story9520.xml
Title
story9520.xml
Source
born-digital
Media Type
story
Date Entered
2003-09-09
911DA Story: Story
It has been my experience that the life of a university student tends to be anything but regular. Residence hall living only magnifies the effect. Chaotic schedules filled with classes, parties, study breaks, campus clubs, and sports gave me a feel of constant motion. A feel of energy and inertia not easily stolen.
The evening of September 10th must have been much like any other, in that I stayed up late and went to sleep exhausted. I wish I could say that I remembered my dreams that night. I don't. I wish I could say that I had some decent recollection of the time leading up to that morning. I don't. The only detail I can recall with any certainty is that I slept, but very poorly.
After tossing and turning all night, I must have finally been sound asleep. Strangely, I failed to wake when the phone rang. My roommate did. His mother was frantic, he later told me. He had yet to fully wake, but it was beginning to dawn on him that this day would be very different from any other either of us had ever known.
Turning on the TV, talking to his mom, and now attempting to wake me, Mike woke me up full into the nightmare. I awoke to see footage of the second plane being replayed. Numbly, I crawled down from the top of the bunk we shared and sat with Mike in silence. He said goodbye to his mom shortly, knowing others would need the phone lines too.
I couldn't begin to describe all the emotions flooding through me when I saw the first tower collapse. Disbelief and a feeling of extreme unreality. Shock and grief at the realization that there were likely to be thousands still inside both towers. Anger at whoever would visit this upon unsuspecting and largely innocent men and women; and children too, I realized. Disgust at the very idea that human beings are capable of such a slaughter.
There are few words that even come close to appreciating the full range and intensity of emotion experienced that day. Hundreds of years from now, historians may look upon this day knowing its facts. They will never be able to know it like we do, much as we will never know the intensity and emotion of there time. Numbers and letters can be written down, but they only mean so much. Even memories fade in time.
I will never forget the one lasting lesson that I took from that day. The phrase that sums it up is L'Chaim! To Life! In all the bloodshed and horror, in all the hatred and fighting, in all the dark times this world has to offer, the one surest way to honor those who have fallen is to live, and savor life.
The evening of September 10th must have been much like any other, in that I stayed up late and went to sleep exhausted. I wish I could say that I remembered my dreams that night. I don't. I wish I could say that I had some decent recollection of the time leading up to that morning. I don't. The only detail I can recall with any certainty is that I slept, but very poorly.
After tossing and turning all night, I must have finally been sound asleep. Strangely, I failed to wake when the phone rang. My roommate did. His mother was frantic, he later told me. He had yet to fully wake, but it was beginning to dawn on him that this day would be very different from any other either of us had ever known.
Turning on the TV, talking to his mom, and now attempting to wake me, Mike woke me up full into the nightmare. I awoke to see footage of the second plane being replayed. Numbly, I crawled down from the top of the bunk we shared and sat with Mike in silence. He said goodbye to his mom shortly, knowing others would need the phone lines too.
I couldn't begin to describe all the emotions flooding through me when I saw the first tower collapse. Disbelief and a feeling of extreme unreality. Shock and grief at the realization that there were likely to be thousands still inside both towers. Anger at whoever would visit this upon unsuspecting and largely innocent men and women; and children too, I realized. Disgust at the very idea that human beings are capable of such a slaughter.
There are few words that even come close to appreciating the full range and intensity of emotion experienced that day. Hundreds of years from now, historians may look upon this day knowing its facts. They will never be able to know it like we do, much as we will never know the intensity and emotion of there time. Numbers and letters can be written down, but they only mean so much. Even memories fade in time.
I will never forget the one lasting lesson that I took from that day. The phrase that sums it up is L'Chaim! To Life! In all the bloodshed and horror, in all the hatred and fighting, in all the dark times this world has to offer, the one surest way to honor those who have fallen is to live, and savor life.
Collection
Citation
“story9520.xml,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed January 7, 2025, https://911digitalarchive.org/items/show/12020.