story10529.xml
Title
story10529.xml
Source
born-digital
Media Type
story
Date Entered
2004-04-09
911DA Story: Story
On the morning of Tuesday, September 11, 2001, I woke up late for work so my normal daily routine of watching the TV while I get ready was interrupted. I hurriedly got up, jumped in the shower, and got ready for work. I was living in an apartment with a roommate with whom I also worked with and he was still asleep when I left the apartment at about 8:30 AM CST (9:30 AM in New York).
Anyway, on my way to work, I turned on the radio looking for music like I normally do, but the first station I turned to sounded like it had news on it, so I kept cycling through my stored stations and they were all like that. I thought that seemed pretty weird so I started listening to what these people were saying and I couldn't believe what I was hearing. They replayed an earlier caller who had been on the phone with the radio station when the second plane hit the South Tower and to hear that caller express his shock and grief right as the moment was happening is something I will never forget.
I got my cell phone and quickly called my mother who lives in Wichita Falls, Texas, and I asked her exactly what was going on and she told me about the two planes hitting the World Trade Center towers. I had absolutely nothing to say at that point because I was in so much shock. The United States had never been attacked like this before and I could not believe it was happening now. I thought for sure we were safe from all the holy wars and terrorist acts going on in the Middle East, but that day changed my thoughts forever.
When I got to work at the auto insurance company where I worked, there were several people already gathered around a TV watching the news and everything in real time. You could tell that everybody was in a state of shock and that nothing we had been through in our own separate lives even came close to the horrendous atrocities that the victims in the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and all the airplanes had to go through, not to mention all of the victims' families. We must have stayed and watched TV for at least 2 hours before some people had to leave to go do their work just to focus on something else.
I remember hearing all the rumors about possible car bombs at congressional offices and that Air Force One was flying around the nation with the President aboard because there had been threats made against it. Of course, most of the rumors turned out not to be true, but when someone tells you those types of rumors after you see the Twin Towers collapse, you believe that anything can and has happened.
My roommate finally came into the office around 10:00 AM CST and he had heard nothing about the attacks. He sat down and watched the TV for about 5 minutes and went right to work, going about his daily routine. I remember thinking to myself how he could just go on like that when our nation was being attacked. It still troubles me to this day because it proves to me that their are people out there, our own fellow Americans, who don't care what happens to the nation and to the people of our nation, unless it directly affects them. Needless to say, I am no longer roommates with him anymore and I haven't talked to him in quite a long time.
But, I think what surpised me the most about that day was that we still had customers calling in to our call center looking for auto insurance quotes. It still baffles me to this day how someone could see what happened on TV and then turn around and order auto insurance. I guess I feel that way because on that day, I felt personally attacked by the terrorists. They were messing with my country and they will learn that that is not something you do to the United States of America and get away with it.
I ended up not doing much at work that day and I actually left about 45 minutes early so I could go home and sit on the couch and watch the coverage all night long. It is a day I have not forgotten and will never forget.
Thank you for letting me share my story.
Anyway, on my way to work, I turned on the radio looking for music like I normally do, but the first station I turned to sounded like it had news on it, so I kept cycling through my stored stations and they were all like that. I thought that seemed pretty weird so I started listening to what these people were saying and I couldn't believe what I was hearing. They replayed an earlier caller who had been on the phone with the radio station when the second plane hit the South Tower and to hear that caller express his shock and grief right as the moment was happening is something I will never forget.
I got my cell phone and quickly called my mother who lives in Wichita Falls, Texas, and I asked her exactly what was going on and she told me about the two planes hitting the World Trade Center towers. I had absolutely nothing to say at that point because I was in so much shock. The United States had never been attacked like this before and I could not believe it was happening now. I thought for sure we were safe from all the holy wars and terrorist acts going on in the Middle East, but that day changed my thoughts forever.
When I got to work at the auto insurance company where I worked, there were several people already gathered around a TV watching the news and everything in real time. You could tell that everybody was in a state of shock and that nothing we had been through in our own separate lives even came close to the horrendous atrocities that the victims in the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and all the airplanes had to go through, not to mention all of the victims' families. We must have stayed and watched TV for at least 2 hours before some people had to leave to go do their work just to focus on something else.
I remember hearing all the rumors about possible car bombs at congressional offices and that Air Force One was flying around the nation with the President aboard because there had been threats made against it. Of course, most of the rumors turned out not to be true, but when someone tells you those types of rumors after you see the Twin Towers collapse, you believe that anything can and has happened.
My roommate finally came into the office around 10:00 AM CST and he had heard nothing about the attacks. He sat down and watched the TV for about 5 minutes and went right to work, going about his daily routine. I remember thinking to myself how he could just go on like that when our nation was being attacked. It still troubles me to this day because it proves to me that their are people out there, our own fellow Americans, who don't care what happens to the nation and to the people of our nation, unless it directly affects them. Needless to say, I am no longer roommates with him anymore and I haven't talked to him in quite a long time.
But, I think what surpised me the most about that day was that we still had customers calling in to our call center looking for auto insurance quotes. It still baffles me to this day how someone could see what happened on TV and then turn around and order auto insurance. I guess I feel that way because on that day, I felt personally attacked by the terrorists. They were messing with my country and they will learn that that is not something you do to the United States of America and get away with it.
I ended up not doing much at work that day and I actually left about 45 minutes early so I could go home and sit on the couch and watch the coverage all night long. It is a day I have not forgotten and will never forget.
Thank you for letting me share my story.
Collection
Citation
“story10529.xml,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed January 9, 2025, https://911digitalarchive.org/items/show/16420.