236 20 7169 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: My first reaction was disbielf. It was non-comprehendable.Then I got on the internet at work and saw the pictures. I spent the entire morning reading the NY Times and the Washington Post. Getting as much info as I could. My mother is orginally from New York and has many friends who still live in the Manhatten area. I prayed that no one I knew was injured. I left work early that day to be with my family. Weaverville had now had two tradgies within two weeks. I portion of our small town had burned on August 28, we had just settled back into our lives after being evacuated for three days. My family learned a lot from our small town horror, my then almost 11 year old learned what is truely important, family and friends and their health and welfare.Not your CD collection. (We had only 15-20 minutes to pack and load my truck when we were evacuated)My daughter that evening kept asking about the children who's parents were killed, "Mom, where will those kids go?" I remember being angry that these attacks had happened and the next crying for the heros who died trying to save anyone. My prayers and thought are always with those who died and their families who miss them!!!!!! Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story3041.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 198.189.124.10 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I am a preschool teacher and was teaching in Morehead City NC at the time of the attacks on our nation. When I arrived at work at 9 am that morning, I thought that it was going to be a normal day at work. Little did I know that within the next few hours, I would hear the stories about what had been done. One of the teachers that I worked very closely with and became friends with, was married to a guy who is in the Marines. She came into my room hysterically crying and telling me bits and pieces of what had happened. I did not realize then how bad and horrifying the tragedy really was. All day I listened to the radio and heard the rumors but it wasn't until I got home that evening that everything sunk in. I had not seen the news or a photograph or any evidence until I got home. As soon as I turned on the televisioin and saw a plane fly into a building on purpose, I became scared and panicked. It is very hard for me to understand why a group of people could Americans so much that they would do this. To study how to fly and then prepare themselves to die is very hard to understand. I have always been afraid to fly even though I do it all of the time, but I have to admit that now it is worse. I can see myself and the plane plummeting to earth and almost put myself into the position of all of those people. The people who boarded a plane that day to travel, do business, take a vacation, and whatever else they were doing, had no idea that it would be their last time. And the people who went into work at the World Trade Centers that day who suffered and died. My heart goes out to all of the people who died, who lost someone that day, who suffered and may still be suffering. I believe that we will come out on top because we are a great nation and we are bound together to get through this. God Bless America!! Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story7357.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-14 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 152.163.188.6 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: When the attacks of September 11th occured, I had just came into my homeroom class at Oakwood High School. I was a senior. Just as I walked into the door, I saw the second plane hit the towers. I said "My God! What's going on?" Everyone in the class was in shock. A few kids who had relatives in New York were crying. They didn't know if their families were alright or not. School was dismissed early so we could go home to our families. The only thing I did all day was watch the news, and pray that everything would turn out alright. A few months later, I wrote a poem in memory of the 9/11 victims. I read it at my graduation. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story1661.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-02 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 152.163.188.195 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I was working that mourning listening to Hoeard Stern when he told us that this wasn't a joke, that a plane had just flown into the world trade center and moments later another one had just hit tower 2. He decided to allow anyone who wanted to leave to leave, but he was staying on the air because that's what the people would have wanted him to do. I quikly turned to other news channals and not one had broad casted the News. Stern was the first. At that point I turned back to his how and though of daughter and my fiancee and quickly called the school to make sure my daughter was safe and my fiacee to see if she was safe. I was sick to my stomac for weeks. That Thursday I drove to Conn, and to see the Black smoke over the harrizon, made it earry and I became sad. and here it is 4 years later and I still get sick when ever I see pictures of that sight. my prayers and thoughts are always with those familys and the victims. Blake Bean East Weeymouth Massachusetts Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story11242.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2005-01-01 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 24.60.46.0 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I was at home and had the T.V. on when they showed the tragic events of 9/11/01. I prayed for the families and rescue personell, all the while thinking how could this happen in our USA. I already had respect for the Firemen and Policemen but their true valor came forth on this tragic day. I pray for their wifes, children and extended family members, they chose a line of work that has many consequences, but this truly showed how much they do. I really feel bad that this type of tragedy can go on in the world and just wish we could somehow get all nations to live in peace. I respect President Bush and the hard decisions he has had to make lately, although it might mean more lifes will be lost we can't let this happen again in AMERICA! GOD BLESS THOSE WHO HAVE GONE BEFORE US AND PRAY FOR THOSE OF US LEFT BECAUSE WE DON'T KNOW WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT! Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story4525.