and I had just finished changing out of our gym uniforms, when we noticed that everyone was coming back only to sit in the bleachers of the gym after returning from the locker room. Nobody knew what was going on, so we all just sat around, not paying any attention as to what was really happening. Feeling like an eternity, I'm not sure how much time had really passed, an announcement was finally made over the PA system. They were telling us that a bomb of some sort went off in the pentagon. I was waiting for someone to pinch me, to wake me to get ready for school, but when nothing happened, I began to worry about my mother. With only the knowledge that she worked in the pentagon, I had no idea which end of the building she worked at, let alone where "the bomb" had gone off. The bell ending the period finally went off, and we were off to our next period. It wasn't until I saw all of my friends wandering the halls with tears filling their eyes, that the reality really hit. Immediately, I was realeased to the guidance office as soon as I entered my classroom. As I was roaming the halls with a friend, we passed by a classroom with the t.v. on showing two extremely tall buildings in New York City. The first plane had already hit, and I saw the second one, in replay, hitting the next building. References then began being made to the pentagon, when I learned that no bomb had gone off in my mom's building. I quickly made my way to the counselors, where it comforted me to see that I wasn't in this alone, although I wish nobody had to ever go through this at all. Phone lines were down, so all attempts failed in trying to reach anybody's parents, friends, or relatives. The end of the school day neared, and my best friend's mom showed up at the school to take me back to her house. I had been informed that my parents were both okay, since my dad also worked downtown, and they would come get me as soon as possible. My parents finally showed up at the front door of the town house, my mother in tears, both relieved to see me. I hurried into the car so we could go pick up my sister from her elementary school. She had no idea what had happened to the extent that I did at the time, in which I am thankful so she wasn't frightened so much at such a young age. She was just as happy to see them as I was when we finally reached her school, and we were off again, only to my house this time. That night, our t.v. was flooded with live broadcast and footage of the day in recap, all too much for me to handle. Our phones had been ringing off the hook from friends and relatives to make sure my parents were okay. I felt so helpless sitting there watching my mom cry all night. I was only in eighth grade, what could I possibly say to make her feel any better? September 11, 2003 was a day that will never be forgotten by anybody, but a day of which I hope never repeats itself again. I realize today how fortunate I am to still have both of my parents with me, since many children aren't so lucky. I look up to the men and women who lost their lives while trying to save others. It is said that "everything happens for a reason", though I found it hard to see why this certain event took place. No matter what the reason is, I can tell you one thing for sure. America is stronger than ever, and I don't know about everyone else, but my faith is stronger than ever, and nothing, or anybody can come in between that. 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 story11044.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. 2004-09-13 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 70.18.250.4 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: On the morning of Tuesday, September 11, 2001, I felt groggy and badly-dressed. Still nursing a hangover from the previous weekend's revelry down at my favorite (and soon-to-close) haunt, Wetlands Preserve, I made my way wearily to the subway station hear my bachelorette pad in Brooklyn, NYC, scarcely 15 minutes from what would soon become a smoldering wreck in the heart of one of my favorite parts of town. I am a native New Yorker, and damn proud of it, if not more so since last September. As the air cools here, now, at the end of Summer 2002, my skin registers the horror and misery of last Autumn and Winter, the souls of the dead wafting on every frosty breath of the living. I was born in the Eastchester section of the Bronx, in November 1974, on the heels of war and scandal. I became a Buddhist in June of 2001, finally settling into what I feel has always been a rather peaceful existence (at least regarding myself towards others). My first visit to the top of the then-World's Tallest Building came just three years following its completion in 1973. As a screeching toddler, I was served both the knowledge of my fear of heights, and my a lifelong fascination with architecture, ice cold. I later spent my growing years on the outskirts of Queens (on the border in Nassau County), and earned writing and art degrees at university in Upstate, NY. Since graduating in 1996 (after witnessing the first attack on the Twin Towers from my Oswego, NY dorm room in my sophomore year, 1993), I have once again been proud to call NYC my home: for good, for bad, and for worse. I spent my first three years working in the world-renowned Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library, of Columbia University. Talk about Worse awaited us all that bright, beautiful morning, like a curled up panther, dark against concrete jungle soil. Standing on the Manhattan-bound Q train platform, in one of the lushly sunlit, tree-lined outdoor subway gulches of Flatbush, a train approached the station. I checked my watch habitually. Commuter reflex. The time was 8:48AM. A ping rung out from the PA system: "Due to an incident at Cortlandt Street, there are delays in Manhattan-bound service..." I, like any true New Yorker, used to be anywhere from moderately to completely numb, to the drone of subway announcements (in whichever various registrations of ear-bleeding volume). Barring occasions involving the instant fear, upon hearing "your train" mentioned in the "lineup of doom," I was not normally one to tune in. At that moment, however, I tuned in. Cortlandt Street, I thought. World Trade Center, natch. PATH Stations, shops, Century 21. The nexus, I mused. Still a little sleepy, the amazingly clear blue of the sun and sky stunned me into awareness. The air was amazingly crisp and warm, and yet a little cool; a perfectly cloudless, late-summer morning. A strange kind of adrenaline surged very slightly behind my eyes. World Trade Center. Something in me sharpened. "...plane crash," I heard a fellow commuter say, as the endless second rang to a stop, the train doors jumping open to admit morning passengers. I stepped on, not thinking. I'd just heard someone, a pretty, petite woman wearing a denim skirt, and holding a mobile phone, "there's been a plane crash...a plane crashed into the World Trade Center..." Looking back, I just wasn't thinking. When you have to go to work, you go to work. I suppose. Now, after realizing I was risking my life for my job (in no short order), I have to come to terms with knowing that, under similar circumstances, I just might have done the same. When I say "commuter's reflex," I am really talking reflex. Thinking back to it now, it scares even me. There was a weird synergy to the whole experience that lives in the map of my sensibilities. My destination that morning (as it had been since 4/18/2002) was just a shade off the corner of Park Avenue, across the street from the world-famous Four Seasons Hotel, in the crisp, beige gallery, run by a pair of world-famous rare book dealers. Their partner sold maps of great antiquity for the business, making it an altogether truly fascinating (and often frustrating) place to be employed. Large, aged maps of the United States, and others even older of the Middle East (plated in gold), and Africa, on huge posts with fringed finials, hung on the walls. Like any other morning, the moldy odor of ossifying Galileos and Keplers would waft in on the scent of gourmet coffee, from the machine I would fill each night, before departing on the downtown train, into Brooklyn. That night, I wouldn't return to the home I would barely recognize when I did, until 10:45PM. I feel fortunate to have turned up in a friend's car, and relatively unharmed...at least in body. The train pulled out of the station. I felt a kind of