email390.xml
Title
email390.xml
Source
born-digital
Media Type
email
Date Entered
2002-08-19
September 11 Email: Body
Hey Dad,
I am so glad to hear that you are coming home soon! Its almost 1:30 a.m. here and I should be getting to bed... I just haven't been able to sleep real well lately and I can't seem to ever turn off the news. I am just scared that if I stop watching something else is going to happen and I won't know about it... Just like this disaster... After I handed in my test that morning, I walked outside to such a beautiful, sunny, clear morning; I remember looking up into the blue sky thinking how perfect everything seemed at that moment (almost scary how gorgeous of a day it was)... I can almost still feel the sun on my back as I was walking across campus to work... I walked into the computer lab and sat down at the front desk computer feeling totally relaxed that my test was over. I opened my Internet browser to catch up on some news, and all I saw on CNN was the error message... I proceeded to try to open MSNBC and received the same message. I started to wonder what was wrong with the Internet connection. Then I saw it it was on the third news Web site I tried. Both of the towers of the World Trade Center had been hit by hijacked airplanes. News was breaking that the Pentagon had been hit by a third plane. My stomach dropped, but I kept reading. As if all of that wasnt horrible enough, I had an even worse sinking feeling because I remembered that you were in NYC for business meetings... I picked up my cell phone and dialed as fast as I could, but I couldnt get ahold of anyone... That evening when I got off work I received the call. You were okay; mom said that you were on Long Island when all this occurred... I have been thanking God over and over that you werent hurt during this horrid attack.
We have all been trying to cope with what has happened though... ISU had a huge rally on the quad today... The President of the University called off all of our classes from 12-1pm so we could attend and show our support for the tragedy. It was sad, but it was also awesome to see everyone (almost 20,000 students and faculty) come together to share their thoughts and feelings about what happened. There was a lot of crying and hugging and praying together because there were quite a few people here who knew someone they still haven't heard from... Even though I am far away from NY, it seems like this event has affected me so much... I cant even begin to imagine how I would have felt if I was physically there... My heart goes out to everyone there... I wish there was something I could do besides sitting here and crying and worrying and feeling so badly for everyone who has been affected and wasn't as lucky as I was to learn you were safe... Sometimes I feel silly for getting so upset about it and just crying randomly while sitting in class or driving in the car, but then I sit back and realize that if I didn't get through this now, it will just build up inside me and who knows what would happen then... It just amazes me that this happened on U.S. soil though... In my lifetime I have never had to be faced with the threat of war, horrible acts of terrorism, or anything hitting so close to home, or maybe things have happened, but I was never at an age that I totally comprehended the seriousness of it... I have read in history books what wars were like in the past, and I read the news about wars going on in the Middle East, but nothing ever seemed as real as what happened on Tuesday morning... It scares me. I know I shouldn't let it take over because then the terrorists have won - they have instilled fear into my mind and they want me to be scared... And until Tuesday, I never thought I would EVER have to even think of something this horrid in my country...
Anyway, I should probably be going... I guess I just needed to get all of that out, and you were the lucky one that I vented to (*half smile*)... If you made it this far through the email, thanks for listening. I miss you, Dad, and I can't wait til you are back home in Illinois...
I love you.
Always,
Melissa
I am so glad to hear that you are coming home soon! Its almost 1:30 a.m. here and I should be getting to bed... I just haven't been able to sleep real well lately and I can't seem to ever turn off the news. I am just scared that if I stop watching something else is going to happen and I won't know about it... Just like this disaster... After I handed in my test that morning, I walked outside to such a beautiful, sunny, clear morning; I remember looking up into the blue sky thinking how perfect everything seemed at that moment (almost scary how gorgeous of a day it was)... I can almost still feel the sun on my back as I was walking across campus to work... I walked into the computer lab and sat down at the front desk computer feeling totally relaxed that my test was over. I opened my Internet browser to catch up on some news, and all I saw on CNN was the error message... I proceeded to try to open MSNBC and received the same message. I started to wonder what was wrong with the Internet connection. Then I saw it it was on the third news Web site I tried. Both of the towers of the World Trade Center had been hit by hijacked airplanes. News was breaking that the Pentagon had been hit by a third plane. My stomach dropped, but I kept reading. As if all of that wasnt horrible enough, I had an even worse sinking feeling because I remembered that you were in NYC for business meetings... I picked up my cell phone and dialed as fast as I could, but I couldnt get ahold of anyone... That evening when I got off work I received the call. You were okay; mom said that you were on Long Island when all this occurred... I have been thanking God over and over that you werent hurt during this horrid attack.
We have all been trying to cope with what has happened though... ISU had a huge rally on the quad today... The President of the University called off all of our classes from 12-1pm so we could attend and show our support for the tragedy. It was sad, but it was also awesome to see everyone (almost 20,000 students and faculty) come together to share their thoughts and feelings about what happened. There was a lot of crying and hugging and praying together because there were quite a few people here who knew someone they still haven't heard from... Even though I am far away from NY, it seems like this event has affected me so much... I cant even begin to imagine how I would have felt if I was physically there... My heart goes out to everyone there... I wish there was something I could do besides sitting here and crying and worrying and feeling so badly for everyone who has been affected and wasn't as lucky as I was to learn you were safe... Sometimes I feel silly for getting so upset about it and just crying randomly while sitting in class or driving in the car, but then I sit back and realize that if I didn't get through this now, it will just build up inside me and who knows what would happen then... It just amazes me that this happened on U.S. soil though... In my lifetime I have never had to be faced with the threat of war, horrible acts of terrorism, or anything hitting so close to home, or maybe things have happened, but I was never at an age that I totally comprehended the seriousness of it... I have read in history books what wars were like in the past, and I read the news about wars going on in the Middle East, but nothing ever seemed as real as what happened on Tuesday morning... It scares me. I know I shouldn't let it take over because then the terrorists have won - they have instilled fear into my mind and they want me to be scared... And until Tuesday, I never thought I would EVER have to even think of something this horrid in my country...
Anyway, I should probably be going... I guess I just needed to get all of that out, and you were the lucky one that I vented to (*half smile*)... If you made it this far through the email, thanks for listening. I miss you, Dad, and I can't wait til you are back home in Illinois...
I love you.
Always,
Melissa
September 11 Email: Date
September 14, 2001 @ 1:28 A.M.
September 11 Email: Subject
Re: Are you okay??
Collection
Citation
“email390.xml,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed July 8, 2024, https://911digitalarchive.org/items/show/39108.