story1866.xml
Title
story1866.xml
Source
born-digital
Media Type
story
Date Entered
2002-09-07
911DA Story: Story
I DRIVE A TRUCK OTR. I WAS ON MY WAY TO PICK UP FREIGHT IN INDIANA. MY FRIEND WAS WITH ME..WE WERE GLAD THAT WE WERE DISPATCHED AWAY FROM CHICAGO FOR THE DAY. WE WERE ALSO WORRIED ABOUT FAMILY AND FRIENDS LEFT BEHIND IN THE BIG WINDY CITY.
TO KEEP FOCUSED, WE CONTINUED ON OUR ROUTE TO OUR DESTINATION. iT WAS A SOMBER TRIP ALL THE WAY HOME. THE USUAL JOKING AND LAUGHING WAS REPLACED WITH SILENCE AND TEARS.
ONCE BACK IN CHI-TOWN, DISPATCH ORDERED US TO OUR OFFICE IN THE NORTHWEST SUBURBS. THEY WERE AFRAID THAT CHICAGO WOULD BE THE NEXT TARGET AND THEY WANTED US TO BE SAFE.
WE WERE HOME WITH FAMILY BY DINNER TIME.
3 DAYS LATER I DELIVERED A LOAD TO N.J. AND CT. MY NEPHEW WAS WITH ME THIS TIME. I HAD PLACED A LARGE FLAG TO THE TOP OF MY TRUCK. A GIFT FROM A FRIEND. AS WE EXITED THE INTERSTATE IN NEW JERSEY, THE NATIONAL ANTHEM WAS PLAYING ON THE RADIO. I FELT A WONDERFUL SENSE OF PRIDE WHEN MY NEPHEW PLACED A HAND ON HIS HEART FOR THE SONG. PEOPLE WERE STANDING ON EVERY CORNER WITH CANDLES AND FLAGS. I KEPT THE AIR-HORN TOOTING CONSTANTLY. EVERY VEHICLE JOINED OUR HORN-TOOTING PARADE AS WE MADE OUR WAY TO E. RUTHERFORD WITH A LOAD OF EMERGENCY COMPUTER EQUIPMENT.
I CALLED OUR CUSTOMER WITH OUR E.T.A.
HE SAID "WELCOME TO HELL"!
TRAFFIC MAY HAVE BEEN HELL BUT THERE WAS TOO MUCH KINDNESS TO BE ANYTHING BUT "HEAVEN ON EARTH"
TO KEEP FOCUSED, WE CONTINUED ON OUR ROUTE TO OUR DESTINATION. iT WAS A SOMBER TRIP ALL THE WAY HOME. THE USUAL JOKING AND LAUGHING WAS REPLACED WITH SILENCE AND TEARS.
ONCE BACK IN CHI-TOWN, DISPATCH ORDERED US TO OUR OFFICE IN THE NORTHWEST SUBURBS. THEY WERE AFRAID THAT CHICAGO WOULD BE THE NEXT TARGET AND THEY WANTED US TO BE SAFE.
WE WERE HOME WITH FAMILY BY DINNER TIME.
3 DAYS LATER I DELIVERED A LOAD TO N.J. AND CT. MY NEPHEW WAS WITH ME THIS TIME. I HAD PLACED A LARGE FLAG TO THE TOP OF MY TRUCK. A GIFT FROM A FRIEND. AS WE EXITED THE INTERSTATE IN NEW JERSEY, THE NATIONAL ANTHEM WAS PLAYING ON THE RADIO. I FELT A WONDERFUL SENSE OF PRIDE WHEN MY NEPHEW PLACED A HAND ON HIS HEART FOR THE SONG. PEOPLE WERE STANDING ON EVERY CORNER WITH CANDLES AND FLAGS. I KEPT THE AIR-HORN TOOTING CONSTANTLY. EVERY VEHICLE JOINED OUR HORN-TOOTING PARADE AS WE MADE OUR WAY TO E. RUTHERFORD WITH A LOAD OF EMERGENCY COMPUTER EQUIPMENT.
I CALLED OUR CUSTOMER WITH OUR E.T.A.
HE SAID "WELCOME TO HELL"!
TRAFFIC MAY HAVE BEEN HELL BUT THERE WAS TOO MUCH KINDNESS TO BE ANYTHING BUT "HEAVEN ON EARTH"
Collection
Citation
“story1866.xml,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed December 25, 2025, https://911digitalarchive.org/items/show/12960.