pressure, again, behind my eyes, like something enormous was happening, just inches out of my grasp. The mounting tension behind the statement, "Plane crash," began to slowly dawn on me. The minutes seemed like hours, the train crawling laden with A.M. commuters, directly into the path of events of unknowable immensity. The word leaked over the train like hot red ants, as people's phones received their last signals, before the train moved hapless into the tunnels beneath Brooklyn. Atlantic Avenue, three stops later, people scurry nervously (yet resolute) through the open doors of the trains. I stand in mute shock, not wanting to actually *go* anywhere, realizing for the first time in months that I could probably take the Q train to Union Square, and transfer there. Beyond commuter automation, there is a certain survival instinct that surges, in such totally blank and fearful moments. Under the tip of Manhattan is where I did not want to be, especially when rumors of some kind of wacky plane crash at WTC were involved. I stayed on the Q train, finally, more than anything, to get a glimpse of what was going on. I couldn't stand knowing that if something WAS going on, I would be trapped underground. The train lumbered on to DeKalb Avenue. Trying to think, to feel back to that moment, I remember a kind of white panic washing over me. Like a blanket of winter snow, perhaps a premonition of the kind of scene that unfolded in the hours ensuing my trip over the Manhattan Bridge, the last time I saw the Twin Towers standing. That morning will live and die with me. I will live on bearing its remembrance, in my body and soul, for the protest of oppression, and the future of peace on this planet. The blanket of snow thickened. My watch read 8:55AM. I was experiencing a new morning route, by necessity, along with the increasing feeling that something was going horribly wrong. The train crept at a snail's pace, relatively empty (presumably due to fearful detours, made by those horrified by the thought of going over the Bridge, when some kind of aircraft had crashed into Lower Manhattan). The thought never occurred to me. Like a lioness to her dying cubs, I chose to look on rather than avert my gaze, hawks descending to snatch the youth from the ground. My native home is New York City. There is indeed plenty of world to explore, but I've had to reckon with my love of my hometown, when things were at their ultimate worst last Fall. It puts a shine to things, mere survival. Galvanizing, it is. The train pulled onto the span of the Manhattan Bridge. I immediately moved to a window facing south, and literally pressed my forehead into the glass, as the lofts of DUMBO and the Jehovah's Witness Watchtower drifted past, as though in a dream, the copper-tinged clocktower of one of the rather more upscale loft buildings a crisp pistachio-green in the cloudless morning bright. My stomach churned violently, anticipating what could only be the worst, considering the funereal pace of the train. As the Financial District came into view, the train's windows passing the Bridge's first main anchor cable, I saw that a black stripe of smoke bisected the sapphire sky at a near-perpendicular angle, with its locus at the southeastern corner of the North Tower of WTC (WTC 1). The building was being eaten away by sheets of orange fire; it had been run through by what was obviously a large, gaping, airplane-sized hole near the corner at about the 80th floor. I immediately began chanting the mantra of Avalokiteshvara (Tib. Chenrezig). OM MANI PADME HUNG fell from my lips in a low, solemn dirgelike melody I'd learned at the previous year's "Change Your Mind" Day in Central Park (a yearly celebration of Buddhism and meditation). People were very likely dying, suffering, burning, or dead very suddenly...this seemed horrifically clear. It was the last time that day I would feel the pangs of such innocence. I thought, still, beyond a doubt, that some accident, some freak wind, had waylaid a plane into the elaborately adorned Tower 1, it's smooth, grey facade belching black smoke into the clear blue sky. The train proceeded into the tunnel. A woman who caught the last cellular signal on her phone said, stunned, that a second plane had crashed into the second tower, the one which had, seconds ago, remained unharmed. A man's voice somewhere on the train said, "Terrorists." There was a dead calm. The train moved silently, slowly forward, and did not stop at Canal Street, mere blocks from where Hell had taken up temporary residence. By the time the train got to Union Square, hundreds of ashen, stricken commuters still rushed through the tunnels to their usual transfers. I was one of them. I had no clue what was happening above, only that I had somewhere to go, to be, a responsibility to my employers. I don't remember the short ride to 59th Street. But when I emerged from the Midtown Station, crossing Lexington Avenue near Bloomingdale's, I glanced downtown to see the signature of a nightmare bisecting the late summer sky. Bewildered onlookers lined the sidewalk where an otherwise normal Manhattan Tuesday had ground to an astonishing halt. There were few cars, little activity, and much confusion. When I entered my office, near the corner of Park and 57th Street, across the street from the opulent Four Seasons Hotel, all was chaos. Half the staff attempted to ignore what was happening, demanding the usual things from me such as office supplies and postage. I couldn't concentrate. I scoured my computer's web browser for proof of what was underway a few miles south. Freshly uploaded photos of bodies hurtling to their demise were already on a few news sites. Even more crushing news came down the pike...the Pentagon, the United States center of defense, had also been hit. A fourth hijacked plane (presumably en route to an unspecified landmark) crashed in a field outside Pittsburgh, PA. Rumors abound...more planes, more destruction, all surely afoot. Numb with shock, I wheeled around the office. I didn't feel like a New Yorker, I felt like a raped child, confused and alone. My officemates, staunch in their old-world academic rush to conquer all that man and nature could present, did not look sympathetically on my paralysis. Then, the unthinkable happened. At about 10:20AM, my colleague, Margaret, told me that the radio had reported one of the towers collapsing. Within a few minutes, the second tower collapsed as well. Just like that, within an hour's time, thousands upon thousands of lives had been lost, but more than that, I had suddenly become a stranger in my own home. Many hours later, much later after all my colleagues had fled for their respective homes, I was still in the office. Partially scared to leave, and partially spun into a kind of obsessive fog, I finally made my way out into the afternoon, to the deeply disturbing calm of 57th Street. No cars, no noise, few people...many if not all shops shut down completely, and the air smelling of burning metal and ash. I stumbled half-blind to a market and bought myself my first meal of the day, a cheese sandwich. I ate it on a granite ledge encircling a large midtown skyscraper. I didn't taste the food, I didn't feel the sandwich in my hands. I felt nothing. I made my way downtown by way of the F train, one of the few trains running back to Brooklyn. But I was on my way to the house of some friends, and decided to stop in Greenwich Village, to once again see if my eyes had not deceived me. They had not. At 4PM, stragglers were still making their way, dusty and bloodied, from the scene of a crime against humanity. Filtration masks covered faces, black suits normally natty with early week freshness were sullied by hunks of plaster and the white of an unthinkable mass of ash. Some wore one shoe, or no shoes...some were missing bags or briefcases, naked and vulnerable as they wandered through the street. Looking back, I still don't know what happened, who to blame. And for weeks, and months thereafter, the smell of human remains, burned steel, and ash became the background aroma for all of our affairs. Now, a year later, I still don't know what to think. Today was a very windy day in New York City...my friend said it's because the dead are finally ready to come out and make themselves known. Riding my bike down a major street, I was almost pushed into traffic by the strong gusts of wind. I would not blame the dead if they were trying to call attention to themselves. I watched helplessly