story3132.xml

story3132.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-09-11

the morning of september 11th, i was marching on the football field of my high school. i hated marching and i was counting down the days till the end of the semester when i could drop band. so out on the field we were, totally engrossed by what the directors called "life". it wasn't until i walked into 1st period, ipc, and there was this strange buzz around the room. as i was setting down my backpack on the lab table, i heard stephanie martinez say, "two planes crashed into the world trade towers like an hour ago." it didn't really register... and then i heard more people talking about it...and what had happened...and i think someone turned on a tv. it slowly started becoming more and more real. the next period was band *gag me* and my conductor for that day was late into class, so everyone crowded around the tube and frantically watched the streams of live footage coming from NYC. it was....astonishing. i mean....how...what....why..... so many things going on at once. instant replay after instant replay, as if no one knew what had happened and we could bare to watch it "just one last time". but then it really hit hard. instead of showing a plane crash into the towers (which were both down by this time), they showed footage that affected people more. faces covered in blood, dirt, and building materials were panned across the screen, some in the arms of others, and others not so lucky and were in black body bags. it was like everywhere you looked, you saw a huge mass of people and if they were alive, it looked like they were dead or wanted to be. and then the absolute worse: a man would be running around, screaming to ANYONE, and then he found what he was looking for.... he found his wife dead at ground zero--her body mangled, drenched in her own blood, lifeless. and it was like all the life was sunk right out of him, too. life no longer had a meaning. and he picked up her carcess and held it into his breast, crying like he had the whole nile inside him. and that really makes people wanna reach out and help. more and more the events of NYC, pittsburgh, and the pentagon were becoming more and more of something that's NOT a dream, it's NOT an illusion, it's not America's imagination--it was our worst nightmare...and it came true. That night, I was watching the news (more than i've ever watched it in my entire life) and i just started to cry. i didn't know anyone personally who had died or been injured (the closest was my dad's best friend's daughter worked in the towers, but was running late to work....barely missed it). and the only thing i could think of to do was call up my friend dustin. he was my best friend and i knew he could cheer me up. i was crying into the phone, thinking about everything that could go wrong from this point on. i dialed his number and waited for a response. i heard him say "hello?" on the other end, and i said, "hi" in a voice that was dripping tears. he knew it and i heard him say to someone else, "hey, can i call you back later? ok, bye." we started talking and i finally just exploded. i told him all about my day, what i had seen, how i felt about it. i was SO sure we were gonna go to war. and that really scares me because i have lots of guy friends, and they are all older than me (old enough so that if we needed a draft, they'd be sent somewhere). and losing my friends scares me more than anything. it's my worst fear. and i especially didn't want to lose someone like him. he listened to everything, so so patiently, without interrupting once, and when i was done, he said, "it's gonna be ok, elise. we're not gonna go to war. you're gonna be fine. i'm not going overseas or anywhere like that, ok? it'll be alright." and that's all i needed to hear right then. i needed to hear his reassurance and his promise that he wasn't going anywhere. it really calmed me down, and i'll never forget how he made me feel that night. just last night, i was sitting on my bed the same way i was when i had called him, and i just thought about it for a minute or so. for me, september 11th is kinda like a thanksgiving. it's where we should all sit around and say everything that we're too scared to say, everything that's been bottled up inside, everything that should have been out in the open years ago, everything that we're holding back... and i wanna make my list right here with my "i love you"'s. First and foremost, I love my family so so so much. you guys are the reason i'm here (mom, dad) and you've cared for me for so long, i'm surprised your not sick of me yet. and even my aunts, uncles, cousins, and everyone else who has been there for me and congradulated me and helped me keep going. i thank you guys very very much. i couldn't have done it without y'all. As for my friends, especially my best friends (megan, jenna, and matt), i love you guys more than i can type in a lifetime. you guys are the greatest people every to walk this earth and you guys are the best of the best. you've never let me down and i am forever indebted to you. "we're gonna be homies forever" and that's a fact guys. you are the reason i get up every morning and WANT to go to school, the reason i keep a positive attitude, and the reason i'm here in general. megan, jenna, matt--i owe everything to you. thank you so very much. and for one last person, someone i've known for about a year and a half. Dustin, i just wanna say one thing to you, and that is this: I love you. More than you know. And I'll always be here for you, no matter what. As for my story, that's all. hoped you enjoyed. ~Elise, 16 yrs old.