story5593.xml

story5593.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-09-11

I was the only one at work the morning of September 11, 2001, and I remember it was a sunny, beautiful morning. I remember thinking it was odd that there were no cars in the parking lot, no people around at all. It was shortly after 10:00 a.m. when my boss called me and asked if I was watching the small TV we keep in back. I replied no, I was working, not watching TV, and thought it odd he would call me and ask that. He then went on to explain that a plane had hit the World Trade Center. I remember thinking that it was a terrible accident, but did not fully comprehend what had happened. He told me to turn the Tv on and watch, so I did.
I was shocked at what I saw on TV. It was not just a small plane, as I originally thought, and not just one tower, but both, and news began breaking about the Pentagon being hit, and possibly more planes still in the air. It felt like the end of the world. I was confused, scared, and could not believe this was happening. I remember saying to myself over and over "what is happening, what is going on".

I called my boyfriend, who lives in New Zealand,to tell him what was happening. It was about 2:30 a.m. there so I had to wake him up and tell him to turn on his TV. He was also in disbelief over what was going on. We both watched as one tower collapsed, then the other. We both were trying to piece together bits of information so we could understand what was happening. I remember tears rolling down my face when the towers collapsed. The report came in that a plane had gone down in Pennsylvania. Four commercial airplanes! How could this happen?
I had just bought a plane ticket on September 7th to fly to New Zealand in October. Now I was unsure if I was going to be able to go, or if I even wanted to go. Flying was the last thing I wanted to do then. I did not feel safe anymore. I felt very, very vulnerable that day. I also felt a terrible sense of loss--a loss for all those that perished, and the loss of my sense of security. But an amazing thing happened after September 11th.
Virtually every house, business, and car I saw was flying the American flag. The people of this country banded together. I saw strength and solidarity, compassion and caring. I saw people give their time and their money freely. Donations poured in. Volunteers worked tirelessly. The vulnerability I had felt was being replaced by strength and pride.
I did go on that trip to New Zealand. I did not feel afraid. I flew on United Airlines, and on one of my connecting flights home, the pilot spoke to us before we took off. He told us to greet the person on either side of us, to know who we were flying with. He asked us not to be passive fliers, but to pay attention to everything that was going on, and not be afraid to speak up if something did not seem right. He told us to band together as Americans, as neighbors, as friends. He said we would NOT allow anyone to take over OUR plane! The passengers all cheered and applauded. We greeted each other and shared names. We were not faceless people on a flight--we were friends.
Americans have many different faces, but we are all unifed by one thing--freedom. I will never forget September 11th.