story5908.xml

story5908.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-09-12

I was sitting in the living room of my father's house, doing my pre-calculus homework. My class started at 11 am, and my stepmom had waken me up before everyone else left to go to school and work, so I was alone in the house, save the two dogs. I needed a break from the monotony of numbers and equasions (math is not exactly my cup of tea, if you know what I mean), and I had gone outside to get the newspaper to read for a little bit before completing my homework. As I was getting the paper, my next door neighbor opened the door to her house and asked me if I had been watching the news. I said no, I was doing my homework, and had come outside to get the paper. She said that a plane had crashed into one of the World Trade Center towers, and as the news cameras were filming the incinerating building, a second plane hit the other building. I remember she said, "It's like something out of a movie." I didn't really believe what she was saying until I went back inside and turned on the television and turned the channel to a news station. I didn't really believe what I was seeing. The Twin Towers were a smoking inferno, and all I could do was sit there and stare. My homework was the last thing on my mind now. When it hit home, I started to cry hysterically. The news about the Pentagon and the Philadelphia plane crash did not help, and I started to really think that the world was coming to an end and Jesus was coming back. I was praying and asking God to forgive me and please me enter the gates of Heaven. My boyfriend came to my mind, and I needed to talk to him and tell him that I love him. I called his house and woke him up (he worked late the night before, and was sleeping late) and told him through tears what had happened. He was sleepy, and didn't really comprehend what I was saying. He did tell me to calm down and try to soothe me, but imagine a sleepy guy not really understanding what is going on trying to calm down his hysterically passionate girlfriend. I drove to school and numbly went through my classes, and right after school I went to my boyfriend's work place and talked to him. I was afraid that my father might be called into the Navy, I was afraid that my boyfriend would be drafted, and I was afraid that this area might be hit. (I live in Hampton, Virginia, and we have several bases in the area: Langley AFB, Fort Eustis, Fort Monroe, Oceana NAS, Norfolk Naval Station, and the Newport News Shipyard, which is the largest shipyard in the United States.) I spent the rest of the day with my family.