story6103.xml

story6103.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-09-12

Hello... my name is Christine and this is my story about Sept 11. I was vacationing in Florida with my best friend Colleen when all hell broke loose. I can remember her coming into the room and saying to turn on the TV becasue the Twin Towers were hit by airplanes. I was in complete shock. I could not believe what I was seeing. Being from New Jersey I tried to call my Mom and could not get through for over 2 hours. When I finally did.... I just broke down and started to cry. I have never wanted to be home so badly. The rest of the day was a blur... but I know I could not break away from the TV. All I did was watch the coverage on the Towers, The Pentagon, and the crash in Pennsylvania. Colleen and I deceided to go out to dinner to Fridays that night becasue in Orlando that was about the only thing open... everything else was shut down. People who were out asked us if we were from around the area and we said No.. New Jersey.. they just looked at us and said... we are so sorry. That made us realize that we needed to get home. The next day we went back and forth with the idea of waiting for a plane or driving the rental car we had back to NJ, or just waiting it out and spend time in Florida while the airplanes were still grounded. We watched TV some more that day and then went for a drive. We were in a store picking up a newspaper and again someone asked us where we were from..... and again we got the same look of sadness and the same I am so sorry for the both of you. They must have seen it in our faces that we were heartbroken. We got back to the hotel and I called my parents. My father wanted me to be home with my family more than anything else.. becasue at this point noone knew what was going to happen next. My father told me that he was going to go to Ground Zero the next day and VOLUNTEER his time.... he has been a ironworker for Local #373 for over 25 years. He felt he neede to be doing something for all the missing people. Well when I heard that I knew I needed to get home. Colleen and I packed our bags...got in the car and left Florida at 8:00 the night of Sept 12. We never thought twice about our decision... we knew what we needed to do and where we needed to be. We drove staright through and arrived in Philadelphia at 12.00 the afternoon of the 13th. We dropped off the rental car in a deserted airport and drove home to Forked River, NJ. I could not sleep when I got home all I wanted to do was get a phone call from my father saying he was OK. That call came later that night.. words can not express how I felt or what my father seemed to be feeling. He was there for 3 dyas...... volunteering his time and working in the line amongst Jersey City Firefighters.
He came home a different man....... he is usually so strong and you could always see the smile in his eyes. When he came home he was covered in dust and ash from head to toe...... his eyes and a certain look to them and he was just so tired. You could tell this was a man who had seen things no person should ever have to see.
I have a new sense of the word HERO now... and my father along with all the people on 9/11 fit that name to me. The firefighters, policemen, port authority cops, the people in the towers, the people in the pentagon, all of the rescue workers and emergency personnel, the heroes that stopped the terrorists on the plane. They all have a place in American's hearts and should never be forgotten.
That is my story........