story1660.xml

story1660.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-09-02

I received a call shortly after I arrived at work and the only information I had until I left was through subsequent calls and via the internet. The radio provided detail and the computer provided images but nothing prepared me for actually getting home and seeing what had happened. As I think back, the entire episode seems like an out-of-body experience. Seeing the images over and over didn't make it real to me and even now, almost one year after, I have to think back to make sure that it indeed happen. I flew out of Little Rock National Airport one week afterward and was extremely apprehensive until the plane actually lifted off the runway. We flew into Philadelphia and ended up in New York City on Friday, September 21. I remember standing across in New Jersey and looking at Manhattan, walking toward Ellis Island, which was closed, and everytime something flew overheard, everyone stopped their run, their walk, their bike ride and looked skyward. We spent the entire day in the city but the most haunting image was leaving the city and looking back. The image of the skyline of Manhattan with the smoke still rolling is still with me.