story5239.xml

story5239.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-09-11

I arrived at work at 8:30, a typical morning thus far. I am an accountant for the Centers and just settled in my office and turned on my computer. At 8:45 the wife of a coworker called to saw that the news was reporting a plane flew into one of the Twin Towers. All of us found that odd. At the center they turned on the TV in the teachers' lounge. I was in the lounge watching the broadcast when we saw the second plane fly into the other Tower. In the Center we take care of children six weeks old through school age. It was a comfort being in a building with so many children. We immediately thought to see if any of their parents workd at the Towers. We were blessed that all of the parents who did escaped. The rest of the day is a blur to me. I kept the radio tuned to 95.5FM, WPLJ, as they reported all day. I screamed when they said the one tower collapsed. Then, hearing about the Pentagon, it was absolutely terrifying. All around that time came the report of people jumping from the other Tower, then its collapse, and the fourth plane crashing in PA. Time seemed to have stopped; it didn't matter. My idealistic world was shattered, along with everyone else's in the country.