story4696.xml

story4696.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-09-11

I was sitting at the breakfast table having my breakfast, when the morning show I was watching, went off and the news came on to show that a 'small' airplane had hit one of the World Trade Center Towers. Then they were changing the size to a larger airplane. I remember the size of the airplane kept changing and it turned out nobody had been right. It turned out it was an even larger one than first thought. But this plane hitting the tower wasn't being called 'terroristic' yet. People were hoping that it was an accident. I know I did. My mind didn't even go to the word 'terrorist'. Who would have thought all that had happened that day, would have? It still seems unreal. Like I dreamed it all and just can't wake up from the dream.

Anyways, I watched a bit longer, rather stunned, with my parents. I stopped watching after a bit, not knowing that much worse was about to happen. I had to go to the store quick, did that, came back, only to find out another large plane had hit the OTHER tower now. Then the first tower came down. I couldn't believe it. Tears came to my eyes. We were seeing people running, full of soot, glimpses of people jumping off the building. Anything but to have to go down with it. Later, the stories and the grief from people who knew that they had relatives that were in there. High up on the top. And you just knew their relatives weren't around any longer. And you grieved as if the people were YOUR relatives. It was so Twilight Zone feeling, yet unfortunately, so real. You couldn't believe that someone would take life so easily for their own personal gain and do what they had done. And to the DEGREE they had done it. To kill and be killed themselves. Not caring, dieing for their misguided 'cause'. Whatever that may be. As long as I live, I wouldn't be able to understand that kind of thinking.

Later that night on 9/11, I remembered something. I had just been in NYC a few weeks before, and had gone up into the Empire State Building. And by chance, I thought I might had taken some pictures of the World Trade Centers. When I was snapping pictures, I was just randomly taking pictures to take home to show my family who had never been to NYC before, so they could get the 'feel' of the place and all I had seen. So I found the batch of pictures they would have been in, and sure enough, there the Twin Towers sat on two of them! What was so weird about these pictures is how perfect the pictures were. I remember it had been the most beautiful day for picture taking, the sun had been shining as bright as could be on them. So there they are, centered on the photograph, and down in the harbor is the Statue Of Liberty looking up at them! When taking the photos, I never thought these pictures would ever be called 'special', as they are now. Just thought they were going to be the usual 'tourist' pictures that everyone takes. It's weird how they're so much more than that now. They're now something to save for years to come.