story1569.xml
Title
story1569.xml
Source
born-digital
Media Type
story
Date Entered
2002-08-30
911DA Story: Story
I was just out of the shower, running late, when Good Morning America went into a commercial, then seconds later came back with a bulletin. I knew something was wrong, because they don't do that unless it's something very important.
I heard them talking about about an explosion in Manhattan and was watching when the second jet hit the WTC. I just stood there, seeing what had happened but not fully understanding the impact.
I couldn't move - I just sat on the bed and watched for a good half-hour before coming to work. No one knew what had happened, as the rest of the staff comes in earlier than I do.
We got a small TV hooked up to an antenna and watched what we could. I am publisher of a small weekly newspaper and we had time to get come coverage in that week's issue, as hard as it was. Sept. 11 is the birthday of one of our employees and it only dawned on us this week that she had no cake, no card, no good wishes. We won't forget this year.
I have a good friend in Brooklyn and first checked with her. Her son was a student at Stuyvesant High School, in the shadows of the WTC buildings, and he escaped the area, but they were separated for several days. He was fine and made it home, but I can only imagine her fear and worry, which was only a fraction of what many others must have felt.
Being from a rural Southern town, I didn't think I would be as affected, but I have been. Dena Birchfield, whose husband was on one of the planes, is from this area and many of us felt a link there; and none of us feels the same way when we fly, but I do what I did before 9-11 as much as possible.
It still hurts, and it will hurt next week, but I think we have learned a lot about ourselves, hopefully enough that we never forget. It doesn't matter if you are from Manhattan in Kansas or New York, or Miami in Ohio or Florida; we are all part of a whole that was damaged and is still trying to heal. Again, I hope we never forget that. I won't.
I heard them talking about about an explosion in Manhattan and was watching when the second jet hit the WTC. I just stood there, seeing what had happened but not fully understanding the impact.
I couldn't move - I just sat on the bed and watched for a good half-hour before coming to work. No one knew what had happened, as the rest of the staff comes in earlier than I do.
We got a small TV hooked up to an antenna and watched what we could. I am publisher of a small weekly newspaper and we had time to get come coverage in that week's issue, as hard as it was. Sept. 11 is the birthday of one of our employees and it only dawned on us this week that she had no cake, no card, no good wishes. We won't forget this year.
I have a good friend in Brooklyn and first checked with her. Her son was a student at Stuyvesant High School, in the shadows of the WTC buildings, and he escaped the area, but they were separated for several days. He was fine and made it home, but I can only imagine her fear and worry, which was only a fraction of what many others must have felt.
Being from a rural Southern town, I didn't think I would be as affected, but I have been. Dena Birchfield, whose husband was on one of the planes, is from this area and many of us felt a link there; and none of us feels the same way when we fly, but I do what I did before 9-11 as much as possible.
It still hurts, and it will hurt next week, but I think we have learned a lot about ourselves, hopefully enough that we never forget. It doesn't matter if you are from Manhattan in Kansas or New York, or Miami in Ohio or Florida; we are all part of a whole that was damaged and is still trying to heal. Again, I hope we never forget that. I won't.
Collection
Citation
“story1569.xml,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed January 25, 2025, https://911digitalarchive.org/items/show/14591.