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 64.12.96.8 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: We had the Tuesday off b/c of our schools president inaugaration. Everyone had the opportunity to attend it but my roomy and I did not feel led to go. Instead, we slept in. Planning to sleep the day away, we were awakened by a phone call from my roomy's mother. Her mother told her that America was being bombed, so she turned on the TV. i was not very happy with the TV being on b/c i was trying to sleep. Pluss it was turned to the news, which is not what you want to hear while sleeping. when she told me what was happening i did not believe it at first. This was not something that was supposed to happen in real life but only in movies. I believe that it was around 11:00 when we were awakened by terrible news. At first it was just wierd but then it became scary. We became fearfull for our lives and more importantly i began to ponder on my life. What was my purpose, what have I done to benefit the kingdom of God, who was I living for, how much my family means to me and so on. I began to cry. A part of me was afraid that i may never see my family again (they are in San Antonio) and the larger part was afraid of not hearing God say, "Well done, thou good and faithfull servent." Her mom told us to go get gas, so we did. The rest of the day just involved my crying and wondering and calling of family. Another thing that really upset me was that my boyfriend is a marine and he was out at the field when it happened so i could not talk to him. I was scared for his life and i wanted him to tell me what was going to happen but i could not. That was my life on 9-11. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story372.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-04-09 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 64.216.57.67 Annotation Annotations to this item. Economic effects Military Religion DOMESTIC Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: The attacks of September 11th, 2001 were very shocking. Nobody had any idea that it would occur. As we all sat there and watched the events unfold on our televisions we were all in fear and shock. Some of us knew more than others. Most of us were either at school or work and could not watch the events unfold. I was in Biology class and before I had went to school I saw the first plane hit. At first I thought that it was just an accident. After Biology class a parent came into the classroom and said that they were picking up their daughter because the country was under attack. That?s when I first found out about it. As I rode the bus back to my home school we dropped off the first school. Central High School in Pueblo, Colorado. I had found out that they had a bomb threat. When I heard about the bomb threat I immediately called my grandmother whom I lived with. I was so scared I had no idea what was going on. When I had talked to my grandmother she told me that The Pentagon had been hit also. I immediately told the others on the bus what had happened. I went through the rest of my day. I was in wonder and fear. I had a little bit of every feeling that you could possibly have. Fear, horror, sad, happy, glad, mad, angry, and even hurt. I had all of these confused feelings inside of me that I could not even think straight. Later that afternoon when I arrived at home, I watched the news. What I saw had me literally in tears. As I sat there in front of my television I watched the planes hit the buildings and then watched them crumble to the ground. I could not believe my eyes. Was this real? Was this all just a dream? I kept wondering when I would wake up. Later that evening I had to go and buy some dance shoes for my dance class the next night. I remember listening to the radio. I heard about another plane that had crashed into the ground in Pennsylvania. Know I really knew that this wasn?t all a dream. I knew that it was real. I still didn?t want to believe it. I was so hurt and sad and even horrified. I didn?t know what to do, think, or even say. As I went to bed that night I said a prayer for those who had died. I said a prayer for those who would put their lives on the line to save the remaining lives in the buildings. I have told you my story of the September 11th, 2001 attacks and now I?d like to hear yours. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story9024.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2003-02-03 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 65.114.243.163 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: On September 11,2001 I was in rikers island serving time, I was coming back form lunch and every one was on line heading back to their bunks. Then I noticed that every One was looking up at the sky then I noticed the big dark cloud in the sky. I thought it was not I big deal. To me I just thought it was going to rain hard. Every one was pointing at one direction. I could not see what they wore looking at, every one ran inside the sprungs (the bunks) and turned on the TV. We started watching the news that?s; when I found out what was going on. I did not believe it, to me it was a dream a really bad one. I said to myself is this really happening but the dark cloud proved it all. I was mad that I was in there. I felt that every one needed my help but they really needed more than my help they needed god him self to be there. Ever since that happened I took my life more serious. I thought to myself this is not any dream that I?m living. This is reality in the flesh. But I wonder, if it did change people, how? What did it change? I sometimes think about the things that happened in the world. Will it ever change the world? I hope we can unite all together the way it should be some day. And I believe it will, because sometimes I think God tells me. I think that on September 11. 2001 it should be remembered that all things happened for a reason. It?s sad that a lot of people had to die that way. But now remember that they are watching us from the heavens now and they want us to do the best to stay strong. We are the united states of American and united we will always be forever! By: Jason Alexander Guzman Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story2069.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-10 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 209.10.31.34 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I was living in Keene, New Hampshire on Sept. 11, 2001. Keene is a very small town/city in the southwestern corner of NH. I was a Spanish teacher at Keene High School at the time. I remember that day like it was yesterday. It was 2nd block and my Spanish 2 students came in when the bell rang. They had no idea what was going on because they were in class when it happened. I myself did not know anything either. I was about to begin class when one of my former students came into my class and said that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center. I didn't really know what to think. I couldn't picture this at all. It didn't seem real. He said that it is all over the news and that there are a lot of students and staff watching it on tv in the library. It still didn't seem real. I didn't realize how serious the situation was. Two minutes later, the principal got on the PA system and informed us of what was happening. The whole class was in shock and confused. Many students did not even know what the World Trade Center was! Some students were scared because they knew some relatives who worked in NY. I immediately turned on the radio to hear any information I could get. