story10888.xml
Title
story10888.xml
Source
born-digital
Media Type
story
Date Entered
2004-09-10
911DA Story: Story
I was asleep when the planes crashed that day...
My father's girlfriend called me in a panic, trying to find out where my sister in law was. This quiet natured woman was screaming at me to wake up, and screaming at me to tell me where Kathy was.
I didn't understand.
"She's in eastern Washington, why?".
" Oh thank God!" and she let out a sigh of relief.Then she said that New York had been bombed....She said to turn on the TV.
It's always bad when they never say which channel.
Like millions of other people, I sat there in stunned silence and then the tears came.
Kathy frequently flew to New York on buisness, and everyone was trying to track her down.I assured her that I'd call her back just in case Kathy had changed her plans.
As I hung up, I realized Kathy frequently changes buisness plans WITHOUT telling anyone,so then I started to panic. Phone lines were jammed, even in Seattle, so I quickly realized E-mail was my best bet to find her that day. I composed a urgent E-mail to her, and prayed.
Shortly after that was sent, the news came on again. There was a plane that had crashed in Pittsburgh. My mom and stepdad were visiting family in Pittsburg, so my panic level rose again. After several hours of E-mails and trying the phones, I finally reached my mom. They were safe, still visiting family.
E-mails were pouring in, and when the phone lines were free for a moment, I'd get another panicked call from family and friends worried. I told them what I knew, that she was probably in eastern washington, but if she had changed her plans, I'd find out and notify them. More frantic E-mails were sent, and just as my fear had reached a fever pitch, Kathy answered. She was fine, and had postponed buisness in New York. I notified everyone who had asked about her, and collapsed in gratitude.
I was lucky, and then came the guilt that I was so lucky. I went from not knowing where my sister in law and parents were, to feeling so sad. There were now thousands of families who were frantically calling and E-mailing, only to find out that they weren't umong the lucky ones.
I had lost my fiance in June of that year, and his loss taught me what the meaning of the word 'gone' really is. Now thousands understood that as well, and my heart was heavy.
I believe in angels, and that our soul survives death, so I've always believed my fiance's spirit haunts me. I asked him to go into the rubble and comfort those who were trapped, and be with those souls who had died, so they wouldn't be as scared. I think he helped, I really do.
I fielded calls for the next few days, tracking everyone down and notifying them our loved ones were safe. We were lucky, so lucky.
My wish is that day, none of the families would have learned the true meaning 'gone'.
To the families of those who were lost, we have not forgotten.
"In each man who dies,
there dies with him his first snow
and kiss
and fight...
Not people die but worlds die in them."
-- Yevgeny Yevtushenko
My father's girlfriend called me in a panic, trying to find out where my sister in law was. This quiet natured woman was screaming at me to wake up, and screaming at me to tell me where Kathy was.
I didn't understand.
"She's in eastern Washington, why?".
" Oh thank God!" and she let out a sigh of relief.Then she said that New York had been bombed....She said to turn on the TV.
It's always bad when they never say which channel.
Like millions of other people, I sat there in stunned silence and then the tears came.
Kathy frequently flew to New York on buisness, and everyone was trying to track her down.I assured her that I'd call her back just in case Kathy had changed her plans.
As I hung up, I realized Kathy frequently changes buisness plans WITHOUT telling anyone,so then I started to panic. Phone lines were jammed, even in Seattle, so I quickly realized E-mail was my best bet to find her that day. I composed a urgent E-mail to her, and prayed.
Shortly after that was sent, the news came on again. There was a plane that had crashed in Pittsburgh. My mom and stepdad were visiting family in Pittsburg, so my panic level rose again. After several hours of E-mails and trying the phones, I finally reached my mom. They were safe, still visiting family.
E-mails were pouring in, and when the phone lines were free for a moment, I'd get another panicked call from family and friends worried. I told them what I knew, that she was probably in eastern washington, but if she had changed her plans, I'd find out and notify them. More frantic E-mails were sent, and just as my fear had reached a fever pitch, Kathy answered. She was fine, and had postponed buisness in New York. I notified everyone who had asked about her, and collapsed in gratitude.
I was lucky, and then came the guilt that I was so lucky. I went from not knowing where my sister in law and parents were, to feeling so sad. There were now thousands of families who were frantically calling and E-mailing, only to find out that they weren't umong the lucky ones.
I had lost my fiance in June of that year, and his loss taught me what the meaning of the word 'gone' really is. Now thousands understood that as well, and my heart was heavy.
I believe in angels, and that our soul survives death, so I've always believed my fiance's spirit haunts me. I asked him to go into the rubble and comfort those who were trapped, and be with those souls who had died, so they wouldn't be as scared. I think he helped, I really do.
I fielded calls for the next few days, tracking everyone down and notifying them our loved ones were safe. We were lucky, so lucky.
My wish is that day, none of the families would have learned the true meaning 'gone'.
To the families of those who were lost, we have not forgotten.
"In each man who dies,
there dies with him his first snow
and kiss
and fight...
Not people die but worlds die in them."
-- Yevgeny Yevtushenko
Collection
Citation
“story10888.xml,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed January 11, 2025, https://911digitalarchive.org/items/show/4880.