nmah5263.xml

nmah5263.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-10-29

It was a day that the world will never forget.....

My personal experience began with a phone call from my step-father telling me to turn on the television-----and then the next several hours were horrific for everyone and personally worrisome for me because I didn't know where my daughter was.

She was working about six blocks from the World Trade Center and, when the first plane hit, her building was evacuted immediately. They were not told anything so when she and her friends got to the street they headed toward the trade center thinking that perhaps a small plane had crashed and wanting to see what was going on. They saw the second plane hit and then were horrified when the first building collapsed. They just stood and stared not believing what they were seeing until the cloud of debis started coming towards them and they turned and ran. When they got to the Brooklyn Bridge the police made them go over it. People slowed to a walk on the bridge thinking that they were safe but my daughter, still not knowing if this was a war and if there would be another attack, took her shoes off and ran faster over the bridge! When she got to Brooklyn she borrowed money, having left everything behind when she evacuated her office, and tried to call her husband in New Jersey but that service wasn't available so she called me. After I asked all the questions about how she was, I told her that the second tower had collapsed. She turned and told the crowd that was nearby about this and I could hear them passing the word and gasping. It was very weird that they were a part of this horrible day and I was the one to tell them about the second tower!

I live in a small town where changes are not evident so the only difference occurs when I travel. However, emotionally I guess that I've changed. I am not obsessed but I am waiting for the next thing to happen and I'm afraid that I am more aware of the world's vulnerability. I do worry about my daughter who still works in Manhatten.

I think that we should remember that a whole religion did not do this horrible thing---just a few irrational people. We need to never forget and never be satified until we have eradicated terrorism. And we need to always remember those who died and those who were injured and their families and friends. So many people were affected..May God Bless them all.

I did. I have always been a very patriotic person but not necessarily the flag waving kind. Now I have a flag flying at my home and one in the back window of my car. This American unity is something good that has come from a horrific experience.