lc_story161.xml

lc_story161.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2003-12-22

I was making my bed and about to clean my bedroom. I was home and had the TV on to a news station which was unusual for me to do at that time of day. For some reason, I thought I should watch the news that day. I had been recently laid off from my technical writer position at a company in Fairfax, Virginia, and had not found a new job. I had channel 7 on and suddenly saw and heard the "we interrupt this program" announcement and saw Diane Sawyer report that a plane had somehow crashed into one of the towers of the World Trade Center. As I watched in disbelief, I heard her say a little later, "well, here comes another plane," and it was as if she was thinking to herself that obviously this plane was there to somehow monitor or help the other plane. How that would have been possible, I don't know....but I got the impression that's what she was thinking. Then, when it crashed into the other tower, I felt like a bolt of lightening had gone through my body as I instantly knew we were under seige and the world would never be the same again. I started to shake and perspire. I tried to call my husband at work, but couldn't reach him. I felt a panic attack coming on, but I tried to stay calm. I sat glued to the TV and suddenly everything seemed very surreal...like I had gone into some sort of time warp from which I would emerge and the events unfolding before me would somehow disappear. I would heave a sigh of relief and I would tell my husband what a horrible dream I had had.

For days and days and still unto this day, I sometimes break down in tears for no reason.

As a result of 9/11, my life has changed considerably. There is no peace of mind. I do not fly in planes; I do not travel on large span bridges nor do I use the metro system, including trains and buses. I also do not attend public events of large gatherings, e.g., games, concerts, etc. I do not go to large malls and always shop in small stores. I pray for peace every day. I do not understand why our government was not better prepared for this eventuality.

Fear and disbelief.