as thousands perished. I felt too scared, too helpless, too angry, too confused, to do anything about it. I think about myself, and my life, and the smallness of the trials I endured, in comparison to those who suffered disembowelment, dismemberment, smoke inhalation, plummeting to their deaths, or instant immolation, in the disaster that morning. The media, whom I normally don't trust anyway, I now completely avoid, due to the instinctual feeling that I'm being lied to. But I've worked hard to stay alive, even against my own depression and malaise. For the first time in a long time, in the months after 9/11, my will to live, to grow, and to improve, became much stronger. Now, I've decided to start my own publicity business out of my home, and try to take my life out of the hands of anyone beside myself. It's a tough call, a risky choice, but at least this way, I can be held accountable for my actions, one hundred percent. It's proof that I am still alive, and I still have hope. Maybe a year from now, it'll all be clearer what has happened, and what I've learned. But for right now, I've learned to take care of myself a little bit better. And that's not such a bad start. One must love themselves truly and completely, before they can love another. If I am to live with the enemy, I must realize the enemy inside me. I realize with every day that passes that to be at home with oneself, and in accordance with the laws of nature, the truth, honesty and integrity of holy persons will be mine to savor, greater than any paycheck or false credential. And with that, I'll live with honest thoughts and do the best I can, to come closer to my own center, in order to benefit the whole world. May the wiser of us forgive us for our trespasses, and infuse us with the knowledge of peace. "I see the states, across this big nation I see the laws made in Washington, D.C. I think of the ones I consider my favorites I think of the people that are working for me Some civil servants are just like my loved ones They work so hard and they try to be strong I'm a lucky guy to live in my building They own the buildings to help them along It's over there, it's over there My building has every convenience It's gonna make life easy for me It's gonna be easy to get things done I will relax along with my loved ones Loved ones, loved ones visit the building Take the highway, park and come up and see me I'll be working, working but if you come visit I'll put down what I'm doing, my friends are important I wouldn't worry 'bout I wouldn't worry about me Don't you worry 'bout me Don't you worry 'bout me." -- Talking Heads, ?Don't Worry About the Government? 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 story5783.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. 151.204.129.244 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: We were sitting in math going over things we learned last year. Our principal came in and said that something horrible has happened. We brought the TV into the classroom and about one minute after we turned it on the second plane hit. My teacher started to cry because his brother was on a plane that morning. A half hour later we heard that his brother was in the plane that hit the second tower. The whole class started to cry because our teacher saw his brother fly into the tower. We held a memorial service in the schoolyard a week after on September 18. At the exact time the plane hit my teachers other brothers who are in the armed service played taps. It was very touching. 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 story878.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. 2002-07-10 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 24.147.56.99 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 LIVE IN CONNELLSVILLE PENNSYLVANIA WHICH IS ABOUT FORTY MINUTES FROM SOMERSET COUNTY,SHANKSVILLE, WHERE THE FLIGHT 93 WENT DOWN. I REMEMBER PEOPLE AT WORK STARTING TO TALK ABOUT WHAT WAS GOING ON IN NEW YORK AND THEN THE WORD CAME THAT FLIGHT 93 HAD WENT DOWN IN SOMERSET AND THAT WAS JUST TOO CLOSE TO HOME SO I WENT AND PICKED MY LITTLE GIRL UP FROM DAYCARE AND WE HEADED FOR HOME. MY MOM WAS AT A CONVENTION AT A HOTEL IN PITTSBURGH AND I HAD NO WAY OF KNOWING HOW SHE WAS OR IF SHE WAS O.K. I JUST REMEMBER HOW GOOD IT FELT TO HEAR HER VOICE AND THEN A FEW HOURS LATER TO BE WITH HER WHERE WE STAYED FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE DAY. WHAT A HORRIBLE TRAGEDY TO HAVE TO LIVE THROUGH AND WITNESS. I STILL TO THIS DAY FEEL SUCH SADNESS FOR ALL THE FAMILIES WHO LOST SOMEONE AND WHO WERE INVOLVED IN ANY WAY. DEFINATELY A REASON TO LIVE EACH DAY TO IT'S FULLEST AS IF IT WERE YOUR LAST BCAUSE YOU JUST DON'T KNOW WHAT WILL HAPPEN IN THE NEAR FUTURE. 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 story5421.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. 24.154.47.46 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 class and I went to an orientation at YSU and at 8:46 a.m. I had heard what happend as our teachers were telling us that there was an attack on the twin towers in New York City and a plane crash in P.A. They turned on the t.v. and I watch the cries and pain the people went through that day. It struck me like something I could never explain. The pain that the families are going through is so intense. I think every one has lost someone in their life, but to imagin loosing your whole family at once. Most of the people even had time to call their families and tell them they love them. I don't know if I could deal with the fact that I would be talking to someone that I love so much and not being able to do anything besides go and find them. I know people would wish they could of done something. I wish all the families to be strong, love each other, never forget the good times that you had together. Always be thankful for what you have, you never no when it will be gone. I will always give my heart to anyone who has lost someone that they love. 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 story2277.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 64.18.33.4 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I was in one of my classes in highschool (I was a senior last year) when the teacher of the class had gone to her computer and checked the daily news online as she always has done, she said something about a plane crashing into the WTC and since I didn't know what the WTC was I ignored her painful words. I later saw it on TV when I got home that day and broke down in tears. I cried myself to sleep that night and I couldn't even eat because I lost my appetite and was feeling queasy. I remember that the day the WTC towers were hit by the planes it was also my second day of highschool. I couldn't believe it when my teacher told me what had happened. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story2353.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. 129.21.226.101 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: Where shall I begin. The morning of September 11,2001 Was one that I don't think myself, or anyone else will ever forget. I was working in my office in Tarrytown New York when I heard something on the radio stating there was an accident with one of the Twin Towers. A small plane had hit one of them. It really didn't sink in. I proceeded to go to the cafeteria for a cup of coffee. Walking into the cafeteria, there were people swarmed all over the television. I could barely believe my eyes. Seeing a plane coming from the right side of the T.V. screen and smashing into the other tower. My brain didn't really register what was happening. People were screaming and crying. There were people jumping out of the Towers. I ran into my office to tell everyone what was going on. My sister who works with me and my other co-workers went back to watch the horrific scene unfolding before our eyes. After about 2 hours everyone decided to take the rest of the day off and make sure all of our loved ones were safe. I felt so helpless. I wanted to do something, anything but didn't even know how. I live in yonkers New York which is only 15 minutes from the city. My sister and I went to her house. I could normally see the city skyline from one of the roads close by. Smoke was all that I or anyone else could see that day and many days after. There are no words to describe the pain felt for the victims and their families. Someone very close to me lost her fiancee. My heart goes out to her and his family and all the thousands of other victims and families. New York and the rest of the country has come together like never before. The tears will never stop when I think of September 11,2001. The pain and anger will never subside but the love and memories of all the victims will bring peace in our hearts and strength to a country that will shine of freedom and liberty. I am proud to be an American. I will hold my flag high and never forget. God Bless America and God Bless the victims and there families of September 11,2001. