nmah6737.xml

nmah6737.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2004-09-11

I teach fourth grade at an elementary school in Elkton, MD. About an hour after the tragedy occured, I had just dropped my students off at Art class. I was entering the school office when the secretary of our school told me that 2 planes had hit the WTC. I asked her if it was an accident, she said it was not. I walked upstairs to my classroom and turned on the television and sat there in shock. After realizing what was going on, many parents began picking up their children from school early. Elkton is situated about halfway between Phila. & Baltimore. It is also about 45 minutes from Dover Air Force Base in Del. I think people were nervous because of our location.
Anyway, parents continued to stream into the building to pick up children. The teachers were instructed to not turn on their televisions or discuss the situation at all. This was very difficult, because several teachers in our building had relatives who worked in NYC and at the Pentagon. After lunch, a memo was relased to teachers that we were to read to our classes verbatum. It basically said that some buildings in NYC had been attacked and that school was being dismissed early. At 1 or 2 PM, we were finally permitted to go home. My daughters attended the same school, so they were with me as we drove home. They could not understand why there was no music on the radio. It was a long ride home. When I arrived home, my husband was home and our next door neighbors were in our back yard with him. We all just kind of stood around in disbelief. We heard a plane overhead & looked up. We were relieved to see that it was a military plane.
In the days after 9/11, it seemed like everyone walked around in a state of shock. My church was packed on the Sunday that followed, as if we were all trying to find some answer to our big question... WHY?

I think my life has changed. I think I am more aware of my surroundings. When I am in a large building, I make sure I know where exits are. I don't think I take things for granted as much as I did before.

I think that the courage displayed by firefighters, police officers, and passengers on the planes should be remembered.

I did fly a flag after 9/11.
I have always believed that the US is the best country in the world. I have always thanked God for the freedoms we have here that don't exist in other parts of the world. I think the events of 9/11/01 just intensified these feelings.