story11209.xml
Title
story11209.xml
Source
born-digital
Media Type
story
Date Entered
2004-12-12
911DA Story: Story
Tuesday, September 11, 2001 was a clear sunny morning, and I was on my way to work. The radio was playing the Howard Stern Show, and all felt right in the world. All of the sudden I changed stations just to listen to a bit of music, then I changed back to Howard Stern, that?s when I heard them talking about planes hitting one of the World Trade Center Towers or something to that effect.
As I parked my car, I walked out pondering what I had just heard on the radio. I started questioning myself whether I understood correctly. I walked into my office at George Mason University. It was a bit past 9am. I was working as a Desktop Support Technician at that time, so I picked up a couple of service calls, and went to see one of my customers of the day.
Since I did not see any of my colleagues I could not share with them about what I had just heard, but as I was walking across the campus, I remember looking around and everything seemed normal. It seemed as nobody knew of the events. I went into King Hall, one of the buildings in the University, that?s when I saw David, my customer, talking to one of the professors in the hallway. As I walked up to them, I told them about what just heard on the radio, then the professor asked us to come into his office, he had a small black and white 13 inch TV.
As we watched the events unfold, I was in total disbelief as we witnessed the plane hitting one of the towers, then all of the sudden you saw the other plane crashing into the other building. Also saw in total disbelief, people jumping out of the burning building. It was just like a dream. At first, I thought they were accidents, but when they later confirmed the planes had been high jacked, I was enraged and sad for the people in the planes and the families. Then, we heard about the Pentagon and the other plane that crashed in Pennsylvania.
I remember thinking I can?t believe this is happening in the United States. All of the sudden it felt like d?j? vu. I was a young kid living in Nicaragua, when I remember hearing news about mines being planted and people dying. Those are the things that are hard to forget. Suddenly, I had sense of fear and a feeling of vulnerability in the United States of America where it?s supposed to be safe.
As I parked my car, I walked out pondering what I had just heard on the radio. I started questioning myself whether I understood correctly. I walked into my office at George Mason University. It was a bit past 9am. I was working as a Desktop Support Technician at that time, so I picked up a couple of service calls, and went to see one of my customers of the day.
Since I did not see any of my colleagues I could not share with them about what I had just heard, but as I was walking across the campus, I remember looking around and everything seemed normal. It seemed as nobody knew of the events. I went into King Hall, one of the buildings in the University, that?s when I saw David, my customer, talking to one of the professors in the hallway. As I walked up to them, I told them about what just heard on the radio, then the professor asked us to come into his office, he had a small black and white 13 inch TV.
As we watched the events unfold, I was in total disbelief as we witnessed the plane hitting one of the towers, then all of the sudden you saw the other plane crashing into the other building. Also saw in total disbelief, people jumping out of the burning building. It was just like a dream. At first, I thought they were accidents, but when they later confirmed the planes had been high jacked, I was enraged and sad for the people in the planes and the families. Then, we heard about the Pentagon and the other plane that crashed in Pennsylvania.
I remember thinking I can?t believe this is happening in the United States. All of the sudden it felt like d?j? vu. I was a young kid living in Nicaragua, when I remember hearing news about mines being planted and people dying. Those are the things that are hard to forget. Suddenly, I had sense of fear and a feeling of vulnerability in the United States of America where it?s supposed to be safe.
Collection
Citation
“story11209.xml,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed December 13, 2025, https://911digitalarchive.org/items/show/15992.