story10228.xml

story10228.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2003-12-03

As Bruce Springsteen sings, "it's been two years gone by now." I finally got back in an airplane in August 2003, without trepidation. But I do feel a lingering anxiety since the WTC disaster that manifested itself in a weird way. They've torn down an existing building on the Penn State campus to construct a larger, more modern one. After demolition began, and while skeletal parts of the old building remained standing, as I drove past the site every morning on the way in to work I'd feel the adrenaline start to pump and a twinge of fear hit my stomach. Just seeing the partially demolished building brought back the same visceral reaction as when the twin towers fell.

I've been back to NJ many times since 9-11 but still cannot bring myself to look at the NYC skyline or visit the WTC site. Even writing about it now makes my heart beat faster.