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story3198.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 205.188.209.38 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: The morning had begun just like any other, nothing much to worry about. When my store first got word of the first plane hitting the towers, there was concern, but most thought that it was just an accident. Perhaps a small plane with an untrained pilot, but that's all. Being in a mall, I walked down to the local electronics store to see what the news had about the accident, when I saw the second one hit. I was stunned. I found myself wondering if what I had just saw was real. I could hear the excitement and confusion in the reporters voices and the stunned looks on the faces of those who had joined me in the store and then I realized that it was real. Everyone stood quietly, watching the tvs, wondering what would happen next. I ran back to my store and told everyone what had happened. Everyone stood in disbelief. We turned on the news channel on our store radio and listened in amazement. Then we heard about the Pentagon. Worry then set firmly into my mind. What was next? Then we knew. The first tower had fallen. I couldn't believe what I had heard. My mind flashed back to only a few years earlier when I had the chance to visit the towers. To see thier immense size, even being able to look down from the 78th floor. Which was pretty high by my standards. I ran back to the electronics store and noticed the crowd had grown. It was then I saw the replay of the first collapse. Everything went numb. Friends of mine who live in NY had always joked after the 1993 bombing what would happen if the towers ever fell. Unbelievably, we were now witnesses to the horrible answer. Everyone around me spoke of hope that everyone got out. Some prayed. Most stared at the TV in disbelief. Then the second tower fell. Everything went silent. Suddenly for everyone, it was real. Information about the Pentagon, NY and a plane in Pennsylvania, all began to sink in. Word came over of flights being grounded. Businesses closing. Schools being let out. I then ran down the mall to tell everyone in the store to go home. I relayed as much information as I could as everyone grabed thier things and shuffled out. The mall was empty, not a single person could be seen. As I raced home on Interstate 95, a section that is usually heavy with traffic, there was barely a car on the road. Signs were posted that the New Jersey turnpike was backed up for miles, New York (only just over 2 hours away) was virtually closed. As I listened to the radio, who was using the Emergency Broadcast signal (something I thought I would never hear used in my lifetime) I glanced into the sky and got chills as I noticed how empty it was. A section normally heavy with flights going to Philadelphia, was now empty. As I got to my home, I turned on the TV and watched the horror over and over again. Absolutely horrorified at what I was seeing. I prayed for those lost and for those who were going to help and I wondered how we could ever get past such a terrible event. I watched the news long into the early morning hours, wondering how life would be the next day. How I could return to work with the images of the towers so vivid in my mind. As I returned to work in my mall, I was walking back to my store from the mall's coffee shop when, since there was virtually no one in the mall at the time, I heard the mall's radio system playing Billy Joel's "New York State of Mind." Suddenly it was all put in perspective. I paused for a moment, said a little prayer and went back to my store and proudly displayed our American flag over our front dry erase board which read: "We pray for those we have lost in the tragedy of September 11th and those who are risking thier lives to help. 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 story5834.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. 67.208.176.141 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 we were attacked on September 11, 01 I was in school doing a bus evacuation. The bus drivers radio turned on. The radio said that there was a terrorist attack going on. I was confused when the bus driver told us a little about it and said that it wasn't anything big so it made me wonder. One hour later, my mom dismissed me from school. I went home, watched television and found out what realy happened when two planes flew into the two World Trade Centers and killed alot of people. My life has changed sice Septeber 11, 01. My life has changed by making me feel bad about what happened to all of those people. Also it made me feel bad about Afganistans. Also, it made me think that there are a lot of terrorists in the country, and that another attack might happen. I think that we should remember what has happened. Also, we should remember the fire fighters who went in the burning buildings and risked their lives. We should make September 11 a holiday, so we can remember all the people who died that day and what happened. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story8464.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. 2002-10-17 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 24.60.58.139 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: It is hard to remember the way things were before September 11th 2001. That day has completely changed the way we live, the way we act, and the way we think. The strange thing is, I can remember exactly what I was doing that entire day. September 11th started out like any other school day. I went to English first block; we were starting the background information for The Crucible. It seemed like the period was never going to end because that is the way English class normally is for me. Once the bell rang at 9:08 I went to my locker and then went to visit with some of my friends during break while trying to cram as much studying as I could for my next class. As the bell rang for second block to begin I strolled into business law and said ?hi? to my teacher as I did everyday. Still everything seemed normal, except for the fact that I was dreading our first exam of the school year. A little after class started a student walked in tardy and told us to turn the TV. on because a plane had crashed into the world trade center. As my teacher turned on the television to CNN I was astonished by what was on the screen. I could not believe my eyes, and at first I did not understand what was happening. The teacher ended up postponing our test and we watched CNN in amazement. Right when I thought things were ok and we were going to begin doing some work we witnessed the plane crash into the pentagon. At that moment it really hit home what was happening. A lot of my friends had parents who worked at the pentagon and one of my softball coaches who I had become very close to lived a few minutes from the pentagon. All of the sudden two of the girls in my class burst into tears and asked to leave so she could call to see if her father was alright. I just wanted to do something or comfort her but there was nothing I really could do. Near the end of that period our principal came on the loudspeaker and told everyone what had happened. He also decided to change one of our rules about the use of cell phones and said it was all right if we called our parents to check on them. After that period ended I had lunch. I remember walking to the cafeteria seeing so many other students in tears. I felt lucky in a way that I knew nothing had happened to my family. At the same time I felt very sad for those of them who still did not know if things were all right. The whole lunch period all we talked about at my table was what had been on the news. We also predicted that something was going to happen the middle- eastern students in the school because there were a bunch of angry Americans walking around the halls. When I got home I was relieved to see both of my parents at home and my mom had told me that she called my brother at college and everything was ok up there too. I remember watching the news the rest of the night and on to the next day. We had the next day off from school and it was weird looking out the window and seeing the smoke that had been blown over from the fire at the pentagon. Since that day things have changed tremendously for me. Over the summer when I went to my softball tournaments there was a lot more airport security. My mom was actually frisked both times we went to the airport this past summer. The country has also shown a lot more pride in America and we have all come together over the past year. It is good to see that now, after the one-year anniversary we still are Proud to be an American! Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story6687.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. 65.90.111.48 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: The morning of September 11th started out like every other weekday morning...I took my son to school, dropped my daughter off at the sitter's and went to work. Shortly after I got to work my boss came in and said a bomb had gone off in the World Trade Center. We turned on the radio and went on-line to find out what we could. The information that followed was horrifying. My boss went home and brought up a small television so that we could see what was happening. I sat at my desk and alternated between crying and praying. The news kept getting worse, and worse. People kept calling, asking if I had heard. At this point, I believed the whole world knew. For the weeks and days that followed, the news replayed the Towers collapse frequently. My son, Steven, would see it, and believing that it was happening again, would run to me crying. We were virually untouched by the terrorist attacks. None of our friends or family perished. We knew no one that died. We knew no one that knew someone that died. We have mourned, we have cried, we have prayed, we will survive. Our prayers and thoughts will be for those who lived and for those who were left behind. May God Bless You. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story3059.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. 64.185.18.179 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I had just gotton into work and I remember my co workers coming in a saying a plane has hit the WTC. I thought aloud "I knew this would happen some day those buildings are to tall". Within 20 minutes the second plane had hit and I thought this is no error we are in some serious trouble. I tried to call my family as I live in South Jersey and commute everyday to NYC. The phone lines were jammed and I could not get through for a while. when I did reach them I told them I was okay. I decided to leave with a co-worker of mine who lives in Staten Island. He said if we could make it to Brooklyn by train he had people thta could pick us up and take us to his house where he would drive me home. The Port Authority had shut down making it immpossible toget home via bus. We went out to 42nd street whre they have the jumbo TV monitor and watched in horror as the first tower fell. I started to freak out.... What was happening to all those people who work in there? I work in the travel industry and know people in Top of The World and the Observation deck. We then heard that all trains has ceased operation the city was in alock down. I decided to go back to my job it was the only "SAFE" place I knew. my co-worker decided he was going to try and walk somewhere. We said our goodbyes. I went back to my office and called some familty members. My sister told me to go stay with my niece who had just moved to the upper east side that weekend she was scared and my sister wanted me to be with her. I went to her house and turned the TV on to see what was going on. It was HORRIBLE!!!!! The next day I went to my office and called some people that I commute with and arranged to meet them and take NJ transit to Trenton NJ where my husband would pick us up. When I got to Tranton I was so thankful. I got home and picked my than infant daughter up from school and just hugged her. To think of all the children that wuld never see their parent again. I did not go into work again until Friday. I just Thank God that I was able to get back to my family. I feel terrible for those who will never see there loved ones again. May all those who perished REST IN PEACE! 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 story6161.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. 68.44.83.84 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I had just gotten to my office located in the top of the tallest building in Nashville, the BellSouth tower. I had gotten a cup of coffee and started back to my office. I work with a large group of marketing executives who are in the 22-35 year old range. I am their parents age. I heard someone yell out--"you are not going to believe what has happened, some idiot has flown into a building in New York". Like so many peope, we felt that it was a small plane, either someone lost or taking their own life. Our monitors usually are on an intercompany feed, but can be switched to live broadcasts. We stood there, together, not speaking but holding on to each other. We didn't know what to do--pray, cry, fall to our knees--we just stood and watched. After the second plane hit--my thoughts were where are they going to hit next. I immediately thought of my daughter and her family in the surburbs outside DC. I just knew that was going to be the next target. My son in law works between the Pentagon and Dulles Airport. My daughter was at work near the airfield in Mannassas Virginia. My heart stopped with the news of the Pentagon. My daughter was on her cell phone crying asking me what to do. I had no answers--she said she was going to pick up my grandaughter and go home to wait for my grandson to come home from school. Much later in the day, we found out my son in law was safe, he wasn't at the Pentagon. But, my daughter told me--there is another plane and fighter jets were chasing it. My youngest daughter possibly had the hardest job. She is a pre-school through K inclusion co-ordinator in special education. She was with a class of pre-schoolers. They were kept at the school here in Nashville until they could get them all home. My husband is in the military and I knew not to call him, because our lives had changed in the few minutes those planes were flying toward their targets. I went back to my desk and prayed for my family, the families of those on board the planes and the people in the buildings. Then came the news of the crash in Pennsylvania. We were told the targets seem to be tall buildings in major cities. Our building is in the center of the city, across the river from an NFL football field and within a few minutes of the airport. We were told to begin to evacuate our building--emergency personnel were everywhere, but no one really knew what they wanted to do. I was blessed that day, we were safe, our friends and families were safe--everyone made it home that day. Of course, my husband has been on alert since then and will probably remain that way the rest of his life. Since that day we have re-evaulated our lives--what is important and what doesn't matter. I love my country and even though I feel such pride when I see our flag, it is no more pride than I felt when I would see it fly over the JUSMAG compound in Bangkok Thailand many years ago. My family (including my 83 year old mother) has flown across this glorious nation, two children have flown to Europe and we have gone on a cruise. One that we had posponed--but not ever again. Our lives changed that day. My faith has grown stronger, family ties have tightened, I appreciate my friends even more. I am still very angry and haven't reached the point of asking God to forgive them. I have wished warts on the nose of the woman that they kept showing on the news making the babbling sound--celebrating the death of so many people. I didn't wish her dead--just to be ugly and miserable. I do hope God grants me that wish. I pray also that God will bring peace to all of those who have suffered so much--and thanks that there are men and women who care enough to rise up and join in helping all of their brothers and sisters in our country. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story8031.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. 