70 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: I was 3 months pregnant and had been terribly sick with all day morning sickness. I had to go to the hospital the night before to get IV fluids so I was sleeping when the first attack occurred. I awoke to the phone ringing and it was my mother, who seemed very upset. She asked me if I could believe what was happening and I had no idea what she was talking about. I jumped out of bed and went into our living room and turned on the television and saw an unbelievable horrific sight, the second World Trade Center had just been hit. I sat and cried and was scared. Nothing can describe the terror and saddness I felt when the buildings fell to the ground. I couldn't stop crying throughout the entire day. I had a doctor's appointment later that day and was happy to find out all was well with my baby. I sat and thanked God for the wellness of my baby and prayed to God to help the families affected by this trajic event and also to help us as a nation deal with what had been done. I also prayed for all of the babies who would never see one of their parents again. This makes me sad to this day. 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 story7046.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. 209.7.247.135 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: I was sitting just about to change class moving into our 3rd period and we had just receive over the school P.A. that the New York twin buildings was just crash into by two airplanes and that also that the pentagon also receive the same thing, and I tell you, the minute that we all heard that the principal got on and told us to sit for silents for all those whom had lost lives and that if we wanted to pray by the flag pole at lunch that we could do so. We all were very devestated that someone woud risk there lives to kill inoscent people and there owns, I thought for sure when that happen I knew that God was ready to come and take us all but question, would this be the signed that he sends us or what. I mean it was just after the inccident happen the same thing happen in tampa for when a teenager, took his own life because he had it out with his family but the only thing that happen was that he only died and no one else got hurt. it really hurts to know that we will all some day go through pain no matter what happens because it's just not safe any more and I just say right now to everyone now if you don't have God now, it's your chances now to get to know him and believe me in this time of matter you would want to get to know the man. 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 story5074.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. 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: School had just begun and I was just getting into the swing of things. I clearly remember walking into school just the same thing, so use to it being so simple and not complicated at all. I walk into my first period class civics with Mr. Goudy with absoutly no interest in learning about politicians. We were taking notes and all of these teachers kept walking into his room and whispering things. This was confusing so he turned on the t.v in our room and we were astonished with the pictures flashing before us. Death and misery was not in the distant Middle East anymore it was in our house and until it happens to you, you just don't realize the whole picture. The whole rest of the day we walked about like zombies and we would occansionally laugh to break the tension, but it sounded so distant and very unimportant. That is my story it isn't amazing or life threatning, but it is what I felt and I will never forget it! 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 story1895.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. 2002-09-08 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 208.38.89.105 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 believe the september 11 attack was very unexpected. I also believe that George W. Bush handled it very well. The attack on America was a very devastating day for all Americans and President Bush waited to see who did it for sure before he jumped to conclusions. It is bad enough our country has its own terrorists let alone the fact we have other countries attacking us the attack on September 11 was a very big mistake on afganistan's part. I also believe Americans will never forget 9-11 as well as afganistan because America will not let them forget. AMERICA WILL STAND UNITED 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 story3196.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. 64.18.33.4 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 woke up on the morning of september 11th, going about my day as usual. nothing seemed different about this day, but unfortunalty i had no idea what was yet to come. i don't really remember when i first heard the news, but i do remember my parents suddenly yelling at me to come see something that they were watching on tv. when i first saw what was going on. i was shocked. i couldn't believe that at that same moment i was watching the tv, two of our most famous landmarks in the U.S.,the world trade centers were being destroyed. i didn't undersdtand what was happening a t first, there was a plane flying straight into one of the towers and next it was being blown up. the tower began to crumble and fall to the ground. before i could think next another plane was soaring through the air headed straight for our twin tower. at this time america was completely voulnerable and there was nothing we could to do. the plane smashed in the tower and another burst of fire and smoke rushed through the new york skys. suddently the towers began to cave in and in a matter of minutes they were no longer standing.i couldn't believe it, on of the most signifigant figures in america was no longer standing and not only had that vanished but thousands of people inside the tower were givin no chance and lost their lives to this act of hatred. i was devestated. i couldnt believe that this had just happened. millions of innocent lives had been taken on this morning and america would never be the same. this cruel act of violence left millions devestated and thousands no longer breathing. for the firt time in history of america, not some, but all were left speechless. 