story10897.xml
Title
story10897.xml
Source
born-digital
Media Type
story
Date Entered
2004-09-11
911DA Story: Story
My recollections of September 11 are as vivid and shattering as the capacity to recollect permits them to seem over the course of years. Time is a treacherous force and it dulls and obscures - perhaps that is how we rationalize and continue.
What a beautiful day it was - clear sky, a faint, gentle breeze. Autumn was imminent. I was at work, struggling with issues at the computer. A co-worker interrupted her telephone conversation.
She said 'Two planes have collided with the World Trade Towers."
Disbelieving, we immediately attempted to access cnn.com. The site was choked by frenzied efforts to connect. To know, to witness the obscenity.
Footage on bbc.com revealed the immediate horror of the attack. The repeated image of a plane, lofting, seemingly gently, then confidently devastating the South tower. Repeatedly - the murderous image of that plane turning.
I met my wife that afternoon in a quiet park to ponder in silence the terror and grief. Panic had caused a complete evacuation of the downtown core.
After work I visited a popular Pub for a drink in a state of communal stupefaction. A young woman wept and was consoled.
I am frequently conscious of the transformation wrought by the events of that day. I remember remarking to my wife - "The world will never be the same again." I cannot begin to comprehend the enormity of the elemental truth of that statement. Perhaps I should have said "I will never be the same again."
God bless all those who sacrificed and were sacrificed that day. I will never forget or know you.
What a beautiful day it was - clear sky, a faint, gentle breeze. Autumn was imminent. I was at work, struggling with issues at the computer. A co-worker interrupted her telephone conversation.
She said 'Two planes have collided with the World Trade Towers."
Disbelieving, we immediately attempted to access cnn.com. The site was choked by frenzied efforts to connect. To know, to witness the obscenity.
Footage on bbc.com revealed the immediate horror of the attack. The repeated image of a plane, lofting, seemingly gently, then confidently devastating the South tower. Repeatedly - the murderous image of that plane turning.
I met my wife that afternoon in a quiet park to ponder in silence the terror and grief. Panic had caused a complete evacuation of the downtown core.
After work I visited a popular Pub for a drink in a state of communal stupefaction. A young woman wept and was consoled.
I am frequently conscious of the transformation wrought by the events of that day. I remember remarking to my wife - "The world will never be the same again." I cannot begin to comprehend the enormity of the elemental truth of that statement. Perhaps I should have said "I will never be the same again."
God bless all those who sacrificed and were sacrificed that day. I will never forget or know you.
Collection
Citation
“story10897.xml,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed January 10, 2025, https://911digitalarchive.org/items/show/15447.