story3141.xml
Title
story3141.xml
Source
born-digital
Media Type
story
Date Entered
2002-09-11
911DA Story: Story
The day started off for me just like any other day. I got my kids, John, Michael, Richard and Rose ready for school and dropped my husband, Juan off at the Metro station in Dunn Lorring. It was a gorgeous morning. The signs of autumn were in the air and summer was slowly slipping away. I wanted to get a head start on my day so I decided to go into work a little early. I arrived about 8:45 and said my normal cheering "hello's" and "good mornings" unaware that something terrible had just happened. Within minutes all hell broke loose. Karen, one of my supervisors,
informed us that a plane had flown into one of the towers. I was in the stock room in the back of the store with another supervisor, Sue. I was shocked. I remember saying, "It has to be an accident." Sue said, "I hope it's not terrorist again." Moments later we heard of the second plane hitting the other tower. At that point we had all gathered in the frame shop. We were all stunned. This was definitely no accident. Lou, one of our ladies in the floral department, was openly weeping. One of her nieces worked in the twin towers. I just felt sick to my stomach. Everything was just so unreal. The phone didn't ring once and it left us with an eerie silence. I was in a state of denial. Then the third plane went into the Pentagon. Juan worked in Old Town Alexandria and he could see the smoke from the Pentagon when he looked out his office window. He called me and said he was coming home and I needed to do the same. He just wanted all of us to be together. Jean-Pierre, one of my co-workers was frantic. His wife works in the Naval Research building and they all were locked down. No one was allowed to go in or out. He had no idea if he'd be seeing her anytime soon. I drove home as calmly as I could to find my huband waiting impatiently for me. We picked up Richard and Rose first. The school had been secured and you were only allowed into the building if you were a parent picking up a child. Rose (8 years old at the time) didn't understand why everyone was leaving and Richard (10 at the time) was quiet as usual. We then proceeded to pick up John and Michael (14 & 12). Apparently everyone wanted to be home safe and with family. The roads were full of cars as if it were rush hour and not 10:00 o'clock in the morning. John was affected the most. He was old enough to understand that our life had been forever changed. When we got home, Juan sat us down and he spoke to the children and explained that some very bad people had done something terrible and he just wanted all of us to be together where we were all safe. We tried not to watch the news constantly because it was just too much to take in. Michael asked very few questions and when he did, it was for the comfort of information. John, however, was glued to the television. He had to know because that was his solace. Sleep didn't come easily for us that night. I remember checking in on John at 10:30pm and reminding him no to stay up much longer. He shut the tv off a short while later, but I could hear him tossing and turning all night. Although this happened a year ago, it's still so fresh in my mind. We were stripped of our innocence and all I can hope for is that we are better people because of this tragedy
informed us that a plane had flown into one of the towers. I was in the stock room in the back of the store with another supervisor, Sue. I was shocked. I remember saying, "It has to be an accident." Sue said, "I hope it's not terrorist again." Moments later we heard of the second plane hitting the other tower. At that point we had all gathered in the frame shop. We were all stunned. This was definitely no accident. Lou, one of our ladies in the floral department, was openly weeping. One of her nieces worked in the twin towers. I just felt sick to my stomach. Everything was just so unreal. The phone didn't ring once and it left us with an eerie silence. I was in a state of denial. Then the third plane went into the Pentagon. Juan worked in Old Town Alexandria and he could see the smoke from the Pentagon when he looked out his office window. He called me and said he was coming home and I needed to do the same. He just wanted all of us to be together. Jean-Pierre, one of my co-workers was frantic. His wife works in the Naval Research building and they all were locked down. No one was allowed to go in or out. He had no idea if he'd be seeing her anytime soon. I drove home as calmly as I could to find my huband waiting impatiently for me. We picked up Richard and Rose first. The school had been secured and you were only allowed into the building if you were a parent picking up a child. Rose (8 years old at the time) didn't understand why everyone was leaving and Richard (10 at the time) was quiet as usual. We then proceeded to pick up John and Michael (14 & 12). Apparently everyone wanted to be home safe and with family. The roads were full of cars as if it were rush hour and not 10:00 o'clock in the morning. John was affected the most. He was old enough to understand that our life had been forever changed. When we got home, Juan sat us down and he spoke to the children and explained that some very bad people had done something terrible and he just wanted all of us to be together where we were all safe. We tried not to watch the news constantly because it was just too much to take in. Michael asked very few questions and when he did, it was for the comfort of information. John, however, was glued to the television. He had to know because that was his solace. Sleep didn't come easily for us that night. I remember checking in on John at 10:30pm and reminding him no to stay up much longer. He shut the tv off a short while later, but I could hear him tossing and turning all night. Although this happened a year ago, it's still so fresh in my mind. We were stripped of our innocence and all I can hope for is that we are better people because of this tragedy
Collection
Citation
“story3141.xml,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed January 9, 2025, https://911digitalarchive.org/items/show/4302.