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 story2702.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. 206.77.47.2 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 9-11-2001, I was at school in the 3rd gradewe had just come from recess.The pricable had just come on the intercome.It was a quiet moment she sonded shocked,scared, and very up set.No one really understud about what had happened.When i got home my dad was staring at the tv. He told me to sit down and he explained to me what happened. Now that its 5 years later "9-11-2006" I now live in plaqumine,La. I have many new friends.I now have a better understandment.I fell very sorry to those who have lost there lives.God bless everyone. :) 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 story20588.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. 68.186.239.238 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: While so many have experienced loss, so deep, at the same time our family gave tremendous thanks for the hand of God over us. My sister was on the same doomed Boston flight just days before. My brother , who serves in the miltary was in the Pentagon for training just the day before, some of his co-workers did not survive. My cousin escaped tower one to return to our family. So many stories of loss and other stories of grace. 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 story3365.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. 12.228.221.48 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 on the city bus riding downtown to go to law school. The city bus has a certain character and cast of characters. Of course the loud drunk, the young mother with her brood of children, the nodding addict, the schitzophrenic, the homeless--if they are lucky to have the change. The conversation may be rich material for aspiring writers, but it's generally ignored by the everyday rider. On this morning, I was sitting in the middle, towards the back and overheard a man talking wildly about a plane hitting the trade towers in New York City. At first I was inclined to let it wash over me--could I approach the mellowness of a busdriver? But the more I listened and then heard about the second plane, I physically turned around in my seat, and listened to what he was saying. I made an immediate mental plan to head for the student lounge with the cable tv instead of my classroom. The instant I stepped off the bus I was striding towards the lounge, already populated by student zombies. Dead silence but for the news anchor's updates. I dashed to the phones but they were all occupied. Then I headed for the computer lab to email my parents. I begged a classmate I recognized to let me use his computer. I was finally able to talk to my mother when a classmate let me use her cellphone. The land lines were jammed. By this time, once I was back from the computer lab, the second tower had come down and there was a buzz about bombs at the state department. I told my mother not to worry for me because I was in Baltimore and not to worry about Dad because the terrorists were picking high profile targets, not unknown defense department installations. In my mind were images of tall silver escalators, the Ann Taylor, trees in the winter garden, the U.N. photo display ... things I had walked by last September. And memories of cocktails and swing dancing with my friends at the top of the Trade Tower (South?) before my friend's wedding the next day. Outside my classmate was falling apart; her former boyfriend worked near the top of the tower where the first plane hit. She had no doubt that he would have been at work that day. We stood around in stoney silence, with our arms around her. One classmate was a Marine; she said she was "pissed." A note was taped to the door canceling Van Alstine's Contracts class. Outside, then inside at the lounge, through the hallways, searching clusters of people for friends I could gather with, wandering around. I barely knew anyone. No close friends. School had just started. My long distance boyfriend was far from my side. I did not want to get on a city bus to go back to my apartment, what would I do there? I would not consider taking a train south through DC to head home to Virginia. What could I do but watch CNN in the student lounge? Plumes of black smoke rose from the Pentagon. The tower kept falling down! Falling down on the television screen! There were still several planes in the air. There were reports of a bomb at the State Department. And the sky had been such a beautiful shade of blue. 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 story10517.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. 2004-04-01 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 141.157.47.162 Notes Notes about this item. On August 14, 2006, a few slight changes were made to this story after the Archive received an email from the contributor requesting that the changes be made. Here is the text of her email: From: sarahbeth@alumni.virginia.edu Subject: correction to my story submission (04/01/04) Date: April 12, 2006 3:15:34 PM EDT To: info@911digitalarchive.org Two things to add/change: 1) I still dont know what floor my classmate's ex-boyfriend was working on, but it was not the 115th. I know it was towards the top and somewhere very near where the first plane hit. I came up with 115 since it was close to what I thought was the top of the building. My story should be edited to reflect this. Here's what I suggest. ".......Outside my classmate was falling apart; her former boyfriend worked near the top of the tower where the first plane hit. She had no doubt that he would have been at work that day. We stood around........" 