story1990.xml

story1990.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-09-09

I dropped my seven year old daughter off at school at 8:45 A.M. and headed to my college math class. Class started at 9:30 A.M. and we had our first test that day. Funny, no one in the class seemed to have heard what was going on yet because class started on schedule. After I was done taking my test I headed to the student lounge to hang out. Everyone was gathered around the television quietly. That was when I found out that both towers had been hit, and it wasn't an accident. As I went to the phones to call my husband, I remember a girl at the phones, crying into the reciever hysterically, saying "Did he go in to work today? Did you hear anything from him?" That's when the magnitude of what had happened started to set in. Some friends and I gathered around the television to watch what unfolded next. Tears streamed down our faces as we watched the first tower collapse. I said aloud "God bless those people still in that building." Rumors began flying around the campus at that point. Someone said a plane had crashed in Akron (Ohio), another person said that our military bases were being attacked, and another said that marshall law was being declared. Of course none of those rumors were true. When the news confirmed that a plane HAD crashed near Pittsburgh (we live an hour northwest of Pittsburgh), I left school to go home and be with my family. All I wanted to do was hug everyone close to me, especially my father who has been a volunteer firefighter for over twenty years. I have always lived with the fear that my dad would go to a fire and not come back, and on 9-11 that fear became reality for many people. My heart goes out to the all of the families who lost loved ones. Even though it's been a year, I still can't seem to get my mind around this. I feel that the best way for me to pay homage to those who lost their lives is to appreciate my life and the people in it, to not take any of it for granted. And to always say "I love you" because it may be your last chance.