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. It seemed like a dream. From then on, things were not the same for awhile. I remember flying for the first time after the event in December to visit my family in Arizona. Everyone on the plane including myself were observing anyone who walked by them. Security guards at the airport were especially alert as passengers walked through the security censor. It's too bad that something so terrible had to wake us up to see what freedom really means and that we aren't always invincible. I recently moved to Arizona to be closer to my family. As my boyfriend and I drove out to Arizona from New Hampshire, it was amazing to see how everyone is supporting the U.S. with flags, flowers and other memorial sites. It makes me proud to be an American. Nerissa Patrone Tucson, AZ Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story3656.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 66.162.43.26 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I simply cannot describe the feelings that I had that day. Shock, loss, hurt, sorrowful just don't seem to describe them. As I sat in my home watching with thousands of others as the second plane hit the tower it did not seem real. I new the moment that the first tower fell that people had just died right in front of my eyes. I had such a sense of saddness that quite possibly people had died without someone ever telling them the plan of salvation and how simple it is to secure your place in heaven. How possibly they had been told about my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and how they had maybe thought that they had plenty of time to make that kind of decision, after all they were just going to work that day. I felt that the world as I knew it was never going to be the same. I had sorrow that my children who are just now getting married and thinking of starting their families were going to lose that sense of security that living in this great nation has given me all of my life. I was sad my the senseless loss of life and yet glad that for the first time in a very long time that people were seeing heros real live heros, we had for far to long looked up to the wrong people as the heros in this world. We now know that we have heros and angels walking among us each and every day and that they are just everyday simply people just like us created by God. I was proud, proud that people were talking openly about God and how this nation was founded on His principles, how no one was ashamed to mention pray, how our president handle the events of the day and the weeks that followed. Proud that people were seeing each other as Americans and that your color did not seem to matter. We were united as one people for this time of that I was very proud. I will struggle probably the rest of my life with the correct words to describe that day and I will of course never forget and will always shed tears when I see or remember the events of that horrible day. But I will always be greatful that God Blessed me by allowing me to be born in the greatest nation in the world in the United States of America! Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story4596.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 24.26.197.156 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: The best way for me to describe my feelings is in a poem: The Eagle Cried Flying high above his nation as he fulfilled his mighty job, The eagle knew not what was to come the deaths, the cries, the sobs. While perched atop the glorious flag and proud of what he owned, A fearful cry and a tragic crash from terrorists unknown. He watched in broken sadness and a tear from his eye did fall, The sound he made pierced our ears, such a heartbreaking call. Four tears the eagle shed that day while we thought it was the end, But the eagle he would never fail, and next day he flew again. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story5773.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-12 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 205.188.209.38 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: It was such a clear, beautiful day and, as always I could see the twin towers from my office building at JFK Airport. Standing out- side, we noticed smoke coming from one of the towers and thought it might be in front of the tower, when we were told that a plane "hit" the WTC. We entered the bldg and our 2nd floor hall is glass enclosed and faces the WTC and we all watched in horror as the 2nd plane hit and we saw the fireball. Cries of agony came from all of us and we were not sure if another target would be the airport. I am the mother of a NYFD Capt and did not know if my son was at work that day; his firehouse is located near the World Trade Center. It wasn't until hours later that I found out that he did not have to report to work that morning and to this day I thank God for sparing him. He lost 4 of his men and is still attending memorial services for all of his "brothers". My heart will always ache for all who perished that day; I appreciate my Country and all it stands for and will never forget those evil acts. My comunity, Rockaway, lost so many of our bravest and finest. but we continue to stand together and never forget those who perished that day. God bless us all. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story7025.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-13 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 199.41.199.240 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: When I woke up on September 11, 2001 I felt great. It was a beautiful day in Chicago. I was traveling to Manhattan for a wedding later that week. I commute to work by train. I heard people talking about planes hitting the tower. I thought they were talking about the air traffic control tower at O'Hare airport. The people lost radio contact so they quick talking. Once I got off my train and walked to work. When I entered my office it was very quiet. I went into the back and someone said your sister is on the phone. I took the call and she told me that planes were crashing into the World Trade Center Towers. She told me to get home. Someone from my office came running down the hall and said downtown Chicago is being evacuated. He also said that a plane is headed for the Sears Tower. Which proved to be false. As we headed home my fiance and I looked up into the sky and there were no planes. It was one of the bluest skies we've had, and it was empty only holding only the clouds and birds. That is when I felt the terror rip through me. Everything was out of my control. When we got home we watched the news endlessly for all the information we could take in. I cried a lot that week. Trying to understand why this would happen, and why are people so hateful of others. When I went to bed that night I was so scared. I had to slip with the light on for weeks. I've never been that scared before. I was afraid I wasn't going to wake up the next day. As time has passed I am better, but living in the city still makes me nervous. I have to keep having faith that one day we all will find peace with each other. I hope before anything like this happens again. God Bless the innocent people whose lives were lost on September 11, 2001. My heart and thoughts go out to you and your loved ones. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story1006.