Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource "September 11: Bearing Witness to History" Stories Submitted Online Description An account of the resource Visitors to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History's, "Bearing Witness to History" online exhibition submitted these reflections beginning in 2002. NMAH Story NMAH Story: Story How did you witness history on September 11th? Share your experience. I live in Columbus, Ohio. I will always remember Tuesday, September, 11, 2001. At that time, I was an employee for the State Dept. of Rehab. and Corrections and my daughter Nedra was a part-time college student and employee for a major bank. Our car was in the shop, so we had to walk and take the bus to our jobs. I worked east and she worked far north. While we were riding the bus downtown I took notice and made mention to her how beautiful and clear the morning was. I also mentioned to her that I had a strange feeling that something bad was going to happen that day. So when we arrived in downtown Columbus and parted ways for our connecting busses, we hugged and kissed each other and I told her to be very careful. As I boarded my connecting bus, I could not shake the feeling that something bad was about to happen. I felt that this happennig was going to take place at my job because we had experienced the fire-bombing of our parole report center two years prior to this date. After getting off the bus and walking the rest of the way to work, I couldn't help looking up and seeing the perfectness of the sky and the day. About 8:40 am, a co-worker and I went outside for a smoke break and I told her of my fear of something bad happening. She laughed! On our way back to our desks we were called into a supervisors office and were informed that a "small" plane had just crashed into one of the WTC towers. We assesed pilot error and hoped that the fatalities were few. As we were leaving the supervisors office she screamed and said another plane had hit the second tower. We immediately shouted terrorist! By the time we got back to our desks, the whole office was a buzz. Needless to say, we got no work done for the rest of the day. As a matter of fact, Gov. Taft closed all state offices at 11:30 am. I have never been so shocked in all my life! I felt like crying but my anger took over instead. For a whole week I could not look at anyone who looked as if they were from the middle east(I soon got over that). My initial concern was for my family in New York and Washington; then for my daughter, mother and boyfriends safety within the city of Columbus. When I arrived at home and turned the T.V. on, I felt as if I were watching a movie! The whole day was so surreal. I hope this country never has to experience anything like this again. It was a day with a perfect beginning and a tragic ending!! May God Bless Us All!! NMAH Story: Life Changed Has your life changed because of September 11, 2001? If so, tell us how. You know the old saying, "Wake up and smell the roses", well I am doing a lot of that these days. I am thanking God for each day and for the people who are in and out of my life. As a result of the bad economy of our country, I was laid-off from my job a few months after Sept. 11. However, I have been blessed with a new job and great co-workers. My daughter has transferred to a college in Brooklyn, N.Y. and is loving it. So I guess for me and my family, Sept 11 made a change for the better. NMAH Story: Remembered What do you think should be remembered about September 11th? As a country, we should always remember how vulnerable we are. We should pray for the families of the victims and make sure that our government is doing all they can do to compensate them before we go sending money to foreign lands. September 11 should also make us realize as a country, that even though we welcome all with open arms, that sometimes we should be careful about being to quick to unlatch the door. NMAH Story: Flag Did you fly an American flag after the events of September 11th? Have your feelings about the American flag changed as a result of September 11th? No, I did not. A flag does not show my patriotism. The kindness and compassion I show to others do! Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource nmah5953.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2003-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 67.37.34.2