story6618.xml

story6618.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-09-12

September 11,2001 started out just like any normal day to everyone in the medical records department of Toccoa Clinic in my hometown of Toccoa, Georgia. I remember I walked into the records room not expecting anything unusual to happen. We had a small boombox radio sitting on a shelf above the counter. I had just come back from one of the other departments, and when I walked in my entire department was gathered around that small boombox. I asked them what was going on. One of them said that a plane had hit the World Trade Center. I was astonished, but the thought of it being a terroristic act didn't cross my mind. I just thought it was probably an accident. Maybe the pilot had passed out or something. Anything could have caused that. When the second plane hit, we knew this was no accident. Then we heard about the plane hitting the Pentagon. Complete fear and silence overwhelmed our entire department. We went across the hall into our breakroom, which had a tiny black and white fuzzy television. There were about 20 of us gathered around that small television. Our work just came to a halt. One lady who worked with me almost had a panic attack when the rumor came that they were about to bomb the entire city of Washington D.C. Her sister was employed there, so she ran out to go home to be with her family. Luckily, our American heroes stopped them just in time. Another girl in our department had a fit also when they closed down the entire city of Atlanta, because her newlywed husband was working on a building in Atlanta. I remember all day long, on tv, they showed the planes crashing into the towers over and over again. All I could think of was how many lives were lost, how many unsuspecting people on a normal business day lost their lives just by going to work. Today, I'm constantly reminded of the heroes of 9/11, the policemen, the brave employees who lost their lives getting other coworkers out of the building, and of the firefighters. My husband is a volunteer firefighter and I pray everyday that he will never get a call that will take his life. Being a newlywed and an expectant mother, my heart especially goes out to those women who were pregnant and who had their babies without the father present. My heart goes out to everyone who lost a mother, a father, a husband, a wife, a son, a daughter, or a friend. 9/11 is a day we will never forget, and it will always be in our minds and our hearts 10, 15, and even 100 years from now. It will be in our children's history books. Just as I asked my great grandmother what she remembers about the sinking of the Titanic, I know the day will come when my grandchildren will ask me of my memories of 9/11. I will be anxious to tell them that it was the one day and the one event that brought a nation that was slowly being torn apart together.