2) I did not include the fact that we thought there had been a bomb at the state department. I somehow left this out of my story, but in fact it was a concern at the time. Here's how the story could be changed: "....There were still several planes in the air. There were reports of a bomb at the State Department. And the sky had been such a beautiful shade of blue." Sarah Beth Richardson 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 ten oclock in the morning on Tuesday September 11, 2001 and it was such a beautiful day that I thought nothing could go wrong. I was in the weight room at Cohasset (Massachusetts) Middle High School and little did I know, that my life as an American was about to change forever. Then, out of the clear blue, the radio was turned off and in a solemn voice coach Sweeney declared Any child whose parents flew out of Logan airport this morning please see me! When the children who had talked to coach Sweeney left the room crying I just thought that maybe a flight was delayed or something. Then about fifteen minutes later, principal Jones came on to the intercom and spoke to everyone: Students, this morning a very terrible act has taken place in our country. So far the only details we have is that terrorists have hijacked planes from Boston and Newark and have flown them into the World Trade Center towers in New York City. If we learn anymore details, we will inform you immediatly!At first I thought to myself How bad could this possibly be? Were America, no one will ever attack us on our home soil! Then, after hours of uncertainty, I arrived home and witnessed the terrible truth: Both World Trade towers had disappeared from the New York Skyline! This sent me over the edge. I began to cry and was as scared as I have ever been. That special security blanket that most Americans had, had just been stolen from us! That night, I tried to release my feelings by attending a vigil at my parish, but I just could not get those gruesome photos that were on the TV out of my head. That night, I cried myself to sleep, and in the morning, I woke up ready to endure my first day of post 9/11 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 story6722.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. 66.31.164.165 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 in the office of the company I had worked for at that time. I remember my husband calling in to tell us to turn on the TV that a plane just hit the WTC. We ran into the bosses office, tuned on the tv and were stunned. I wa immediately brought to tears. I knew the urgency of the situation and the immediate danger. Then the second plane hit, I couldn't breathe. I was stunned. What I say next on TV and I have never seen it again was a body falling to the ground in full flames.... My God, my God I prayed secretly to myself, please be with those involved. I remember asking one of the other girls in the office where the boss was, I thought he might be in New York. He wasn't. After watching for a few minutes I decided that I needed to proceed to my office. On my way to my office, the third plane hit the Pentagon and then Pennsylvania. I about died, my children live there I immediately called to see if they were ok. They were and then it hit. What about the people in the WTC, the Pentagon and PA. How sad, the children, the wives, the husbands, the parents ..........I just pryed and prayed...and cried. I'll never forget that day, ever. 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 story5381.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. 63.212.189.132 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 nurse/ OB/GYN nurse practitioner, and I was at work at a private practice OB/GYN office. A patient told us all about the first plane soon after it hit. We got a radio going and listened to the news, and soon after we learned of the second plane. The physician we were working with that dat seemed to be in denial, and only after the Pentagon was hit did she dismiss us, saying, "We're under attack. Go home." I left the office and walked home and turned on the TV. By this time the towers had fallen, and although I knew in my heart of hearts that there couldn't possibly be survivors, I knew I had to do something. The first place I went was the NY Blood Center, and- I am proud to annouce- the line was already around the block. From there, I started calling my friends (almost all of whom are other nurses or physicians) and father on my cell phone to make sure they were all accounted for. Needless to say, I couldn't get through to anyone. While I was doing this, I walked toward the last hospital I worked for, which was Lenox Hill Hospital. I will never for get how empty the streets were almost immediately after the attacks. The lack of auto traffic allowed pedestrians to walk through the streets like zombies, all of us looking to the south. I will never forget looking down an eerily empty Lexington Avenue and seeing the smoke billowing upward as far as my eye could see. I stood there, in the middle of the street, thinking to myself, "What is happening to my city?" I decided to go to a friend's office. We both hugged and cried when we found eachother. She had let her workers go home and cancelled the rest of her patients. From her office land line I called my Dad, and tried to reach a friend in Queens who was working at a hospital as a physician, and whose brother was a first responder. Her brother was off that day and so didn't get called in