story1431.xml

story1431.xml

born-digital

story

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no

2002-08-23

Before I break into story I would like to send out my deepest sympathy to the everyone who lost loved ones on this horrible day. To the firemen, police, cleanup crew, survivors, volunteers and anyone else who wanted to be there to help I can't be more thankful to you knowing that when things do go bad there will always be people to help. You put your lives on hold to help others and I will never look at yenz the same way again. Thank you all and my God Bless you. You are truley America's Heroes.

Like everyone else has mentioned it was a georgeous day. I was going to work and school at the time. I was at school in the morning. Same ol' typical day to us. I was tired and not feeling well so when they came in and told us the school was being evacuated I was quick out the door. Rumors where going around on the way out that there was a bomb threat at the Federal Building (which is right behind our school) so I didn't think anything of it. Figured they got bomb threats all the time and they were usually a hoax. On my way to the bus stop down the street I put my headphones on. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. I haven't listened to Howard Stern in a while so I decided to put him on. I had no clue what was going on. It sounded like he had people outside walking around interviewing people but it sounded like pure chaos. I was on the bus catching bits and pieces trying to figure out what the hell was going on. I tried to call my dad at work and the line was busy so I tried to call mom and busy. I finally get through to find out what had happened. What scared my most was a plane hitting the Pentagon and one going down so close to home. Flight 93 must have flown right over Pittsburgh. I was sitting on the bus with my hands over my mouth and never in all my life did I just want to get home. I never realized how bad it was until I got home. My brother seen the whole thing on t.v. and told me what happened. He like everyone else thought it was an accident until the second plane came. I felt so bad for flying out of school that day. All it was the rest of the day or week I should say was radio and Fox news. Downtown Pittsburgh pretty much shut down and evacuated of course my job didn't. I had to call off. I was scared and not going anywhere unless it was near home. Besides I was really down in the dumps about everything going on. Dad got sent home from work too. We all stayed home that night. Some of my closest friends came down (one is now my boyfriend who's in the military) that night cause they weren't going to work. They brought some beer down and we sat on the back deck glued to the radio. We discussed so many things and how we felt and that did me the world of good. I cried and still do sometimes about what happened but never have I felt so lucky in all my life. To be home with my friends and family and to know that we were all safe and able to watch the sun set that night and being American meant more than having the greatest job, hitting the lottery, or having a dream vacation. It is so sad that it takes something like that to make you realize that everything you take for granted could all be taken away at any given moment. The one thing I'll also remember is how everyone wanted to help, the flags hanging everywhere and how if I go to a public event today (concert for example) I see so many people with some sort of patriotic shirt on. Things have definately changed in this country. I'll never forget how scared I was for a while that something else may happen, I just wanted to get so far away from the city as possible. And now this thought will be in my head for the rest of my life. What if something else happens? I have my say about people living in that part of the world but I will keep that to myself because I could get brutal. I pray we never see another day like that and I still pray for the victims, heroes and everyone else involved and to this day I still get choked up about it.
GOD BLESS THE U.S.A!!!!!!!!!!