story5019.xml

story5019.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-09-11

I am a native New Yorker. I was born in Brooklyn, NY, and lived in the NY metropolitan area for the first 35 years of my life before moving to South Florida. I visited NY in May, 2001, with a friend who had never been to New York City. We did the touristy things like going to see the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building. My friend got to see the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center for the first and last time. That brought tears to my eyes the first time I said it after 9/11.

A friend called me Tuesday morning, 9/11, shortly after the first plane had hit one of the towers. I had the TV on all day as I watched the second tower get hit, and then each of the towers crumble to the ground in succession. I was devastated. Being a native New Yorker, it really hit home. I had a friend who worked in the American Express building across the street from the Twin Towers. She was safe. My brother-in-law worked three blocks away. He was safe, too. However, I lost a classmate of mine, who worked in one of the towers. Although I did not know him well in school, I grieved for him and his family.

When I was New York the previous May, I took an awesome picture, from Liberty Island, of the United States flag draping one of the towers. I shared that picture with all my friends and family.

9/11 is a date that I will never forget.