2002-09-20 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 209.214.125.14 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: I was sitting in Air Force R.O.T.C at Kathleen High School and we were just about to go out for "inspection" when all of a sudden we were told to stand at attention and watch the television. W e turned the t.v on just in time to see the second plane hit the second tower. As me and my flight watched in aww we were shoked at the sight of the destruction these two plane had caused.That moment i realized that this was no a dream, that i was awake andthis going to be something that would never go away. I then knew how much our families relationships are taken fo granted and i then immediatly called my father to tell him i loved him. My heart goes otu to all of the victims and the victims families who lost some one on that sunny, unforgetable day in history, September 11, 2001 Sincerely Jessica Davis 15 years old Lakeland Florida 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 story5243.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 205.188.209.38 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: JAMES & KATHLEEN (A 9/11 STORY) By James Kazalis The atmosphere was the clearest I could recollect in my personal history. No small or distant detail could go unnoticed that day. I arrived at Hoboken train terminal and without hesitation chose the ferry instead of the PATH train to cross the Hudson River. While crossing the river my eyes drew towards the early morning sun reflecting off the immigration center on Ellis Island. I thought of my grandparents arriving there 100 years earlier from Lithuania. This early morning thought was broken as my ferry entered the looming shadow of the North tower of the World Trade Center. Once the ferry docked at the World Financial Center, I walked briskly with the other commuters towards the Winter Garden. No other labor force could have walked with such early morning vigor and determination as a Wall Street commuter. It was this hurried pace that was a warm-up for the tempo of just another workday in lower Manhattan. I went inside the Winter Garden. I walked past the tall elegant palm trees. These trees channeled me to the concentric marble staircase leading upward to the pedestrian bridge. This bridge would carry me over West Street to the World Trade Center. Having crossed the bridge, I went outside again. I was now on the World Trade Center property. I passed within a few feet of the North side of the North tower and entered Austin Tobin Plaza. On my left was the raised black marble fountain with Koenig's sphere as it's centerpiece and to my right was the outdoor elevated metallic stage where music concerts were held during the summer. I noticed the how precise the alignment was of all the white folding chairs in front of the stage. They appeared ready for the next audience. I entered the South tower. I was at work early that day. I started my computer and began attacking the pile of paperwork on my desk. At about 3/4 of an hour into the workday, I heard a muffled explosion. I stood up and peered over the top of my cubicle partition, saw nothing, sat down and went back to work. About one minute later I heard the hysterical cries of a secretary. This time when I looked outside, I saw white paper, almost identical to what was in my own hand at that time, encircling the outside of my building at the 67th floor level. All I knew was that an office above me opened up to the outside. I hit Ctrl+Alt+Del on my computer to lock it. I put on my jacket, grabbed my briefcase and went to the nearest stairwell. The stairwell had many people descending from the upper floors. However it was not choked nor was there panic. It was a steady stream of many people walking down in pairs. When I reached the 44th floor sky lobby, I noticed many people milling around and wondering. The wall-mounted flat screen television above the entrance to the cafeteria was displaying a business news station. I could see the electronic ticker tape moving from right to left on the bottom of the TV monitor. A rumor in the lobby was circulating that a single engine plane or a helicopter had hit the North tower. Events were downplayed frequently that day. An announcement came across the public address system. "An airplane had hit One World Trade but the integrity of Two World Trade was okay". This message was repeated once more. I heard two young men say they were going return to work as they headed towards their elevator. As I took a few steps towards someone I recognized, some great force struck my building. It felt like the floor was being violently pushed under my feet. While falling to the floor, the steady repeating rhythm of time suddenly stopped. I instantly developed tunnel vision and my depth perception did not extend beyond twenty feet. My eyes focused on a nearby out-of-service elevator. The impact had created a shock wave through the entire building that forced dust at a high velocity from all four sides of the elevator doors to the inside of the lobby. I was now prone on the floor. Pandemonium erupted and filled the sky lobby. I picked myself up. I noticed that my monthly rail pass popped out of my briefcase and was lying on the floor. Even though it was only a few feet away, I would have to go against the grain of the moving crowd, as they were all heading toward the exit. But I needed the rail pass to get home. I never understood why anyone did not collide or brush into me. I retrieved it uneventfully. I turned around and began to proceed down the stairwell again. Kathleen worked directly across the World Trade Center in Jersey City. Her building was located behind the Colgate clock. A co-worker told Kathleen that one of the twin towers was on fire. All went outside to the parking garage to observe. As she looked across the Hudson River she saw a commercial Jetliner enter her panorama from her right. It seemed to come from just in front of the Statue of Liberty. She could not understand why this airplane was maneuvering so low at such a high rate of speed. She did not associate this plane and the World Trade Center fire as being connected. At the moment the plane struck the South tower James's name was embedded in her primal scream. She had hoped he escaped unharmed but if he did not she hoped he died instantly. Kathleen was assisted back to her desk, where for two and a half hours she waited with her left hand clamped to the telephone receiver waiting for his call. I descended a story or two from the sky lobby then all downward movement halted. Stopping and waiting were never in any prior drills and for that reason tension began to build. People whom worked on the lower floors beneath the sky lobby now began the evacuation process and entered the stairwell all at once. One young man a few rows behind me started to push the woman in front of him. I and a few others turned around and gave him an unfavorable glance. That was all that was needed. Within a minute or two, which seemed a lot longer, the procession down renewed. There were two more delays encountered. After the second delay it got increasingly warm. The amount of people, combined with no air conditioning in the stairwells made this happen. Once I descended to around the twentieth floor, the pace began to pick up and the procession seemed to spread out but never disappear. The lower floors now appeared vacant. I could now descend at a quicker pace. Finally the last exit door opened and I had reached the mezzanine level. The mezzanine was one floor above the lobby level but was at the same level as the outside Plaza. I was being directed by a security guard to descend to the lobby level via the escalator. The escalator power was turned off. There was a delay here because of the amount of people at this level were from multiple stairwells. While I was waiting for my turn, I looked outside in the Plaza. This was the same area I had walked through moments earlier on my way to work. I could not recognize anything. Everything was charred, smoldering or on fire. Debris was everywhere. At that exact moment I saw an outside support beam about 20 to 30 feet long, hit the ground. Each end of the polished steel beam alternately hit the ground until it stopped. Both ends of that steel support were on fire. My rational mind had a very difficult time understanding what I was seeing and what made this happen. God had spared me from identifying the details of the