story7778.xml

story7778.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-09-17

I was getting ready for work in the morning and my husband, Jody, yelled for me to come look at the news. I could see a live picture of the World Trade Center with a gaping hole in it and fire and smoke billowing out of it. While the anchor person was describing what was happening, we watched the second plane hit the other tower. The anchor person couldn't talk straight. You could hear them saying "was that another plane?" and "what's going on with our machine, is it replaying?" and then realizing what was happening, "you have seen it live, another plane hit the World Trade Center". They showed people jumping from the buildings and you could hear the screaming. My husband and I cried for the people there. I told Jody that I wish we could help, because it wasn't going to be long before those buildings collapsed, with everyone in them.
It was only about two hours later that the first one did collapse. It was an amazing, astonishing, horrifying sight. Smoke and dust everywhere, people on fire, running through the streets barely able to breathe. I work in a law office and everyone was glued to the television, each of us, men and women alike, holding our boxes of tissue because it was so hard to see the television through the tears.
Within 15-30 minutes the second building collapsed. We all began to wonder if the hurt was going to stop. I remember feeling myself lose my breath when we heard it. The death toll up to 700 plus already. We figured it would be in the thousands.
People everywhere started pulling together. Sending money, supplies, volunteers to help with clean up and rescue missions.
I went to at 30 stores looking for a flag to put up that weekend. Three months later, several stores were still sold out.
Of all the things I remember the most, it was the amazing feeling of love everyone around me felt. I still make sure to call my family and hug my friends all I can.