story42.xml

story42.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-02-04

It was about 9:30 a.m. and Caroline and I were still asleep. The phone rang, Caroline answered it, and then said "Oh my god!" I sat up as she turned on the tv. The pictures were incomprehensible. Both planes had already hit the WTC Buildings. The Pentagon had been hit too, but there was no mention. As we sat silently in our room, pieces began coming together. Finally, the phrase "America Under Attack" was used on the news channels. That might have been the point when everything seemed too real instead of incomprehensible. We attend school 20 miles from Washington, D.C., and there were reports that there were still missing planes. That's when I started making phone calls. I first called my dad who traveled often. He was safe, but his plane had been re-routed from Reagan National Airport to Greensboro, N.C. I called family all over the country to let them know I was OK. I didn't go to any classes that day, or the next. Instead, i camped out at a friend's house and watched the news for 48 hours straight with people that mean a lot to me. It's sad, but it usually takes something with an unthinkable magnitude to make you think about what's important. The outpouring in the D.C. area, and the whole country, was phenominal. It made me feel so great to see flags flying everywhere.