charred items in the Plaza. Later I learned that I was looking at human remains. As I descended the escalator to the lobby area, I saw a team of about six firemen. A port authority maintenance worker was trying unsuccessfully to fully open a revolving door to aid them in entering the South tower. The firemen were carrying equipment and apparatus to combat the fire. The tallest of the firemen and the leader yelled loudly and intensely. He could not tolerate this delay. He had to get himself and his men inside. The revolving door then opened and all six men went in. I exited though one of the other doors. I was out of the South tower and in the concourse. The first thing I noticed was all the retail stores were closed. I have never seen that on a weekday. Then a female port authority police officer shouted and directed me to move towards her quickly and to exit at Five World Trade. When I looked to my left I saw all one dozen descending escalators to the PATH with their power off and vacant. I went past J. Crew, by Ecce Panis bakery and finally I was waiting in line next to Tourneau jewelers at the base of the ascending escalator in Five World Trade Center. At the exact moment I exited Five World Trade Center, plainclothes policemen were just outside the door shouting instructions. "Keep walking quickly, do not turn around and do not look up", was repeatedly barked. Proceeding east, on my left were a few EMT people tending to prone victims. To my right I saw what looked like a professional photographer capturing images above. I crossed Church Street and proceeded on the sidewalk up Fulton Street along with others. Still looking forward I could see crowds of people on Broadway looking high up over my head with horrified and anguished expressions on their faces. As I got closer to them, I could now hear their gasps and cries. I decided it was time for me to look. I stopped, sidestepped left, turned around and braced myself with my right hand grasped around the ancient iron fence surrounding Saint Paul's church. I inhaled deeply. Both towers were on fire. The tower I worked in had more flames. I saw huge holes in both buildings about 3/4 of the way up. I had recently read a book on the construction of The World Trade Center and I knew the outside walls structurally supported it. I did not feel comfortable where I was. My thoughts now turned to Kathleen. I had to find a telephone. I started walking north up Broadway. People were in the street, on the sidewalk, everywhere. All eyes focused high above and in the opposite direction I was walking. The first public phones near City Hall Park had lengthy human lines. The people on the phones were not brief. They wanted to tell as many people as possible that they were safe. Some callers started making second and even third phone calls. Those waiting in line objected loudly. I continued walking north. Coffee shops, restaurants and fast food establishments all were closed or in the process of closing. When I got near Canal Street I heard a loud noise that was a combination of a roar and rumble. That noise was instantly overrode with the cries and screams of people in the street near me. The South Tower had come down. I did not turn around. I had not felt this kind of deliberate devastation since I was in South Vietnam 34 years earlier. I wondered who lived. I wondered who died. I knew that Kathleen did not know I was still alive. My paced picked up. My strategy was that I should still head north but not on Broadway. My chances of finding a public phone should improve. My destination was the Port Authority Bus Station. I had just approached Union Square Park when I heard the same cries as before. The North Tower was gone. I turned around to look at the giant cloud of dust and saw the void where two tall modern structures to human civilization, peace and trade once stood. I was on Fifth Avenue. I was still looking for a public phone but the lines of people were even longer. I reached 34th Street. Suddenly a chill went through my body. I recognized the base of the building I was standing next to. I looked up. I was at the bottom of the Empire State Building. How careless I was to place myself next to the now tallest building in New York City and a possible target. I picked up my pace even more. Adrenaline was at record levels in my body. Finally I reached the bus station and found it closed. I thought of the familiar banks and banks of telephones inside going unused. In what seemed like my continued effort not to stay in one place, I decided to head west on 42nd Street to the Hudson River. I passed a parked police car that just arrived from lower Manhattan. It was covered in ash and dust. All of the windows in the car were gone. Just a few blocks from the river I saw somebody step out of a restaurant. I was shocked that a restaurant was still open. I went inside and found a public phone on the wall and nobody using it. I thought it must be broken. I picked up the receiver and heard a dial tone. I felt so relieved to have that power and potential of communicating with the outside world. Kathleen's work phone number was normally located in the easy recall section of my brain. But the events of that morning altered my normal thought process. I could not consciously remember her phone number. After a few frustrating seconds, I just went ahead and dialed. I hoped somehow my finger knew her number. The telephone barely started to ring when Kathleen picked up the receiver. It was the most emotional exchange ever in our combined lives. We both started to speak over each other's words. She was emotionally thrilled to hear my voice. I said "it's me, I'm ok, and I love you". The words really had no meaning, but the life emitting them did. The phone call did not last more than a minute or two. The time was 11:20 AM. I told her I would get home but did not know how or when. Once I hung up the receiver, I took a deep unencumbered breath. I was not far from the midtown ferry docks. Once I got to the docking area, I found huge lines. It was difficult to determine where the lines began, where they ended and or even how wide they were. There was little supervision with the exception of a few NY Waterway employees trying to maintain some order. Considering the size of the crowds, which looked like it was in the tens of thousands, it was amazing the calmness that existed. There was an African- American uniformed employee whom had a beaming smile on her face. I could not remember the exact reassuring words she chose but it did not matter. Whatever those specific words were, it made everyone within the sound of her voice feel a whole lot better. It was the first ordinary, overt, positive gesture made by one human being to another since the tragedy began. West Street had no traffic on it with the exception of an occasional emergency vehicle. When a vehicle did drive by there were no sirens or horns. There was no one else on the road. They all headed south to the giant smoke and dust cloud in lower Manhattan. Then I noticed something really unusual. A young couple was roller-blading south on West Street. They seemed to either ignore or did not see the Dunkirk size lines less than ten feet from them. They also did not notice the smoke rising from ground zero. They just continued to skate like nothing was out of place. I could not discern whether they were very athletically disciplined or just the most oblivious idiots on earth that day. While there was some chatter in line, it was for such a huge crowd quiet. Because no one definitely knew what had happened, no one felt compelled to talk. America was stunned. I turned on my radio that was is in my briefcase to a local AM station. I heard of a plane hitting the Pentagon and another going down in Western Pennsylvania. The word terrorists was used a lot. Someone in line whom knew something about piloting aircraft said it must have been teams of multiple hijackers and not individuals acting alone. After a few minutes I realized that the radio newscasters were doing nothing more than speculating and rehashing. I turned off my radio and no one in line objected. I realized how empty and quiet the sky was. There were no sounds of propellers, jet engines or helicopters. If thoughts contained any sound at all, that day they could be heard. Additional ferries were being pressed into service and the line instead of getting longer began to shorten and move in a serpentine fashion towards the docks. I was not concerned