story6166.xml

story6166.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-09-12

I was between jobs, when a friend asked me to substitute teach the 6th grade class in the school where he was principal.As I was driving to school, I heard the news that the first plane crashed into the first tower. I went into the school building, and was unaware of the events unfolding. Shortly after 10AM, the principal came in and told me we were going to have a chapel service at 2pm to pray for the victims of the terrorist attacks. I was confused, and asked what had happened. At that point I was told of all the events that had been unfolding. When my 6th graders returned from English, they had seen the events on television. One student's father worked in the Sears Tower, and he was concerned that his dad was in danger. We went out for recess..and the sky was empty. No planes were flying around O'hare airport. Only the birds could be heard. All the teachers knew at that moment that our lives had changed forever.