story10916.xml

story10916.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2004-09-11

At dawn on September 11, 2001 I was in the Atlantic Ocean surfing. It was a nice easy morning. I came in from the beach and showered and dressed for work. I was driving to my office when I heard something about an airplane crashing into a building in New York City. I arrived at the office to see everyone gathered around a TV. We watched in stunned silence at the burning tower. Everyone gasped as the second jet crashed into the other tower. I felt sick to my stomach as I realized that this was a deliberate attach. I looked out the window of my office at another symbol of America, the Vehicle Assemble Building a few hundred yards from my office, and felt a cold fear as I wondered if I was in immediate danger. My thoughts returned to New York as the first tower collapsed. I cried for the dead. I knew life as I had known it had changed.