nmah154.xml

nmah154.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-08-18

I was on my way back to work with donuts for my co-workers. I heard the news on the radio about the planes hitting the WTC. A few minutes later it was reported that the Pentagon was hit. I couldn't believe what I was hearing! We were under attack.... something I never ever would have thought would happen. I kept wondering what would be next. I thought there would also be a lot more. I was extremely scared, especially living near Washington DC and having family working for the governtment.

I then thought about my family up in Staten Island, NY. My cousin is an EMT and I knew he would be called in for assistance. I couldn't get through to my family to see how they were up there and it took over 24 hours to find out if my cousin was ok. Thank God he was. I didn't get to actually speak to him for 1 week because he was so busy working so many unbelievable hours. He didn't arrive to the towers until the 2nd tower began to fall. I am really happy that he is still alive and am so incredible proud of my cousin. He risked his life getting to the towers through bomb threats in order to help anyone that needed it.

I still can't believe all of this happened. It seems like a bad dream. So many people... so many of them gone. This wasn't supposed to happen. My generation (X) has heard so much about Pearl Harbor from our grandparents and Vietnam from our parents. Yeah, we had our share of attaks on other countries but nothing seemed to compare to what the generations before us had. This wasn't supposed to happen... not to us, not to innocent Americans on our soil.

But... it did.

I have gotten much closer with my extended family. We talk a lot more often now.

I feel a lot more scared than I used to. Who knows what could happen next... that is what frightens me. I try not to let that fear get in the way of my functioning though.. I fly, I go to the city when I want and I live my life.

All of the innocent people that are now gone.


That anything can happen at anytime. I think the whole country and our government felt a sense of security... that we couldn't be harmed. That our intelligence could catch anything... it can't. We need to remain aware that we are not perfect and we are vulnarble.

Yes.

It has become more than "just a flag". Before 9-11 our flag stood for something of course... but now it seems like more. It's true meaning... what it was created for... has been revealed. Well, at least to me. It was just another symbol beforehand. Like the dove is for peace or the woman shape is for the ladies bathroom. I now feel proud to fly the flag, proud to show that I am an American. Proud to show my support for other Americans.