story343.xml
Title
story343.xml
Source
born-digital
Media Type
story
Date Entered
2002-04-03
911DA Story: Story
September 11, 2001: My office is in Staines, a town near Heathrow Airport, in England. It was my lunch break and I went out for a walk in the town with no particular aim other than to have a break. On the spur of the moment I went into Dorothy Perkins, a ladies clothes shop, and a T shirt caught my eye - it was grey with the stars and stripes flag on the front - the stars were silver metal and the effect was eye-catching. I have visited USA many times and love the flag, so I bought the T shirt.
On returning to my office I was greeted with the news that the first tower had been struck. My colleagues and I watched the TV screen in our Board Room with absolute disbelief and horror as the nightmare unfolded. I had visited New York in 2000 and had been to the top of the WTC, so the experience seemed quite personal to me and I could not help imagining the scene as if I was there, too.
I then remembered the T shirt and, on looking at the till receipt, saw that I had purchased it at UK time 13:43, USA time 08:43 - a matter of minutes before the first plane hit. I find this coincidence hard to understand.
Naturally, I wore the T shirt that day and frequently thereafter and was glad to have this symbol to express my sorrow publicly.
On returning to my office I was greeted with the news that the first tower had been struck. My colleagues and I watched the TV screen in our Board Room with absolute disbelief and horror as the nightmare unfolded. I had visited New York in 2000 and had been to the top of the WTC, so the experience seemed quite personal to me and I could not help imagining the scene as if I was there, too.
I then remembered the T shirt and, on looking at the till receipt, saw that I had purchased it at UK time 13:43, USA time 08:43 - a matter of minutes before the first plane hit. I find this coincidence hard to understand.
Naturally, I wore the T shirt that day and frequently thereafter and was glad to have this symbol to express my sorrow publicly.
Collection
Citation
“story343.xml,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed December 25, 2025, https://911digitalarchive.org/items/show/7405.