story5176.xml
Title
story5176.xml
Source
born-digital
Media Type
story
Date Entered
2002-09-11
911DA Story: Story
I walked into the Bank of America on N. Broadway in Nyack
at about 9:05AM. I noticed that one of the customer service reps was listening intently to a radio set up on a counter. As I walked toward her I noticed a strange look on her face. She asked if I had heard about the commercial jet that flew into the WTC. My immediate thought was that it was an accident - that it had probably skimmed the top of the building and crashed. I headed over to a PTA meeting at a friend's home and as I opened the door, I heard the news from the television about the second jet crashing into the WTC. I worried about my husband (who normally works at the Met Life Building, but on this day he was at a seminar in Westchester) and my children (at 2 different schools in the district). All cell phone lines were down and I couldn't contact my husband - I was afraid that maybe he had changed his mind and gone into Manhattan instead. We all started to panic - we didn't know what other buildings were targets. When news came that the buildings collapsed, i ran home to make sure that my parents were okay and then went to my son's schools. I knew that we had many parents in the school worked in or around the WTC. We searched through the emergency contact cards because they listed the work addresses and telephone numbers for all parents or guardians.
Many parents came to pick up their children, but my PTA co-members and I stayed to comfort the children and teachers that couldn't leave. The building was locked down and we waited for additional news.
My husband made his way back to Rockland County and came to the school to find me - I cried when I saw him. I have never felt fear as I did on that morning.
Our community lost sons, daughters, fathers and husbands that day - there is a sadness every single day since then.
It's a sadness that horror and tragedy could befall any one of our families at any moment - that our friends and family members heading out to their "safe" jobs could become victims of terrorism.
I am sad for my children - I didn't have to see these images and know this horror when I was growing up.
at about 9:05AM. I noticed that one of the customer service reps was listening intently to a radio set up on a counter. As I walked toward her I noticed a strange look on her face. She asked if I had heard about the commercial jet that flew into the WTC. My immediate thought was that it was an accident - that it had probably skimmed the top of the building and crashed. I headed over to a PTA meeting at a friend's home and as I opened the door, I heard the news from the television about the second jet crashing into the WTC. I worried about my husband (who normally works at the Met Life Building, but on this day he was at a seminar in Westchester) and my children (at 2 different schools in the district). All cell phone lines were down and I couldn't contact my husband - I was afraid that maybe he had changed his mind and gone into Manhattan instead. We all started to panic - we didn't know what other buildings were targets. When news came that the buildings collapsed, i ran home to make sure that my parents were okay and then went to my son's schools. I knew that we had many parents in the school worked in or around the WTC. We searched through the emergency contact cards because they listed the work addresses and telephone numbers for all parents or guardians.
Many parents came to pick up their children, but my PTA co-members and I stayed to comfort the children and teachers that couldn't leave. The building was locked down and we waited for additional news.
My husband made his way back to Rockland County and came to the school to find me - I cried when I saw him. I have never felt fear as I did on that morning.
Our community lost sons, daughters, fathers and husbands that day - there is a sadness every single day since then.
It's a sadness that horror and tragedy could befall any one of our families at any moment - that our friends and family members heading out to their "safe" jobs could become victims of terrorism.
I am sad for my children - I didn't have to see these images and know this horror when I was growing up.
Collection
Citation
“story5176.xml,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed December 21, 2025, https://911digitalarchive.org/items/show/18205.