story5627.xml

story5627.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-09-11

I was at the gym for my morning work out,when I saw the first and then the second plane hit the twin towers and I thought out load that this was an act of terrorism and that we were going to war.I am a captain in the sheriffs department,so I hurried home because I knew I would have to respond to work right away.I first made sure I saw my family and made sure they were ok,then I suited up in tactical gear and responded to my office.Within hours I was down at ground zero.I was there for a week.There are two things that stuck in my mind.First was the weird sense of quite for being in the city.The hustle and crowds were gone,even though there were alot of resues workers there,it was still such a strange feeling,like an old war movie.Thats how it looked as you walked the streets of the city.Second was the smell that filled the air.I will never forget that smell.I could not get it uot of my nose for weeks.The people of New York are unbelievable in loyalty.They stayed out on the streets 24 hours a day and cheered us on and thanked us for our work and I felt such a sense of pride....to be a New Yorker and an American!!!!