story712.xml

story712.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-06-05

I remember it was second period...my class and I were getting ready to hear the day's announcements when a student tells me that a plane flew into a the WTC and the Pentagon. I thought this student had misinformation -- it sounded so ridiculous. I just thought it was a high school joke. However, my fears were confirmed when another student came crying to my classroom to talk to her sister -- she told me that America was attacked. Soon, an another announcement told the school the grim news.

My students were hysterical, scared, and flooded me with so many questions I couldn't answer -- I tried to calm them down. They thought that Wichita would be the next place that would be bombed.

Finally, my class made it to the library to watch the news...we saw the second tower fall on live television. It was terrifying! I have never seen a room full of high school students so quiet.

We cancelled our inservice for that day and I went home. I was glued to the television the rest of the evening including our local news. The attacks shut down our airport, our air base was on alert, and people were filling up thier cars in case gas went sky high. There were services at every church in the Wichita, Kansas area. Many just stayed at home.

No one felt safe...not even in America's heartland far from the attacks.