nmah3902.xml

nmah3902.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-09-11

It was like any other day, I got up, got ready and went to work. I got to my office by 8:30am. I don't even remember what time it was, but I recieved a call from my mother and she tells me a plane slammed into the World Trade Center, I didn't believe her, she had a habit of telling me these stories that always ended up just being a rumor, this was just another story she didn't hear correctly. Just for the hell of it I logged on to the internet and there it was a picture of the WTC on fire. My first thought was that a small plane hit the WTC and a few people died or were injured, but then there was a bulletin and it said that another plane hit the WTC. Well I just felt so bad and I'm thinking another plane hit the building because of the smoke from the first crash. I couldn't be more wrong. I live and work in New Jersey so you can see the New York skyline clearly. I decided to go to the tallest building at my company's complex I think it goes up 15 floors. Before I head there I stop by my supervisors office and I see all of the managers, directors and admin's gather together with tears in their eyes listening to the radio and the announcement of the Pentagon being hit comes over the radio. I just weeped because I knew this was no accident and I was scared. My thoughts changed to feeling so bad for those people at the WTC to "Oh My God we're all going to die". I have a lump in throat as I write this because the memory is still so vivid in my head. I went to the 15th floor and see the smoke just flow up towards heaven and decided that I needed to call my family. I take the elevator down to the lobby as the doors open I see at least a hundred employees gathered around watching the televsion with faces like I've never seen before and you would think that it couldn't get any worse. Then the tower collapses. It changed me forever. All we could do was gasp. Then the other tower collapses. This didn't feel real I hoped this was just some nightmare and I was going to wake up and the towers would still be there, but it wasn't a nightmare the towers will not be there. I loved the towers I was proud to be so close to them. Whenever a relative would come to visit that's the first place we would take them. I went to my desk so numb and we were told my our supervisors that we were being sent home. Of course the minute I got home I turned on the TV. The phones didn't work so I couldn't reach my relatives in Italy, but they finally got in touch with us and they were weeping and so scared that couldn't reach any sooner. They were worried for us and said "Stay inside your house and don't go anywhere" I of course assured them that we would. I don't think I ate that day I just sat in front of the TV watching and crying. It took awhile for any of us to really get back to normal, but we had to for the sake of country and ourselves.

I'm afraid of airplanes when they fly overhead I start to panic a bit. I don't like places that are two crowded and I always make sure that I'm comfortable shoes just in case I need to run.

I did fly a flag, I lit candles and I donated blood. I love being an American even more now.