story9151.xml

story9151.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2003-03-12

I was working for a major cellular phone manufacturar at the time. I was running a little late; got out of the shower and the news was on. All I could see was a burning building. At the time I did not know where at first but I then found out it was the WTC. That was before the second tower got hit. I was on my way to work when I heard the news. I knew it was serious because every radio station was pre-empted. I got to work and learned that the second tower had been hit. All of us were glued to the television and in shock the whole day. My husband called me when the first tower collapsed and said that he had to leave the room since he started breaking out in tears. And there is not much that causes him to do this. The following day two of my colleagues got into a fight and were terminated. Apparently the stress caused them to get into what ended up as a physical confrontation because they were arguing about the volume of the TV at work. I think the thing that affected me most was the silence in the DFW area. I live close to the airport and it was very strange not hearing the planes overhead. That and the flags at half mass was very emotional. I guess what scares me the most is that I could very well have been me on that plane as I travel frequently. I sometimes have nightmares about nuclear attacks, bombs, bio threats, etc. I can't even begin to imagine the terror going through those people's minds. I recently suffered a severe panic attack when boarding a plane and had to get back off the plane and take a later flight as I was suffering from so much anxiety. My heart goes out to all families, friends, and collegues of those lost in the 9/11 attack.

God bless everyone,

Leslie