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-08-13 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 65.209.172.26 Annotation Annotations to this item. Rumors DOMESTIC Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I was getting ready for school as the phone rang and my dad rushed to the tv. We had just recieved a call from a family friend saying, " The world as we know it had changed." i didn't realize what had happened until later that day but still then i wasn't totally sure why people would do this. At school we held various discussions about what had happened and just tried to comfort one another. We spent alot of time talking with family. How could someone take those many innocent peoples lives. September 11th has helped alot of us become closer as a country but let us not forget what our flag stands for and now more than ever our freedom. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story2100.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-10 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 64.12.96.135 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: My mom wolk me up and told me the traid centers were bombed. I shrugged it off remmembering what happend in the early 90's(it was 7:00am on the west coast). She came back into my room and turned on my TV, to my horror I saw replays of the first pane. Then as I was calming down I saw what i thought was another replay, but in total disbelief it was the second plane. I then just broke down for a while and just sat staring blankly at the tv screen. I then when to our front room and they were talking about them possiblely colapsing...I said "no way", my dad then concured with me. Again to our worst fear the towers fell. I then got sick to my stomach. I then called my girlfriend assuming she was watching and she was not, so she put it on. The next couple of hours were kind of a blur. I then got ready and went off to school (a local colledge). There were tv's every where showing CNN and we had a disscusion in class about the events of that morning. After school I whent to my girlfriends house and was in utter disbelief. Then when i went home (around 10:00pm), I completely broke down...I was unable to uderstand how someone could hate any one that much. In fear that my cousin would be in (USA armour division). I then when to sleep...if you could call it that. That was the worst day of my life and ironicly it is the day i remember the most clearly. It was my generations Pearl Harbour/JFK assasination. That is how i remember the day the world changed. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story10167.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2003-10-21 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 24.64.223.203 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: On Sept. 11, 2001, I was with my wife Bonny at St. Anthony's Community hospital in Warwick,New York. My wife was getting some same day surgery done when the attacks happened. We both watched it on TV once she came out of surgery and the nurses informed us of the situation. We didn't see the planes hit but we did watch the towers fall. This may sound selfish for the rest of this story but I will explain later. While watching all of this occur, I was thinking I have to get out of the hospital and get moving back to Vernon, NJ ( where I live) because I knew we were going into New York City. At the time I happened to be the Captain of Vernon Township Volunteer Ambulance Squad and I knew there would be a major response to this. I was torn between my duty of being a good husband and my responsibility to my squad. I knew I had to be there for my wife yet, I also knew I had a job to do now since I was in charge of my squad. To say that I was thinking straight is an understatement. I hope that no one ever has to be in that situation like I was placed on that day. My wife was upset yet, she knew I had to go. I started contacting my Squad and the Vernon Police Department by payphone from the hospital until my wife was released. I didn't leave her at the hospital but I was costantly running between that payphone and my wife upstairs. I contacted my Senior LT. at the time, Gary Anderson, and he informed me that three of our rigs were leaving for Sparta Township PD where all of the Sussex County EMS units were gathering to go to the Meadowlands to meet with the rest of the response from New Jersey. At this point, I knew I wasn't going to make it back in time to go with them. I also found out that members were staying behind to cover the town with our other rig. Once I got my wife home, I called up her sister, Heidi, to come over to stay with her while I was out. I finally left my wife when her sister arrived. For the rest of the day, I was in contact with our ambulances down at the Meadowlands and with the members who stayed behind to ride in town. Mostly, I was in the police station with the police chief and his Lt. working out contingency plans if needed. I called an emergency meeting later that night with the ambulance squad to find out who was around and to give them an update of what was going on and what the future had in store for us. My rigs finally returned to town at @ 10:30pm. They never transported one person nor did they ever make it down to Ground Zero. We had over 400 ambulance squads represented down at the Meadowlands, Liberty State Park, and Jersey City. That's about 95% of all of the volunteer squads in the state. Most of them just sat around and waited. There was nothing for us to do. I used to live in NYC. I grew up in a town called College Point, located in the Bourough of Queens. I grew up looking at the World Trade Center and the NY Skyline. I also trained as a Paramedic out of Rockland County, NY and I rode with Paramedics in NYC as part of my training. So I felt a loss of commraderie when the towers came down since I thought that a lot of people I knew and trained with were now dead. Knowing now what I know, that wasn't the case since only 5 EMS personell that I know of, lost their lives that day. A part of my childhood memories was now changed forever since the World Trade Center now does not exist. It amazes me how my mind looks at the skyline now and it says that is not New York City, even though it is. I did finally make it into NYC to help out. I was part of the ongoing rotation of ambulances out of New Jersey going down to Chelsea Piers to sit and wait in the hopes of going down to Ground Zero and helping one of the rescuers. I sat all day at Chelsea Piers and I never made it to Ground Zero but something happened to me while I was there that I never expected in a million years. As far as I'm concerned, I'm a New Yorker through and through. I lived there for 20 years and my friends are still there along with my mother's family. As I was sitting there, waiting my turn to go, hundreds of New Yorkers were all out there, saying thank you for being here. Clothing, food, drink, rescue supplies, anything you could possibly need was given to me for free. The amount of compassion that poured out from these people was tremendous. You always hear from "outsiders," you're from New York, where's your knife? or New York is a rough town, everyone is nasty and bitter. Once this happened, I think the world saw what being a true New Yorker was all about. I knew the spirit was always there but, others never saw it. I guess you had to live there to understand it and when visitors come into our