story11005.xml
Title
story11005.xml
Source
born-digital
Media Type
story
Date Entered
2004-09-13
911DA Story: Story
About two-and-a-half hours before the first airliner was hijacked, I was in the process of seeing my grandson being born. Looking back on it now is even more surreal than usual, because seeing him born was one of the most amazing things I have ever witnessed.
After he was born, we were all excited and didn't even bother with the television, which was in my daughter's hospital room. My wife and I stayed for about three more hours after he was born and then we got a ride home from the hospital with our grandson's other grandfather. The whole time on the ride home we talked about what we had experienced, and since the other grandfather hadn't been there to see the event, he kept his radio off as we talked.
Arriving home at about 6:30 AM, PST, we were still clueless as to what was happening because after spending almost twenty-four hours in a hospital we were exhausted and wanted a little shuteye so we turned the TV onto the Cartoon Network so our other grandchild could watch something while I at least tried to get some sleep.
The next thing I know my wife comes rushing into our bedroom, very excited, telling me that an airplane had just slammed into the Pentagon. I had to find out what was going on and when I looked at the television, they were talking now about the World Trade Center buildings collapsing. I am like going "What's going on here?"
Suddenly, our happiness just turned into grief. How can you go from seeing a birth and then watching as thousands of people are being killed as two buildings, almost up there with the great wonders of the world, disintegrate?
So, my family and I have happy memories on the anniversary of the most devastating terrorist attack ever, but it is very bittersweet. Our grandson still doesn't understand what happened that day but we want him to know, and others, that this is a wonderful country we live in no matter who is president, whether we like that person or not, and that he and others have many relatives and friends who are going to keep a watch on him and see that he is protected from harm.
God bless America!
After he was born, we were all excited and didn't even bother with the television, which was in my daughter's hospital room. My wife and I stayed for about three more hours after he was born and then we got a ride home from the hospital with our grandson's other grandfather. The whole time on the ride home we talked about what we had experienced, and since the other grandfather hadn't been there to see the event, he kept his radio off as we talked.
Arriving home at about 6:30 AM, PST, we were still clueless as to what was happening because after spending almost twenty-four hours in a hospital we were exhausted and wanted a little shuteye so we turned the TV onto the Cartoon Network so our other grandchild could watch something while I at least tried to get some sleep.
The next thing I know my wife comes rushing into our bedroom, very excited, telling me that an airplane had just slammed into the Pentagon. I had to find out what was going on and when I looked at the television, they were talking now about the World Trade Center buildings collapsing. I am like going "What's going on here?"
Suddenly, our happiness just turned into grief. How can you go from seeing a birth and then watching as thousands of people are being killed as two buildings, almost up there with the great wonders of the world, disintegrate?
So, my family and I have happy memories on the anniversary of the most devastating terrorist attack ever, but it is very bittersweet. Our grandson still doesn't understand what happened that day but we want him to know, and others, that this is a wonderful country we live in no matter who is president, whether we like that person or not, and that he and others have many relatives and friends who are going to keep a watch on him and see that he is protected from harm.
God bless America!
Collection
Citation
“story11005.xml,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed January 28, 2025, https://911digitalarchive.org/items/show/12512.