story4899.xml

story4899.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-09-11

I had just gotten into work that morning when one of my co-workers came over to tell me that a plane had hit into the World Trade Center. He said it was on the television in the confrence room. Just as I entered the room the second plane hit the second tower. I was in a room with about 25 other co-workers. We were all pretty shoook up. I went back to my desk a few minutes later, and tried to call my youngest daughter who works in the times square area. She travels from New Jersey through the Lincoln Tunnel. As I was trying to reach her someone yelled over that they had hit the Pentagon in Washington. I was really scared, and I was beginging to get more frightened when I couldn.t reach my daughter, or my home. I finally got through to my husband on his cell phone. He had not heard anything about the World Trade Center, so I filled him in as to what I saw and heard on the TV and my raido. I told him I couldn't reach my daughter, and he tried to calm me down. He said he would try to reach her on his cell phone, and would call me back. I ran back and forth between the confrence room and my desk for the next hour watching what was happening on the TV and waiting for my husband or daughter to call me. At about 10:45 or so my son called me. He told me he and my daughter had gotten up late, so he tried to take her to Staten Island, New York, where she could catch a bus easier, and make it to work on time. They were stopped from going over the Outerbrider Crossing by Police Officers with shot guns. Everyone had to turn around and they did, and they called me as son as they got home. I was very glad they left late and didn't make it over that bridge, because the bus my daughter would have taken passed right in front of the World Trade Center. We were told by our office that we should go home, but when one of my co-workers tried to get to the train staten in Newark they were told by the police to run and get away from the station because of a bomb threat. I had no other was of getting home, so I tried to reach my husband again. It took me about another half hour to reach him, and he said he would come to get me, but didn't know how long it would take. He asked if I was alright where I was, and I said I thought so, and I told him I would wait outside my bulilding for him. It took him about and hour to reach me, but I was never so glad to see him. It took about 2 hous to get home, and the look of relief on my son and daughters face when they saw us pull up to the hous made me cry. By the time I had gotten home my borther in Calfiornia had called about 4 times and left messages. He was't sure if I still worked in the Workd Trade Center or not. My previous job was in the World Trade Center Tower 2. I workded there before the first bombing, and before this one. Evern if they rebild the towers again, I don't think I will press my luck a third time. Both of my daughters had worked in the World Trade Center, my youngest one just quit the temp job there 5 months earlier.