story3641.xml
Title
story3641.xml
Source
born-digital
Media Type
story
Date Entered
2002-09-11
911DA Story: Story
On September 11, 2001, I was standing in the kitchen of my brother's condominum in Venice, Florida, ready to pack the van for a return trip home to Fort Wayne, Indiana. My oldest brother and I had made the trip to Florida to celebrate my retirement after 38 years of teaching. When we heard the news, we were confused as to what had actually happened. But when we saw the second plane hit, we knew that this was no accident.
Although we were so far away from the events, I still felt I was close to those who were suffering. We made a stop in Longwood, Florida, where we visited some old friends of mine whose daughter-in-law worked in New York City. Fortunately, they were able to contact her and she was safe. My younger brother in Providence, Rhode Island, also has a good friend who lives in the city and, miraculously, my brother was able to reach him on his cell phone before all the lines of communication were down. He too was safe.
As my brother and I continued on our way home, we listened to the radio about the events of the day; what we heard was surreal.
How could such a tragedy happen? However, I realized that Americans are resiliant. We would see this through to the end. How glad I am that I live in this country.
Although we were so far away from the events, I still felt I was close to those who were suffering. We made a stop in Longwood, Florida, where we visited some old friends of mine whose daughter-in-law worked in New York City. Fortunately, they were able to contact her and she was safe. My younger brother in Providence, Rhode Island, also has a good friend who lives in the city and, miraculously, my brother was able to reach him on his cell phone before all the lines of communication were down. He too was safe.
As my brother and I continued on our way home, we listened to the radio about the events of the day; what we heard was surreal.
How could such a tragedy happen? However, I realized that Americans are resiliant. We would see this through to the end. How glad I am that I live in this country.
Collection
Citation
“story3641.xml,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed January 8, 2025, https://911digitalarchive.org/items/show/3916.