beautiful city, they see something different. I am proud of the fact that everyone pulled together and showed their true colors. Part of me is glad I didn't make it to Ground Zero while another part of me wishes I was there running up into the towers to save someone's life. I can honestly say that, we are a truly rare breed of people. All of us from EMS, Fire, and Police. We all do things that normal people would not do. Do I consider myself a hero. NO WAY! I just do a job to save lives and to save as many as I can. I try to keep focused on what I do so that I don't get killed but the fact remains that, if it means saving a life, then I will take risks. That is the nature of the beast. I love what I do for others. I love the fact that I am trained to do a job that involves saving people's lives. I have a natural high when a call goes out because somebody needs me. Someone is hurt or sick out there and they need help. I just hope everyone out there realizes that we do what we do because we love to do it. We do not wish ill harm on people. We just want to be there when we are needed. And another thing that bothers me is that, as an EMS professional, we are not Firemen. We do an entirely different job than they do and not to take away from them but, EMS is the forgotten child sometimes. The men and women in NYC may wear FDNY on their uniforms, but that is only because of politics and budgetary constraints. We shouldn't be lumped in with the firemen and women. I hope that some day, this realization happens and we too can be remembered for the contribution we made to society. Anyhow, this is what happened to me on Sept. 11th. This day will always be a powerful day to remember for me. Marc J. Wtulich NJ State EMT/ NYS Paramedic Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story7464.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-15 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 198.23.5.11 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I am from Brooklyn, NY, and I had just joined the Marines. After completing my 13 weeks of basic training, we were required to go to Infantry school for two weeks. I reported to the training camp on September 4th. The following week, that Tuesday; September 11th, we were informed that two commercial planes had destroyed the World Trade Center. I didn't even know what to think...my stepmother worked with the same airline; United Airlines (thank goodness she wasn't on the plane), but she did know a couple of the stewardesses though. May they rest in peace. Anyway, my grandmother was also in NY. I couldn't think really...and seeing that I had just joined the Armed Forces..I didn't know if they were gonna send us out or what, (I'm female, they don't usually send us out)..but sometimes, you never know. It was just so crazy. What a way to hit a country hard. May God bless, rest and save the souls and be with the relatives of those lost. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story5330.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 205.56.145.38 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I was working at as a manager at a restaraunt at the time, and I was on my way back from the bank when I heard the news of the attacks on the radio. At first I thought it was a sick joke, I mean, who would ever imagine such a thing could happen? But than I realized how true it was. I was in shock. When I got back to the restaraunt, I was the only one there who knew, so I was the one to break it to my co-workers. One of the girls went to her house and got a radio so we could follow the news, and others tried franically to get in touch with family members who worked at the Pentagon. There was tears and anger. Everyone was in a daze for days. Thankfully no one there lost anyone in the attacks, but my heart goes out to all those that did. Later, me, my sister, and or friends watched the news together and cried and prayed for the victims and their families. And for days the sound of an airplane approaching struck fear in our hearts. Some of the fear has faded but will never be completely gone. I hope that nothing like this could ever happen again. But no one will ever forget that day. It truely is a day of infamy now. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story5790.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-12 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 205.188.209.38 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: After five years, I'm more convinced than ever that we are involved in a global war on terror. Here in America, we got a taste of what facist Islamists want to do to anyone in the world that does not embrace Islam, which means to submit! They are NOT like other religions and we must do everything we can to protect our borders. If that means profiling - so be it! If you have nothing to fear, you should welcome efforts to preserve the peace and freedom we enjoy in this country. 9-11 was not an isolated incident, nor will it be the last if we are not vigilant. We are living in very dangerous times, and the political partisan structure of our government had better understand that and quit trying to think that we can just pull out our troops, ignore it and it will go away. 9-11 will be like a picnic in the park if that happens. We will NEVER be able to go back to the good old days of rinky-dink bickering between parties. Gone are those days, and people had better realize it. This is much bigger than just Democratic and Republican philosophies - which are both laughable if we no longer have a country in which to live! And instead of helping, the press needs to stop pitting us against each other in an effort to cause controversy and sell news. They will realize too late the roll they have played in our national security. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story20603.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2006-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 71.89.131.148 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: This is my journal regarding the events and aftermath of September 11, 2001 September 11, 2001 (9am) I normally stroll into work on the 17th floor of the World Trade Center (Tower 2) around 9:15am. Around 9am on Tuesday, September 11, 2001, I was on the express bus going to work and we had just gotten to the toll plaza of the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel when someone exclaimed that there was smoke coming from the world trade center. I looked up from my book to see a huge plume of smoke blowing south east off of WTC 1. I am one of the fire wardens on my floor and my first reaction was to grab my cell phone to make sure my co-workers knew what was going on and that they were getting out of the office. The answering message picked up. Someone reported that a plane had hit WTC 1. We all began to talk about it thinking it was a small commuter style plane or even a stunt plane that had had an accident. There are many stupid people who have tried stunts involving the WTC and we speculated this was one gone horribly wrong. I saw what at the time I thought was a helicopter go towards and behind the buildings. I was trying to call my husband and was looking at my phone when I heard faint