about the particular destination of the ferry. As long as it crossed the Hudson River and put me a step closer to home. After about thirty minutes I finally boarded a ferry that would bring me back to Hoboken Station. The ferry pushed across the calm Hudson. I welcomed the noise of the ferry's engines. I looked at lower Manhattan and saw the smoke drifting upward. Perhaps the smoke would carry the unfortunate souls of those lost that day to a better world. My thoughts then concentrated on a specific group of people. How helpless, angry and silent all people serving in uniform must have felt. Their job was designed to protect ordinary citizens but instead found themselves as nothing more than remote television viewers observing this horrific attack. When the ferry finally docked I noticed a significant number of official personnel waiting. As I stepped off the ferry they repeatedly asked if anyone worked in the World Trade Center. I was directed to my right just outside the terminal. I thought perhaps they wanted an eyewitness accounting of the tragedy, but instead I found myself waiting in a line to be decontaminated. In front of me was a man in a pure white decontamination suit, respirator and holding a fire hose over his shoulder. I made a mild attempt of protest indicating I had no dust or any contaminants on me. Many people evacuating the World Trade Center had prescience of mind to leave the downtown area. After all, once out of the building, we knew we would not return to work that day. But I was wise enough to know that protesting made little difference. I was going to get hosed. I lifted my arms up from my side until they were parallel to the ground. My briefcase was in my left hand. As the hose dispensed a fine spray I slowly turned in a 360 degree arc. It took no more than a few seconds. They handed me a white towel and directed me to a triage area where medical personnel examined me. They asked me several times if I was okay. Finally they released me and I left with the white towel around my neck as a souvenir. I walked into the train station looking for the boarding schedule. The station was packed with people wanting to get home. I saw that in about 45 minutes a train would depart to my home destination. I boarded the train, found a seat and waited. In about ten minutes both the conductor and engineer came into my passenger car. They began to argue about whether the train should leave on schedule or to wait and fill the train with passengers and then leave. Based on their conflicting viewpoints it appeared that nothing was going to happen. In a few minutes I heard what either was a bullhorn or a faint public address announcement. I could not hear exactly what was broadcast. Within a few seconds and while looking out the train window, I saw about 40 to 60 commuters streaming out of the terminal in a dead run. I never saw so many people in such a condensed formation, sprinting at such a remarkably fast pace. They had left the terminal because of a rumor that someone had discovered a bomb. People in my passenger car began to exit the train and terminal. I was unsure of what was happening. Considering all I had already experienced, I made a decision to remain composed. Just outside the terminal the sprinting commuters finally stopped and assembled. This group seemingly could not or would not separate. It was a peculiar site. The same New Jersey Transit official with the bullhorn that started the stampede, tried to tell this frightened group that it was a false alarm. They did not believe him. They did not move, separate or re-enter the terminal for some time. Trying to rid myself from this transportation nightmare, I now looked for a different train to get home. On the schedule board I saw a train due to leave in fifteen minutes that would take me to the town adjacent to my hometown. I boarded it and the train left the station. As my train traversed the meadowlands the feathery plumes of tall reeds moved past my window. Any other day going home and this procession of nature could invoke a light thought or two. That day they just moved endlessly past my window. The first train stop was mine. I got off the train, found a phone and called Kathleen whom was now home. I needed to make a deliberate gesture to put my life back on the same emotional track as I started the day with. There was a pastry shop next to the train station. I was seated on an outdoor bench eating a lemon ice when Kathleen's car arrived. We greeted one another affectionately, calmly and went home together. THE END 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 story9393.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. 2003-07-28 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 151.198.162.142 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 husband and i were at the doctors office when the first plane strucj at the world trade center and were in shock and cried and especially the second one. it was horrible and people in some buildings where we were had friends there and were crying and some even drove there. then i am usually on call at my job to run the switchboard because there was no relief and the others were tired from all the calls coming in because we had also set up a blood bank there at childrens specialized hospital in mountainside new jersey and the calls were coming in like crazy and we did get some people in for trauma. that day was also something different because the people and some friends of mine were at the port in elizabeth new jersey could see the towers coming down and it was dramatic. there will always be a scar of what happened and at times i still cry because it was so heartbreaking and should of never happened. this is really a day to remember. never forget our fallen angels 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 story4725.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 64.12.96.8 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I was sitting in front of my tv with my 2 year old Raven and 3 year old Justin when it first came across the tv. I was in disbelief that a plane hit the WTC. I thought it was just a normal plane crash. But later to find out it wasn't. I began to cry because i knew we was going to war and i didn't want my children to grow up with a life like that. I remember the stories from my grandma about world world 2 and the depression and i didnt want to go through anything like that. I held my children tight in my arm hoping and pray for it all to end. I think i was extra fearful because i live so close to a nuclar power plant{3 mile island}thinking the teorrist would attack that next. Still to this day 1 year later to be exact we are still feeling the pain from what happened. I never thought i would ever live through something like this. I have learned how ever that it is possible for complete strangers to pull together and make anything possible. Thats why I love this country so and its because we all want the same thing FREEDOM. 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 story4538.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 205.188.209.38 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: On the morning of September 11, 2001, I was teaching science to my 5th graders when a knock came at the classroom door. One of the secretaries told me about the first plane hitting the World Trade Center tower, but don't say anything to the children. A few moments later, she knocked again with the news about the second attack. It was impossible to believe, but even more impossible that I couldn't even let on that something horrible was happening in our nation. The last and final knock told of the Pentagon and the closing of the airports across the nation. It was too much to digest and still we couldn't let the students know due to the possibilty of family involved in the attacks. At lunch, our principal told the students of the terrorist attcks against our country. The teachers sat around the only radio and listened, in horror and silence, during the short lunch break. When we returned to our classroom, my fourth grade students had many questions and I just didn't have any answers. The one question that finally pushed me over the edge was, "...but I thought this kind of thing didn't happen in America. I thought we were safe." Oh, how I wish that child was right! 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 story4062.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 205.188.209.38