story222.xml
Title
story222.xml
Source
born-digital
Media Type
story
Date Entered
2002-03-11
911DA Story: Story
September 11th was a strange day for everyone, even those of us who have never even visited the U.S.A. I was 5 days from my 23rd birthday and the announcement of my engagement to Jason.
I'm a nursery nurse and all was quiet at work. We have no T.V or radio in the nursery so we were all blissfully unaware of the tragity unfolding across the ocean. The first we hear of the terror attacks was when Sue our receptionist comes in looking upset, I asked what the problem was and she says,
'my mum just called, someones flown a plane into the twin towers!'
We were all totally shocked and none of us could visualise what this could possably mean. To begin with we were unsure that it was a terrorist attack. Sue's mum kept us updated as to what the news was telling the country. The three of us that were working in our room that day were dicussing the implecations to our lives after something like this. Gemma, who's just 18 was terrified that her fiance would reinlist and go to war, Sophie and I tried to tell her that that would never happen, but deep down I think we all feared that happening, after all we all had partners to worry about.
As my working day came to an end I rode home on my motorbike to see what the news channels were broadcasting. I was not prepared for what I found when I got home. My boyfriend was sat infront of Sky news watching broadcasters from CNN. I have never seen Jason so touched by a world event. I just hugged him and as sat by his feet to watch all that unfolded I couldn't help but cry. The visions we saw of the planes crashing into the buildings was beyond description, and watching people jump from one hundred floors up was inconprehensable, until you saw what followed. The collapse of the towers was the most horrifying sight I ever saw and ever hope to see.
I have no idea how long we sat there and watched the news for, three, four hours at least. For the next few days that was all the world thought and talked about, I watched hours worth of news every day, we went to Gemma's house in our lunch breaks to see what else had been discovered that day, and we all shed tears for what we saw and read.
The events of September 11th touched us all deeply, my birthday and engagement no longer seemed important, the important thing was we were alive to get engaged. I know I told all those dear to me how much I love them that week, after all who knew if England would be similarly targetted. We all knew someone, who knew someone who was in New York on that day, and we had to wait to hear from them aal, sometimes hours, sometimes days, and some not at all.
The long lasting effects on us? Who knows. As for my family, my sister had a near breakdown from fear of it happening hear. She couldn't go out or speak without crying, she was so scared that someone near to her was going to die. She had nightmares that her husband and Jason were called to fight the war on terrorism and would not return. The fact that her husband couldn't join the army if he wanted to through ill health made no difference to her. As for me, I live my life much as I always have, day by day, but I'm always sure to say I love you to those I hold dearest, I never know when it may be the last time I get to say it. I never want to be the answer phone message that says I may not be home again.
The biggest test for me will be this September, I fly for the first time since the attack and as someone who fears flying anyway, I guess this will be the biggest test for me. I hope the world never has to see the likes of September 11th 2001 again.
'May we never forget.'
Petra.
I'm a nursery nurse and all was quiet at work. We have no T.V or radio in the nursery so we were all blissfully unaware of the tragity unfolding across the ocean. The first we hear of the terror attacks was when Sue our receptionist comes in looking upset, I asked what the problem was and she says,
'my mum just called, someones flown a plane into the twin towers!'
We were all totally shocked and none of us could visualise what this could possably mean. To begin with we were unsure that it was a terrorist attack. Sue's mum kept us updated as to what the news was telling the country. The three of us that were working in our room that day were dicussing the implecations to our lives after something like this. Gemma, who's just 18 was terrified that her fiance would reinlist and go to war, Sophie and I tried to tell her that that would never happen, but deep down I think we all feared that happening, after all we all had partners to worry about.
As my working day came to an end I rode home on my motorbike to see what the news channels were broadcasting. I was not prepared for what I found when I got home. My boyfriend was sat infront of Sky news watching broadcasters from CNN. I have never seen Jason so touched by a world event. I just hugged him and as sat by his feet to watch all that unfolded I couldn't help but cry. The visions we saw of the planes crashing into the buildings was beyond description, and watching people jump from one hundred floors up was inconprehensable, until you saw what followed. The collapse of the towers was the most horrifying sight I ever saw and ever hope to see.
I have no idea how long we sat there and watched the news for, three, four hours at least. For the next few days that was all the world thought and talked about, I watched hours worth of news every day, we went to Gemma's house in our lunch breaks to see what else had been discovered that day, and we all shed tears for what we saw and read.
The events of September 11th touched us all deeply, my birthday and engagement no longer seemed important, the important thing was we were alive to get engaged. I know I told all those dear to me how much I love them that week, after all who knew if England would be similarly targetted. We all knew someone, who knew someone who was in New York on that day, and we had to wait to hear from them aal, sometimes hours, sometimes days, and some not at all.
The long lasting effects on us? Who knows. As for my family, my sister had a near breakdown from fear of it happening hear. She couldn't go out or speak without crying, she was so scared that someone near to her was going to die. She had nightmares that her husband and Jason were called to fight the war on terrorism and would not return. The fact that her husband couldn't join the army if he wanted to through ill health made no difference to her. As for me, I live my life much as I always have, day by day, but I'm always sure to say I love you to those I hold dearest, I never know when it may be the last time I get to say it. I never want to be the answer phone message that says I may not be home again.
The biggest test for me will be this September, I fly for the first time since the attack and as someone who fears flying anyway, I guess this will be the biggest test for me. I hope the world never has to see the likes of September 11th 2001 again.
'May we never forget.'
Petra.
Collection
Citation
“story222.xml,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed January 8, 2025, https://911digitalarchive.org/items/show/12393.