story9261.xml
Title
story9261.xml
Source
born-digital
Media Type
story
Date Entered
2003-04-27
911DA Story: Story
llahassee, Florida:
I was in my last week as a receptionist at an optomitrist's office. My thoughts were of the coming week when I would begin training as am opthalmic assistant in the same office.
I was to quit wearing my reception uniform, and start wearing scrubs, and I would get a raise. It was a time in my life that was a very big deal to me.
On the morning of September 11th, I was at work sitting at the Check out window. Just after the second plane hit WTC, my office manager came over to me and said that her husband had called her and said that 2 planes had hit the world trade center in New York City.
An accident, I thought, and surly my manager was mistaken. What was the chance of 2 planes hitting the WTC. I made her repeat herself 3 times before I actually believed her, and realized that 2 planes hitting WTC was not an accident.
President Bush was in our state visiting an elementary school...........in Ft. Meyers, I think............and it was said in the office "get him out of here" because we were afraid it would bring terrorism to our state. The president's brother, Jeb, is our governor. "Get him out of here too" we said.
Before the morning was up all of our patients, doctors and employees knew of the incident. No one talked of anything else. No one wanted to work, and no one cared when they were called back into the exam room late.
I called a patient back to administer a test. We were in the exam room only half an hour. When we came out, someone said to me that a 3rd plane had hit the Pentagone, and it was said that another was on it's way to the Sears Tower.
The thought of the people on the plane flying to their deaths............knowing they were going to die, made me sick. As I filed charts, I couldn't get the idea out of my head. Then the fourth and last plane crashed in Pennsylvania.
All flights in the United States were canceled and those which were in the air, were rerouted to the nearest airport.
Rumors were flying around about the possibility of other hijacked planes, and it was said that as we spoke they were headed to other national landmarks.
My office manager gathered our Eye Care staff together and said that in the event that our town were attacked we were to all go to the optical lab for shelter. Then she said a paryer for the souls of those who had died, and for the safety of those who were in danger, and for those who had lost family and friends on this day.
Our office stayed open on September 11th, but many businesses closed in our town. Down Town Tallahssee, where all the government buildings are, was evacuated. We were only a few blocks from down town.
Early on in the day Al Quaeda was fingered as suspects.
It was said they were 99% it was Bin Laden.
When I got home the first thing I did was turn on the TV. My television was old, and on a good day, if I pounded on it I could get a really crappy picture with sound, if I hit it on it's side right with my fist. On that evening, as I turned on the telly, I said to myself, you better work. I gave the television a good hard bang with my fist and got a reception as clear as a brand new television. That was the first time that day that I actually saw with my own eyes what was going on in New York City. I was shocked, and crying, seeing the panic and fear of the people.
I was glued to the TV. I forgot to eat, and I forgot to go to bed until very late. By the afternoon all airplanes in the U.S. had been accounted for, and I felt safe from anymore terrorist attacks. I had faith in our government to protect us. That night I saw the President's grim face try and assuage our fears, and assure us that we would bring those respocible for the attack on our country to justice. I had no doubt that we would. Our President was a Texan for God's sake. Everyone knows that Texas is the wrong place to be caught for murder in, so I knew that Al Quaeda would get their's in a very short time.
The next day, the topics of conversation were the same.
Some folks said why didn't the people on the first
3 flights, that crashed, fight the terrorists the way the ones on the Pennsylvania flight did. I reminded them that in the 80's there were quite a few hijackings, and all that happened was that people sat around until the demads of the terrorist's demands were met. If you did what you were told, for the most part, you surrived. I don't think any American saw the magnitude of these Hijackings to be what they were until after it happened. By the time the Pennsylvania flight was heading to it's death, the people on board knew what their fate was going to be. They knew they were going to die, but they questioned just how they allowed themselvs to go down. They were the first to stand up to the terrorists, and the first casulties in the War On Terror.
As the days went on all anyone could talk about was what had happened on September 11th. But things began to go back to business as usual. There were some differences. A few nuts called in bomb threats to some of the government buildings, and the staffs were evacuated. Before Airports opened, if there was a noise that sounded like an airplane, people would stop in their tracks and look up in the sky. Even after flights resumed, I would look up in the sky when a plane passed by, to see if it was flying to fast, or if it was flying straight, or doing a nose dive. It was several weeks before I could see an airplane and not think "terrorist attack"
Happily, Wall Street opened up again. And everywhere you looked there were American flags, and signs that said God Bless the U.S.A. Instead of avoiding eye contact, I smiled at strangers on the street. They were afterall my fellow Americans.........regular working stiffs like my self.
I felt safe in the hands of my governement, so my main worry was about the racisam against anyone who looked Arobic, that would sprout up. Allthought I did hear a few ignorant remarks from people, for the most part, there was none in my town that I saw.