until after the towers were hit, and so she knew he was safe. Unfortunately, his best friend was working that day and indeed died. From my friend's office, we went walked to Lenox Hill Hospital. There, we found quiet, organized chaos. Everyone was running around preparing for the deluge of patients they were expecting, but that would never come. We found ourselves in an auditorium where all healthcare had personnel gathered. Everyone signed up for emergency care leaving their names, pager/ cell phone numbers and area of medical practice. After that, we sat and waitied to give blood. We felt helpless and numb. She later went home to her Queens apartment, and I met up with a couple of male physician friends and we had a much neede drink at a sidewalk cafe. We mostly watched passers- by, observing the looks on their faces and listening to thier conversations to eachother, and on their cell phones. No one smiled. No one laughed. Some cried. Most were just in shock. I had worked with these two men for a couple of years and they had been good friends. As we said goodbye that night, we all hugged and kissed as if we mightnow see one another again, and after- all, we really didn't know if we would. From the upper east side, I walked home to 61st Street between First and Second Avenues, and changed into scrubs. I then walked to Bellvue Hospital. I walked into the Emergency Department and asked if they needed any one else to help. They directed me to the area where the ambulances come and go. A nurse behind the counter told me that they were taking docs and nurses back down with them, "but at this point, we're just getting burn victims now, and I don't know if they're taking anybody else down with them." It was around 9P. I waited for about 30 minutes and then decided to return home. I will never forget how Bellvue smelled like burnt toast... and burned flesh. I got home, listened to frantic messages from friends with whom I had not yet communicated. I made a few phone calls and then watched TV throughout the night. I got up, and called my office. Yes, they were expecting us in at work. I walked to work and bought every news paper I could get myhands on. Already, there were the infamous pieces of paper taped and stapled everywhere saying things like, "Lost" and "Missing." Again, the streets were empty. My city changed over night. Now the smells I had encountered at Bellvue had permiated throughout the city. I got to work and very few patients showed. A couple of our OB patients were wives of men who died working in the Towers as bond traders for Cantor Fitzgerald. The day was grim, and we all just wanted to go home or go try and help again. We were let out early (I think around 2PM). As I walked home, I remember feeling pulled toward down town. I didn't care that it looked like almost no one was being rescued, I still felt like I needed to help. I felt as if I would come out of my own skin if I didn't at least try and get down there to help in anyway. I went home, changed into scrubs again, grabbed all my nurse ID's, hopped in my car and started to drive southwest. The drive was quick and easy, and the smells got stronger as I drove. Finally, I came up to the West Side Highway where I was met by army personnel with rifles. I showed them my ID and they waved me through. I guess it was about 3PM on September 12, 2001. After I was waved through a couple of different times at various check points, I was finally told I had to leave my car at the Javits Center. I parked my car across the street from the Javits Center and then walked over to where it looked like people had set- up camp. Of course, I was not the only person, medical or non, to have the same idea. I came across a friend, a graphic designer, who was there handing out water. "I don't know what else to do," she said, "but I had to do something." She directed me to where someone was taking the names of trained medical professionals. I gave my name and credentials to a woman who told me that when my name was called I was to get on a bus, and that that bus would take me to ground zero where I would be assigned a job. Sure enough, approximately 40 minutes later, about 20 other people and I boarded a bus (I don't recall what kind). Once on the bus, we all started to exchange names and who we were. Most of us were nurses, there were some medical residents, a couple of medical students, and the rest had been EMT's or paramedics in a past life. We were dropped off a block or two from where the Twoers had once stood. We all walked single file, back packs on our backs mostly filled with water. I grabbed a camera before I left my apartment, and so, with shaking hands, I took a couple of pictures. The pictures would later reveal the back of the head of the woman in front of me with the faint outline of the skeleton of one of the Towers, glooming darkly in the background. It was now about 5P or 6P on 9/12/01. A few people had been rescued from the rubble, and we were all praying that more would be. Our line of would be helpers was directed to Stuyvesant High School, just across Vesey Street and before the crumbling of the Towers, a couple of blocks away from the Towers, but post the Towers' fall, Stuyvesant High School was now merely yards away from the rubble. When we walked into the lobby of the high school, it became clear that we were going to have one job and one job only: to take care of the firemen and army personnel that were laboring seemingly effortlessly. To this day, i have no idea how that "MASH" unit was set, or by whom, but it ran cleanly and efficiently. One thing was for sure, there was not a "fed" in sight. Assigned various jobs through the night, and into the morning, sometimes I placed in an assembly line set- up for eye care, or I was pulled over to help a particular firefighter, or transit authority police officer. From