thunder. Someone screamed. I looked up to see a huge ball of orange fire, like a mini atomic blast, engulf the top quarter of MY building. I remember exclaiming "Oh my God! I work there!" and then the bus got very dark. After a split second of panic I realized it was because we had just entered the Battery Tunnel (the bus was an older model with small windows and the driver had the internal lights off). With one voice we, the passengers, began screaming to the bus driver - "Stop! Don't go in! Where did he think he was going anyway?" He kept driving forward. He stopped after a minute or two, when the traffic ground to a halt. We were stuck, could not go forwards or back. The last thing any of us had seen was Hell being unleashed on our friends and colleagues (this was a downtown only bus - all the passengers worked in the financial district). Panic and confusion broke out. My cell phone had a signal, but I could not get a line out to call anyone. People were screaming that we were being bombed, yelling at the driver to let them out of the bus or to back out. I truly thought I was going to die - underground and in the dark. Every day, twice a day, I passed through this tunnel, 150 feet below the river - and at least a few times a week would morbidly daydream about what might happen if a terrorist attack occurred while I was down there. Wouldn't taking out the river crossings be a logical attack pattern sure to cause many deaths and wreak long-term havoc? My worst-case scenarios normally included rushing fire enveloping and flooding water crushing everything in its path. I was terrified that I was about to find out if my predictions were right. My world narrowed to trying to dial my cell phone and chanting in my head "Get us out of here, get us out of here, get us out of here..." A lot of the passengers were crowding the driver yelling at him or pleading with him to let them off the bus. Some were trying to make calls, I heard one woman praying. I don't remember anyone crying. I have no memory of the driver making any sort of an announcement to us or giving us any information. I got very angry with him one minute and then the next thought how horrible for him, just a regular Joe, driving his bus and suddenly he holds the lives of 30 people in his hands. After a while the driver, without saying a word to us, left the bus. While we all assumed he was going to try and get some info on what he should do, we were all mad that he had left without a word. A few passengers tried to open the door, but the driver had somehow secured it. An SUV came towards us from the Manhattan side. One of the passengers got into the busdriver's seat and began honking the horn. The SUV paused by the driver's window. Word began to filter back through the bus that the towers had been struck by commercial jetliners and that city was under attack and being bombed. I was now certain I was going to die and heard a roaring in my ears, felt a squeezing in my chest and my face and extremities got all pins and needley. I began to ask the other passengers with phones if they could get a call out because I needed to speak to my husband. No one was getting out although everyone kept trying. I didn't want to die without being able to say good-bye! We must have been in the tunnel about 45 - 50 minutes when we felt the tunnel vibrate. In my mind's eye I imagined a huge white cloud rushing through the tunnel at us like in movies I had seen about nuclear holocausts. Later I saw replays of the collapse on TV and the clouds of dust and debris rushing through the canyon-like downtown streets looked just what I had pictured in my head. I realized then that the vibration I had felt was Tower 2 collapsing, but at the time it happened I was clueless and thought the tunnel was going to break up. Just after that, the driver returned to the bus and began to back us out of the tunnel. We cheered him then - let me tell you! I was never so relieved as when I saw daylight beginning to filter in the windows. We cleared the tunnel and we applauded our driver as he began to turn the bus back into Brooklyn. Cell phones began to ring, but still no one could get a call out. We all noticed a huge white cloud just beginning to spread out over the toll plaza from across the river. Looking into it I saw something sparkly all through the plume that was heading towards us. "What is that shit?" I said pointing and just then a lady on the her cell phone cried out that the Pentagon had been bombed and the man in the seat in front of me said that WTC 2 had collapsed. That news sort of went in one ear and out the other as I thought they meant the top that was burning had come away. The word 'war' began to be tossed around and I wondered aloud if the sparkly cloud I had seen was maybe poison gas (it was in fact a mix of fiberglass, asbestos, metal, glass and paper from the WTC 2 collapse - we are getting papers in lawns here from the explosion, I'm tempted to see if any are from my office - NOT). The driver sped through side streets as I continued to try to get through to my husband, Gerry. Finally we came to my stop and I ran home. I was shaking like a leaf and dashed to the house phone. I dialed my husband's work number and turned the TV on to NY1. The clock on my cable box said 10:25. There was a picture on the screen of what looked like the same image I had first seen from the bus - smoke pouring from the top of WTC 1. I did not see WTC 2 but assumed it was due to the angle of the shot, which was from the north. I was not listening to the audio since the phone was connecting my call. Gerry answered the phone. "I'm OK," I blurted out. He began to sob immediately. We spent a minute frantically re-assuring each other we were OK and then I had to hang up to call everyone else. I tried my parents in FL but got a circuit busy signal. I knew I could reach them online so tried to call Barbara (my birth Mother) in the Bronx. She picked up and was freaking out. I was staring at the TV reassuring her that I was Ok, when suddenly Tower 1 collapsed. I remember screaming "Oh my God!" and then the realization hit me that there was nothing BEHIND WTC 1. I began to scream incoherently into the phone - "it's gone!" and "everyone I know is dead!" The next thing I knew I was sitting on the floor by my bathroom and sobbing and gasping. Barbara was shouting through the phone, which I had dropped at some point - I'm sure she thought I was under attack or dying. I was pretty hysterical. I had not comprehended what I had heard earlier when they said that WTC 2 had collapsed. How could I comprehend it? It was incomprehensible! There were things I needed to bring home from my cubicle, my pets (2 frogs and a crab) needed to be fed and my plants watered! I spent more time in that place than I did in my own home - how could it be GONE?! When I could halfway function again I told her I was not hurt but that all my friends might be dead and hung up on her. Not the best thing to do, but I was hardly thinking straight. I began to page through my cell phone's directory, praying I had someone from work's home number in it. I had one number; I had to dial 5 times before the call got through. I asked for Gygi and, praise the Goddess, she was there. She sounded as bad as I did and