story1513.xml
Title
story1513.xml
Source
born-digital
Media Type
story
Date Entered
2002-08-28
911DA Story: Story
I am a fourth grade teacher in Bloomfield, NJ. At around 9:30, my principal came and called me to the hall to tell me and a few of my colleagues that a plane had struck one of the Twin Towers, and that it was believed to be an act of terrorism. We were instructed not to tell the students anything at that time until further notice.
I instantly thought of my 20 year old daughter. I had dropped her off, as I did every morning, at the bus stop for her bus to work in midtown Manhattan. I knew that my daughter was not in the area of the Twin Towers, but no one knew at that time if the worst was over. Instantly, I went to my computer in the classroom and e-mailed my husband, asking him to contact my daughter via cell phone to tell her to come right home.
By the time he and she connected, the second Twin Tower was hit, the Pentagon was hit and the plane in Pennsylvania went down. Shortly after, the Towers collapsed and all access to NYC via tunnels and bridges were closed for security purposes.
My daughter was scared, because even though she had friends to stay with, she did not want to stay in NYC. After my husband's initial contact with her, we lost touch with her until 3:30 that afternoon, when, just by the grace of God, I contacted her by cell phone. I relayed my thoughts asking her to consider staying the night with a friend uptown...she was however adamant about coming home that night.
Not until 8:15 that night did we hear from her again, saying that she was on a train coming into Newark, and could we please come to get her? We were relieved to hear her voice, and that she was coming home. She had walked to Penn Station in NYC where the Port Authority police were channeling people free of charge to NJ on the path trains.
Later that night, our daughter relayed the horrors of the day from someone in a midtown restaurant, seeing the faces of victims walking uptown covered in soot, dust and ashes. Never had she seen NY look so quiet and desolate and eerie.
We were among the fortunate ones who did not lose our daughter...many were not so lucky. As days became weeks, we learned of others in our classes and colleagues' families and coworkers who were not as fortunate as we were that day. But just as easily as the planes hit the Towers, they could have hit midtown. We continue to pray for the victims and their families. September 11 is a day we will never forget.
I instantly thought of my 20 year old daughter. I had dropped her off, as I did every morning, at the bus stop for her bus to work in midtown Manhattan. I knew that my daughter was not in the area of the Twin Towers, but no one knew at that time if the worst was over. Instantly, I went to my computer in the classroom and e-mailed my husband, asking him to contact my daughter via cell phone to tell her to come right home.
By the time he and she connected, the second Twin Tower was hit, the Pentagon was hit and the plane in Pennsylvania went down. Shortly after, the Towers collapsed and all access to NYC via tunnels and bridges were closed for security purposes.
My daughter was scared, because even though she had friends to stay with, she did not want to stay in NYC. After my husband's initial contact with her, we lost touch with her until 3:30 that afternoon, when, just by the grace of God, I contacted her by cell phone. I relayed my thoughts asking her to consider staying the night with a friend uptown...she was however adamant about coming home that night.
Not until 8:15 that night did we hear from her again, saying that she was on a train coming into Newark, and could we please come to get her? We were relieved to hear her voice, and that she was coming home. She had walked to Penn Station in NYC where the Port Authority police were channeling people free of charge to NJ on the path trains.
Later that night, our daughter relayed the horrors of the day from someone in a midtown restaurant, seeing the faces of victims walking uptown covered in soot, dust and ashes. Never had she seen NY look so quiet and desolate and eerie.
We were among the fortunate ones who did not lose our daughter...many were not so lucky. As days became weeks, we learned of others in our classes and colleagues' families and coworkers who were not as fortunate as we were that day. But just as easily as the planes hit the Towers, they could have hit midtown. We continue to pray for the victims and their families. September 11 is a day we will never forget.
Collection
Citation
“story1513.xml,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed December 28, 2025, https://911digitalarchive.org/items/show/19448.