one minute to the next, it changed, but it was always calm. I have very clear memories of the time spent at Suyvesant, about 28 hours in all. One distinct memory were the amazing amount of medical supplies that kept appearing. It just came in in box after box, and after it was all brought in, it was unpacked and organized on a nedless tables at the back of the lobby. In the auditorium, the endless boxes of clothes that kept arriving were being organized. The clothes and the medical supplies were used and everyone was greatful for them, but the firemen, police officers and army personnel were particularly grateful for any clean socks and shoes that they could find. At one point, I remember running and getting socks for a fireman. I handed them to him, he put them on silently, put back on his boots, kissed my cheek, said thank you and went back out into the night. I know- I can't believe that happened either, but it did, and I will never, ever forget it. For that moment, I was the woman in the picture of the soldier kissing her in Times Square upon the announcement of the end of WWII. At one point, a couple of the people I met on the bus earlier in the night, and I walked across Vesey Street and placed our feet right onto the mass of building that once was. I found myself feet away from the crushed ambulances and firetrucks. I stood still while people rushed around me. I told myself I was on a movie set and that this wasn't real, and then a firefighter dragging a half filled body bag walked past me. "Not a movie, "I thought. I didn't take picture of what I saw. I couldn't. We walked past buildings still smoldering. Dust covered everything and everyone, including me. We went back inside and sat down, albeit briefly and let ourselves breathe for a minute. Someone kept telling us to wear the masks that were given to us. I couldn't breathe in mine, I wore it on and off, but found it difficult to function with it on. This past January I came down with pneumonia, and though, "I should have worn that stupid mask." After resting a bit on a cot, I saw someone in fatigues with a German Shepherd. The dog was panting exhaustedly, and the man was just hunched over his own knees sitting on a cot. I went over to him and asked if I could help. He said that he was worried about the dog, and that he wanted to get the dog some water but was too tired to move. I told the man to lie down and I went to get the dog some water. I can't remember what I poured the water (from a bottle- there were hundreds of water bottles lying around) into, but the dog drank a little and then laid back down. From there, I went over to a woman who sat on another cot looking blankly into space. She had a stethascope around her neck. She had shoulder length curly brown hair and wore glasses. I put my arm around her and asked her if she was okay. "I think my brother must be dead," she said. I asked her why she thought that. She told me that the crushed ambulance I was in front of not 30 minutes before was his and the reason she came down to Ground Zero was to look for him, but then she got caught up in helping others, but that she was now realizing that he was most likely gone. I remember asking her, "Are you sure?" "she just nodded her head. She told me that she was a doctor and her brother was a first responder (I can't remember exaclty who she said he was). I asked her if there was anything I could do. She said no. We hugged and I think she tried to sleep for a little bit on the cot where we were sitting. I lost track her after that. The night of 9/12/01 slowly turned into the day of 9/13/01, and as soon as light appeared over the horizon, workers started to go out with more furver. I don't know exactly what was going on outside, but from the break of dawn on it seemed like buildings or rubble were still falling, or perhaps being demolished, and after every rumbling explosion firefighters and other workers would run inside to the Stuyvesant's lobby where they would ask for eye care, oxygen, etc... One man, dressed in a navy jump suit with army boots on (I didn't know who he was) was being helped in after one of the rumbles, and had apparently stepped on something with a sharp point that came right back up at him, peircing his shin. the metal had been pulled out, but he was bleeding badly. Myself and two medical residents worked on him, first cleaning the wound, and then dressing it. I was sent to look for antibioitcs to give him. Within all of the medical supplies that were lying around, the only antibiotic I could lay my hands on was a pediatric dose of penicillin. I grabbed two vials, some diluent to dilute it and a syringe and ran back. The docs approved it (mainly b/c there was nothing else to give!), the man denied any allergy to penicillin and so I gave the IM injection in his left buttock. He then sat up, put back on his sock and boot and went, limping, back out. We asked him not to, but he wouldn't listen. I do remember that he did promise to get the wound looked at by that evening. I still wonder how his leg is. Around 4P that afternoon, I got a call on my cell phone from the office where I worked. I was promptly yelled at for missing work, even though I had called and left a message saying where I was and what I was doing. I was told that my job was in jeopardy and tht I had better be at work in the morning. I got off the phone infuriated and crying. A police officer saw me and asked if everything was okay. I told him what had just transpired and he became angry as well. He promptly took out a small pad of paper and a pen, and took down my name and number and asked for the phone number of where I worked. He said, "I am going to call your office and tell them where you are and what you have been doing. They should be cheering you on, not threatening your job!" I stayed there another couple of hours and then