story10820.xml

story10820.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2004-09-09

I woke up that morning like any other when I was in college: tired. But that morning was different. My friend called me on the phone and said, "Turn on the news, something happened to the World Trade Center." So I flipped it on, casually, and I saw something to the effect of, what the news anchors were describing as, as small jet hit one of the towers. My first thought was "Wow, what a terrible accident." I didn't give it an overwhelming amount of thought, however, as I got ready for my class at 9:40 am. I didn't even hear until I got to class that the second tower had gotten hit and that the second tower was gone. The professor didn't make much notice of it because I suspect he didn't really see the news reports until after class. After that it was pandemonium - people saying that the towers were gone, both of them - how could that be possible? Saying that the Pentagon had been attacked? News reports of missing jets? Immediatly upon hearing that both towers were hit I knew we were at war. I rushed to find my mother, who happened to be working at the university I was attending. We frantically tried to call my grandparents, both federal government employees, after hearing some reports of a car bomb outside the state department (which later turned out to be false). Thankfully we got in touch with them and they were ok, but campus was a mess. People crying, glued to the TVs, trying to call loved ones and not being able to get through. At my school, there were a lot of people from the New York City area, and they were hit hard. My friend's sister was in the south tower and evacuated before it got hit, thank God. It was just about the most terrible day I can remember.
I think we should all contribute where we were that day, what we were doing, so that we all remember what it was like on that most horrible of days. I wrote a poem for the third anniversary of 9/11, to hopefully in some small way try to honor those people who answered the call and rushed into the building, and anyone who stayed and helped out the injured and sick. Those are the true heroes of 9/11. We owe it to them to remember.

As the earth spins round and round the sun
Babies are born and daily errands done.
We gather here and now to mark the time
When buildings burned, into them heroes climbed.
Their resting place, this hallowed ground
Became that day a burial mound.
Do you recall where you were that day?
They do, and here upon this ground we say:
Remember.