I was in my last week as a receptionist at an optomitrist's office. My thoughts were of the coming week when I would begin training as am opthalmic assistant in the same office.
I was to quit wearing my reception uniform, and start wearing scrubs, and I would get a raise. It was a time in my life that was a very big deal to me.
On the morning of September 11th, I was at work sitting at the Check out window. Just after the second plane hit WTC, my office manager came over to me and said that her husband had called her and said that 2 planes had hit the world trade center in New York City.
An accident, I thought, and surly my manager was mistaken. What was the chance of 2 planes hitting the WTC. I made her repeat herself 3 times before I actually believed her, and realized that 2 planes hitting WTC was not an accident.
President Bush was in our state visiting an elementary school...........in Ft. Meyers, I think............and it was said in the office "get him out of here" because we were afraid it would bring terrorism to our state. The president's brother, Jeb, is our governor. "Get him out of here too" we said.
Before the morning was up all of our patients, doctors and employees knew of the incident. No one talked of anything else. No one wanted to work, and no one cared when they were called back into the exam room late.
I called a patient back to administer a test. We were in the exam room only half an hour. When we came out, someone said to me that a 3rd plane had hit the Pentagone, and it was said that another was on it's way to the Sears Tower.
The thought of the people on the plane flying to their deaths............knowing they were going to die, made me sick. As I filed charts, I couldn't get the idea out of my head. Then the fourth and last plane crashed in Pennsylvania.
All flights in the United States were canceled and those which were in the air, were rerouted to the nearest airport.
Rumors were flying around about the possibility of other hijacked planes, and it was said that as we spoke they were headed to other national landmarks.
My office manager gathered our Eye Care staff together and said that in the event that our town were attacked we were to all go to the optical lab for shelter. Then she said a paryer for the souls of those who had died, and for the safety of those who were in danger, and for those who had lost family and friends on this day.
Our office stayed open on September 11th, but many businesses closed in our town. Down Town Tallahssee, where all the government buildings are, was evacuated. We were only a few blocks from down town.
Early on in the day Al Quaeda was fingered as suspects.
It was said they were 99% it was Bin Laden.
When I got home the first thing I did was turn on the TV. My television was old, and on a good day, if I pounded on it I could get a really crappy picture with sound, if I hit it on it's side right with my fist. On that evening, as I turned on the telly, I said to myself, you better work. I gave the television a good hard bang with my fist and got a reception as clear as a brand new television. That was the first time that day that I actually saw with my own eyes what was going on in New York City. I was shocked, and crying, seeing the panic and fear of the people.
I was glued to the TV. I forgot to eat, and I forgot to go to bed until very late. By the afternoon all airplanes in the U.S. had been accounted for, and I felt safe from anymore terrorist attacks. I had faith in our government to protect us. That night I saw the President's grim face try and assuage our fears, and assure us that we would bring those respocible for the attack on our country to justice. I had no doubt that we would. Our President was a Texan for God's sake. Everyone knows that Texas is the wrong place to be caught for murder in, so I knew that Al Quaeda would get their's in a very short time.
The next day, the topics of conversation were the same.
Some folks said why didn't the people on the first
3 flights, that crashed, fight the terrorists the way the ones on the Pennsylvania flight did. I reminded them that in the 80's there were quite a few hijackings, and all that happened was that people sat around until the demads of the terrorist's demands were met. If you did what you were told, for the most part, you surrived. I don't think any American saw the magnitude of these Hijackings to be what they were until after it happened. By the time the Pennsylvania flight was heading to it's death, the people on board knew what their fate was going to be. They knew they were going to die, but they questioned just how they allowed themselvs to go down. They were the first to stand up to the terrorists, and the first casulties in the War On Terror.
As the days went on all anyone could talk about was what had happened on September 11th. But things began to go back to business as usual. There were some differences. A few nuts called in bomb threats to some of the government buildings, and the staffs were evacuated. Before Airports opened, if there was a noise that sounded like an airplane, people would stop in their tracks and look up in the sky. Even after flights resumed, I would look up in the sky when a plane passed by, to see if it was flying to fast, or if it was flying straight, or doing a nose dive. It was several weeks before I could see an airplane and not think "terrorist attack"
Happily, Wall Street opened up again. And everywhere you looked there were American flags, and signs that said God Bless the U.S.A. Instead of avoiding eye contact, I smiled at strangers on the street. They were afterall my fellow Americans.........regular working stiffs like my self.
I felt safe in the hands of my governement, so my main worry was about the racisam against anyone who looked Arobic, that would sprout up. Allthought I did hear a few ignorant remarks from people, for the most part, there was none in my town that I saw.
Collection
Citation
“story9261.xml,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed January 10, 2025, https://911digitalarchive.org/items/show/15088.