story5080.xml

story5080.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-09-11

I was working in a doctor's office and a patient came in and said that a plane had hit one of the twin towers.I thought that maybe a small plane had accidently hit it, but then another patient said that the second tower had been hit and I learned that these were not small planes, but large ones.TV reception in the office wasn't good, but we managed to get a fuzzy picture. I saw the chaos, the burning towers, replays of the second plane slamming into the second tower. All of us in the office went quiet. We were dumbfounded.Then we heard about the Pentagon being struck and that a plane had crashed in Pennsylvania. The business manager came into the office, crying, saying she could not reach a relative who worked in D.C. The doctor I worked for tried to contact his brother who worked at the Pentagon, but he too could not reach anyone. Everyone was distraut,unable to believe what was happening. It seemed like the whole world had been turned upside down in just a matter of minutes. We were numb.I tried to do my work, but finally had to give in. I went outside and sat on the stoop and cried. I kept thinking of all of those people in the towers. I wanted to go up to New York and help. I have no technical skills, but I can lift, move debris, do something. I kept telling my self that maybe in the lower levels, maybe some people were still alive. As I drove home from work, the streets were empty along Route 40. The stores had closed early. Everything was eerily quiet. Dover AFB is not far away and they were on high alert. Large military planes roared overhead and still do. Even now, a year later, I am still drawn to the tragedy, it's like I can't let go. I see things for sale like photos or paintings of the towers and I want them for rememberance sake. If a TV program comes on and the opening scene is of New York, I look for the Twin Towers. I can't watch the collapse footage anymore because each time, those people die again, feel the terror again and I can't watch it. Today is the one-year anniversary of the attack. Outside my house the American flag is flying and I am buring a candle for the lost. I wasn't sure that I would be able to burn the candle as a storm was making its way up the eastern coast bringing with it strong winds which had been blowing hard all day long, but about one-hour before sunset, the wind died down and I lit the candle. Strange how it just stopped blowing like that. I don't think I'll ever forget that day... or that I want to.