I asked if she had been there. She then realized who she was speaking to and told me yes and that everyone had gotten out. "But, did they get away?" I asked. Gygi said she did not know because she ran for the Brooklyn Bridge the second she got to the street. Before she hung up she re-assured me that everyone HAD gotten out. I sobbingly thanked her and told her how glad I was she was alive. I then tried my folks in FL again and got through this time. Still shaking, I next thought of my 2 best friends, one of whom works at Verizon across from Tower 1. I knew his habits and knew he would have been getting to work around the same time I normally do. I could not raise him on any of his contact numbers and even went to his apartment down the hall on the off chance he was home. No luck, so I went downstairs to my other best friend's door. I knew she had no reason to be in the downtown area so I was not concerned for her safety as much as I needed to have someone with me. There was no answer from her door either. I was beginning to feel the waves of bad panic threaten to overwhelm me again and knew I needed to be DOING something. I grabbed my laptop and got online and began to contact everyone on my work address book to try and locate my friends and co-workers in the building. I began connecting to folks and we began to spin an info web, with me in the center. One by one folks checked in safely. The home office in London left me a voice message asking me to call in if I was able - they were doing a head count of survivors from across the ocean. We swapped info on whom we had found and my spirits began to climb as the number grew. This continued into Wednesday. I dropped into bed around 5:30am Wednesday and was back online less than 2 hours later, trying to locate people, keep communications flowing and making sure my online campus was still running and my clients' needs were covered. Other friends from the WTC began to check in as well and I began to ride a real high. By 6pm Wednesday we had accounted for all our people and only 3 had been injured enough to need immediate medical attention, but essentially, we were whole. Wednesday night I finally stopped for the first time. Then the reality of what had happened finally caught up with me. I had spent 2 days just surviving - doing what I needed to do to get from moment to moment, but not really being IN any moment long enough to process it. Wednesday night was very bad. I finally passed out (literally) around 5:30am - but was up again by 9am Thursday. Thursday I spent reaching out to folk. Talking and swapping stories. Friends and colleagues validating each other's nightmares and miracles. Learning about the folks I know that didn't make it - no one in my immediate circle but in my extended one there have been losses. 3 confirmed and at least 5 more still unaccounted for. It has been a roller coaster day, with highs and lows - once again as night approached I knew I would not be able to sleep until exhaustion claimed me with a dreamless blank time. I am still waiting for that to happen as the one thing I know I won't be able to handle is lying quietly and letting my mind drift. Drifting is definitely not an option yet - too many bogeymen in my head. I need oblivion or activity. So I decided to get my story down. It has helped to focus on the events from a factual reference rather than to just relive the feelings yet again. I thank the God and Goddess for my good fortune and for showing me how very loved I really am! (The above entry was written 9/14/01) Tuesday 9/11/01 @ 6pm Well I have heard from some friends who were at ground zero. So far I have lost no one! But many workmates are still officially not accounted for. From one of my team members I heard that security would not let folks out of the concourse of WTC2 - she was pressed up against the glass looking out at the plaza until she saw the bodies falling from Tower 1. That was when folks stormed out despite the security people. Everyone was still standing around by Century 21 and Brooks Brothers on Church Avenue when the second plane hit - so I am afraid folks may have got caught in the collapse even though they made it out of the building fine. My best friend who was missing has checked in as well! He had gotten to the WTC right when the plane hit Tower 1 and somehow got into his office anyway (dumb shit!) after he made a few calls he left again and saw the plane hit Tower 2 - as the debris was falling (he witnessed a woman get sliced up by falling glass) he ran like the wind, by the time he got onto the Brooklyn Bridge Tower 2 was collapsing. My friend who worked up on the 75th floor of the building, who I was very afraid was dead, has also checked in! Luckily since Tower 1 was hit first she got out as well - but barely before WTC 2 went down! She was on the stairs when the plane hit and went tumbling down a flight of steps with 10 other people on top of her. My company (Pearson ed in London is our parent co) has been aggressively been trying to locate everyone, so far about 1/5th of our employees have checked in ok and the Pearson ed building in midtown has become an emergency space for folks to crash, locate family and get counseling. My husband still cannot get home. He just called me and managed to get to Queens but now is stuck there! Thursday, 9/13 Everything is sinking in and now I am so sad and depressed. I should be happy and yet I am not. I mean I AM happy that all my people are OK, but I can't help but feel as though the world will never be the same and I am mourning stupid shit that I should not care about right now. I keep thinking about my personal stuff lost and places I will never go or sights I will never see again. I keep reliving my moments of panic and get mad at myself cause I know it is over and I am safe but I feel scared and hopeless tonight. I have been keeping myself so busy during the days trying to be a good soldier and being a communications hub for my colleagues until the temp HQ got themselves together. Now that I know everyone is safe and I do not really need to be on top of everything cause everyone is in the know now it is hard to deal. I am scared to go to sleep, but all I am doing by staying up is making myself more miserable. Every time I turn the TV off or to a non-news channel I get very, very nervous and anxious until I put the news on again, which only makes me feel worse. I am supposed to travel to Trenton Saturday to my cousin Julie's baby shower - a joyous event, but now I do not want to go. I am afraid to get on the subway and go into the city to get a train. The thought of going into the city frightens me. The thought of being underground in the subway terrifies me - I hate feeling like this. I feel so stupid for being all fucked up like this - and guilty when so many other NYers are SO, SO much worse off than I am. Although no one I work with is currently missing (although I think some of my clients are now dead, but do not know and will not know for some time) friends and colleagues have friends and family who ARE missing. Its all a bit much. Am I just being a drama queen and making myself a victim? Sorry for dumping but I cannot remember when I have felt so miserable - Gerry has to work in the morning so he went