story6799.xml
Title
story6799.xml
Source
born-digital
Media Type
story
Date Entered
2002-09-12
911DA Story: Story
This was written to commemorate the events of an unforgettable day in the life of two Americans, which may have changed their life forever.
My life will never be the same. Today is September 16, 2001 and I woke up with two goals to accomplish. Both goals revolved around soccer. Goal one is to get my son to his soccer practice in the morning and the other is to go to my daughter?s game in the afternoon. As much as I enjoy watching my children play soccer, there is no joy in my life. I am mourning the death of thousands of people in New York City.
Exactly five days ago, my life changed. On September 11, 2001, I personally witnessed an attack on America. It was a glorious Tuesday, the sky was a beautiful blue and all my worries seemed trivial. Our family had just gotten back from Miami the week before. It was a great vacation and we were moving on with our busy daily life. This meant getting the children to school and settling into our work routine.
My husband and I drive to work everyday. We both work for a New York City law enforcement agency and our office is located in the lower part of Manhattan exactly one block away from the New York Stock Exchange.
Nevertheless, we were running late that Tuesday morning. Our daughter had taken her time getting dressed and our hopes of getting to work early were dashed. We were able to leave our home in Rockland County before seven-thirty. To our amazement, the traffic on the George Washington Bridge was very light that day and it was smooth sailing. We managed to drop the children at school by eight o?clock that morning. What a wonderful morning it was and the possibility of arriving at work before nine in the morning was real. No such luck on the FDR, traffic was heavy and we had just passed the United Nations when we heard that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center building. Like so many New Yorkers, we were listening to
Z-100 and our first thought was that this was one of Elvis? sick jokes. My husband and I quickly realized that this was no joke. As the news story was unfolding, we got closer to lower Manhattan and the second plane hit Tower two.
At that moment, many police cars, fire trucks and ambulances were seen speeding towards Broad Street. The skyline was filled with smoke and both buildings were on fire. From the car, I could see debris and I looked at other cars wondering if they too were witnessing and hearing this horrific chain of event. I did not recognize the expression on people?s faces but I saw many drivers gawking at the sight of the Twin Towers on fire. Traffic was diverted towards the Brooklyn Bridge area of Manhattan.
Like so many other New Yorkers on that day, we witnessed the sight of FBI agents and NYC Police Officer on the streets of New York trying to control traffic thereby allowing the easy passage of emergency vehicles. We saw many people getting out of cabs and just walking towards the City Hall area. There were many that did not know what was going on. They would glance over their shoulders and ask car drivers ?What happened?? Those that responded to their questions had listened to the radio knew that terrorists had attacked New York.
Traffic moved and we were able to park in Chinatown. The miracle of finding parking in the Lower East Side was greatly unappreciated on that day.. Our hearts were heavy and we prayed for the survival of those trapped in the WTC as we walked past Chinatown and the many court buildings. The top floors of one building and the middle floors of the other building were on fire. Orange yellow balls of fire were visible, and much debris was falling. As we got closer, we realized that maybe it was not debris.
The looks of horror and prayers of many for those that were trapped did nothing to prevent what had not yet taken place on that beautiful Tuesday morning.
Our stride towards Broadway was steadfast and determined. Walking towards the World Trade Center and trying to find our way to work was our immediate goal. We had just passed 26 Federal Plaza when we heard the rumbling of the earth. My first thought was ?This is an earthquake and my second thought was ? We are getting bombed.? Nonetheless, debris was flying and Federal Police Officers were telling us to run north. We ran and looked back. We saw smoke and continued running. There was nothing but smoke. It was minutes later when we realized that the second tower had fallen. We made our way to Chinatown knowing that many had died. All of a sudden there was a second rumble. This time there was no smoke and the second building fell. One floor after another fell. It seemed like an eternity.
All of Manhattan was evacuated. We had the rest of the day off; yet, this was not what we wanted. Silent screams of horror, fear and immense sadness wretched my soul as tears ran down my cheeks.
There was to be no tomorrow for many. All they did that morning of September 11, 2001 was go to work?