to bed long ago and I am so pissed at him for not being with me and comforting me right now, but he has also had his own trauma to deal with and has to be up at 5 am so why am I being such a bitch about it? Friday, September 14, 2001 I finally passed out around 8am only to be up again by 9am. I have had @ 8 hours sleep in the last 93 hours. I can't sleep - it won't come. I just spent the last few hours with my friend Sue, who runs the BMCC command center at ground zero (Borough of Manhattan Community College) - that is where the morgue and rescue coordination center is. She has just come off a 72 hour tour of duty in Hell. I have heard way too much to write it all. The reassuring thing I learned is that my neighborhood should be safe from *targeted* attacks as we have a heavy Mideast population. The areas around us - Newkirk Ave, 3rd Ave and Coney Island Ave are where many cell members are so they will not hit here as far as terror attacks go. OTOH, A mob tried to burn down the corner smoke shop yesterday (run by quite nice and innocent Arab-Americans) and there were 2 shootings at Brooklyn College tonight and 9 bomb threats there this week so far - BC is a block away. The bombs were all fake, but the one at the port authority was real. The GWB bomb scare was not real, but bin Laden's guys were there testing security. Our building is incredibly diverse with Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Christians, Sikhs, Pagans - we are the true melting pot here. We did a candle vigil outside earlier tonight and many tenants came out to share stories - it is amazing how many people are directly affected by this here. I had a chance to reach out to some of the Muslim neighbors as I'm sure they feel they are a target for retaliation. We really will need to band together in the coming months for our mutual protection. If anyone wants to send encouraging notes to the rescue battalions they can be emailed to anewoman@yahoo.com - they will get them and they will mean a lot the the volunteers and regulars alike. Feel free to pass that email on to others wanting to offer encouragement. I still cannot believe all this... Monday, 9/17/01 Honestly, it has been tough. Each day I would hear of another associate still missing - which at this point is the way we say dead in NYC. No one says they are dead, just missing... Sat night I had a *huge* scary panic attack - never had one before in my life and I though my mind had slipped off the track for good, so Sunday I went to see my Dr who took one look at me and put me on anti-anxiety meds. They work great - I do not feel doped up or anything like that, but it takes the edge off the constant anxiety. Today was my first day back into the city, I had a choice of 2 hours underground on the subway or 2 minutes through the damned tunnel. I chose the tunnel for 2 reasons - 1- get back on the horse etc and 2 - there was no way in hell I was ready for 2 hours underground --especially with the trains stopping between stations for 20 minutes at a time while "police investigations" (read as bomb threats) go on. That would have been way too much, I'll work up to the train... So, even on the meds I had another panic attack on the bus and in the tunnel. I kept a walkman on and my eyes closed and my dear hubby came with me and was great at helping me manage the panic and fear. Going through lower Manhattan was awful -even though I kept my eyes shut the smell of the burning was strong and thick - very bad! By the time I got off the bus I felt as if I had run a marathon! BUT I DID IT! It was wonderful to be reunited with my co-workers and give everyone hugs. Also interesting to see how different everyone is in their reactions to all this. For some it was devastation, for others just another day, let's get back to work! Some of us swapped horror stories, offered comfort and a sense of not being alone in all this. One friend gave us a gift in the news that she is expecting. I hugged her and cried, but tears of joy this time. For the record, not one person felt that I was not as much a victim of this as they were. It was pointed out to me, by more than one person, that I should not beat myself up for reacting with fear even though I was not in the building since THEY could run to save their lives while I was trapped for 45 minutes thinking death was coming to get me (yes those comments made to me did a lot of damage since I was so fragile at the time they were made, if he wants to claim that as *power* let him!). That helped since I *was* beating myself up. They provided counseling for us, but honestly all they did was throw a "so, you have post traumatic stress syndrome" pamphlet at us and urged us to seek private counseling. Supposedly the firm will pay for that and I have an apt set up for tomorrow. That panic attack scared the sh!t out of me since I was suicidal during it and I have NEVER NEVER remotely felt that way in my life! I do not feel that way now either - it was something purely chemical happening in my brain during the episode. So please shrink me, cause I never want to feel that way again! We are supposed to go back to work on Thursday, but I think after that I will try to work from home for part of the time as I do not think I can handle an every day commute just yet. I will be there Thursday since it will be a strategy meeting. For now we will squat at Pearson in Midtown, our pres assured us that wherever the new digs are, we will be no higher than the 10th floor! They also said that we would be reimbursed for all personal property lost (that we had at work). Some folks lost wallets and cellphones, palm pilots etc (my boss had her tax rebate check there), I only lost my pets, my plant and a lot of personal, sentimental shit that was probably not worth more than $100 all together, so I will likely not make any claim on that. One of my co-workers has her boyfriend down at ground zero and the scary thing is that when she and I compared notes as to what our contacts there were saying (my girlfriend is in command of the staging area at BMCC) - they were both telling us the exact same stuff - even down to which was the only train cleared sabotage wise (the C train in case any NYers are curious). So on the one hand it was validation, but on the other hand makes me more scared than ever since they are telling us some pretty serious, scary stuff about what they all feel is coming our way. The ride back home was not nearly as bad as on the way in. I was definitely anxious, but not panicked; and as soon as we were past the tunnel and back in Brooklyn I was able to doze a bit. Gerry says he is very proud of me :-) I think I am proud of myself too, it will only get easier now each time and I truly feel I will be OK, after the last few days I had my doubts! So while it was a hard day in some respects it was a good day in others! I am hoping this was enough to allow me to sleep, since it has been 6 days now that I have been averaging only 2 1/2 hours sleep in every 24... *Still* a survivor! L'Shanah Tovah to those of you still counting on the old calendar! Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story1470.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-08-26 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 198.4.159.5