Treasure every day of your life. Today can be your last day on earth?
God bless America!
My life will never be the same. Today is September 16, 2001 and I woke up with two goals to accomplish. Both goals revolved around soccer. Goal one is to get my son to his soccer practice in the morning and the other is to go to my daughter?s game in the afternoon. As much as I enjoy watching my children play soccer, there is no joy in my life. I am mourning the death of thousands of people in New York City.
Exactly five days ago, my life changed. On September 11, 2001, I personally witnessed an attack on America. It was a glorious Tuesday, the sky was a beautiful blue and all my worries seemed trivial. Our family had just gotten back from Miami the week before. It was a great vacation and we were moving on with our busy daily life. This meant getting the children to school and settling into our work routine.
My husband and I drive to work everyday. We both work for a New York City law enforcement agency and our office is located in the lower part of Manhattan exactly one block away from the New York Stock Exchange.
Nevertheless, we were running late that Tuesday morning. Our daughter had taken her time getting dressed and our hopes of getting to work early were dashed. We were able to leave our home in Rockland County before seven-thirty. To our amazement, the traffic on the George Washington Bridge was very light that day and it was smooth sailing. We managed to drop the children at school by eight o?clock that morning. What a wonderful morning it was and the possibility of arriving at work before nine in the morning was real. No such luck on the FDR, traffic was heavy and we had just passed the United Nations when we heard that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center building. Like so many New Yorkers, we were listening to
Z-100 and our first thought was that this was one of Elvis? sick jokes. My husband and I quickly realized that this was no joke. As the news story was unfolding, we got closer to lower Manhattan and the second plane hit Tower two.
At that moment, many police cars, fire trucks and ambulances were seen speeding towards Broad Street. The skyline was filled with smoke and both buildings were on fire. From the car, I could see debris and I looked at other cars wondering if they too were witnessing and hearing this horrific chain of event. I did not recognize the expression on people?s faces but I saw many drivers gawking at the sight of the Twin Towers on fire. Traffic was diverted towards the Brooklyn Bridge area of Manhattan.
Like so many other New Yorkers on that day, we witnessed the sight of FBI agents and NYC Police Officer on the streets of New York trying to control traffic thereby allowing the easy passage of emergency vehicles. We saw many people getting out of cabs and just walking towards the City Hall area. There were many that did not know what was going on. They would glance over their shoulders and ask car drivers ?What happened?? Those that responded to their questions had listened to the radio knew that terrorists had attacked New York.
Traffic moved and we were able to park in Chinatown. The miracle of finding parking in the Lower East Side was greatly unappreciated on that day.. Our hearts were heavy and we prayed for the survival of those trapped in the WTC as we walked past Chinatown and the many court buildings. The top floors of one building and the middle floors of the other building were on fire. Orange yellow balls of fire were visible, and much debris was falling. As we got closer, we realized that maybe it was not debris.
The looks of horror and prayers of many for those that were trapped did nothing to prevent what had not yet taken place on that beautiful Tuesday morning.
Our stride towards Broadway was steadfast and determined. Walking towards the World Trade Center and trying to find our way to work was our immediate goal. We had just passed 26 Federal Plaza when we heard the rumbling of the earth. My first thought was ?This is an earthquake and my second thought was ? We are getting bombed.? Nonetheless, debris was flying and Federal Police Officers were telling us to run north. We ran and looked back. We saw smoke and continued running. There was nothing but smoke. It was minutes later when we realized that the second tower had fallen. We made our way to Chinatown knowing that many had died. All of a sudden there was a second rumble. This time there was no smoke and the second building fell. One floor after another fell. It seemed like an eternity.
All of Manhattan was evacuated. We had the rest of the day off; yet, this was not what we wanted. Silent screams of horror, fear and immense sadness wretched my soul as tears ran down my cheeks.
There was to be no tomorrow for many. All they did that morning of September 11, 2001 was go to work?
Treasure every day of your life. Today can be your last day on earth?
God bless America!
Collection
Citation
“story6799.xml,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed December 13, 2025, https://911digitalarchive.org/items/show/18668.