called a friend to come meet me, and help me get to my car. I was so shaken by the whole experience, plus having been scolded by one of my bosses was very upsetting. Here I though I was fulfilling my civic duty, but now, it seemed, I was getting punished for it. My friend met me at my car, took me home, helped me get my bearings and then left me to sleep. I went to work the next morning, Friday, 9/14/01 and was scolded, but to this day, I know I did the right thing. If I helped even one person through that ordeal, then I knew I had done the right thing. I have no regrets in that regard, job be damned. While I was down at Stuyvesant I spoke with a friend who was a physician in Queens and told her of the lack of antibiotics. She, in turn, called a drug rep that she knew and asked him to bring me a box of antibiotics that would be appropriate for various wounds and skin infections. That drug rep delivered them to me that Friday afternoon at the doctor's office where I worked. After work, I loaded them into my car and drove back downtown. This time, I went through less check points, but the few that I passed again waved me right through. I parked close to the Javits Center and asked an army sergeant how I could get these meds back to Stuyvesant, he pulled over a passing truck and loaded me and the meds onto it. I found myself in the front seat with a reservest called into duty from Maryland. We talked a little as he drove me through the streets where we passed the crushed and toppled cars I had seen on the news. He dropped me off at the back entrance of Stuyvesant. The place was empty. I was told that Fema came and sent everyone home. I was crushed. I walked throught the front, found a Fema tent and went on my way. My story continues, but I think this is a good place to end. I will never forget. 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 story20325.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. 2006-09-08 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 64.54.105.164 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 remember being in school that very day. I was in the 4th grade so i had no idea what was happening. I remember rummors going around that something bad had happened and that the air planes had crashed into the towers. Being that i was at such a young age i didn't know what the twin towers were. We just went on as if it were a regular school day. The students didn't understand what had happened but i remember seeing teachers crying. After school i went to my after school program and there again i heard the rummors that something bad had happened. I still didn't know what had completly happened until i got home that evening at turn the TV on to see that every channel had scenes of planes crashing into buildings and people running for their lives. At that point i realized what truly had happened. I remember my dad sitting me down and asking me if i knew what had happened. I responed, "yes". My dad also told me not to tell my little brother, who at the time was about 7 years old. One reason was because my mom was in NYC at the exact time the planes crashed and she even saw the second plane crash from her building which was a few blocks away. She can home as quickly as she could on a bus which arrived the next night. I remember staying up til midnight that night waiting for her but to arrive. We hugged her tight and were so relieved she was safe. I will never, ever forget the day of 9/11. It feels like in was just last week. I can't believe it's the 5th anniversiry! 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 story20696.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. 24.211.169.20 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: 9-11 is a day I will never forget because it is my birthday. I was also on my honeymoon in Branson. My husband had had the clock radio set to wake us up to check out of the hotel. He heard the word "bomb" or "explosion" and turned the radio up as loud as it would go. He then turned the T.V. on. I picked up the phone to call my mother to see if she knew whether my sister and brother-in-law were okay. They are both in the Army. I also tried calling my friend in New York City. I did not get a hold of him until the next week. I was extremely worried about him because I had just gotten a letter from him saying he worked two blocks from the World Trade Center buildings. When he called, he said that he had seen the second plane crash and the towers fall. I was totally horrified at what had happened. I will never ever forget that day or where I was. 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 story5220.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. 164.58.207.38 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: September 11, 2001 is a series of snapshot memories in my mind. A coworker approached my desk and asked if I had heard about the plane that hit one of the WTC towers. My reflexive response was, "Terrorists?" although I didn't have any idea of the extent of the destruction to come. I tried to get back to work but couldn't concentrate. As events unfolded, they seemed unreal and unbelievable. My son, Peter, who lives in Arlington, Virginia, e-mailed me asking if I had heard what happened. I don't remember whether that was before or after the Pentagon was hit, but it didn't dawn on me right away that Peter could be at risk, although his apartment is very close to the Pentagon. My first reply to him was yes, we were listening to the radio and getting a TV set up. My second reply was to ask him exactly where he was. He said he was at home but needed to go out to Fairfax, which he would wait to do until after lunch. My next reply was very simple--STAY WHERE YOU ARE. Soon I heard rumors that because our building is connected to the Federal Building in downtown Columbus, we would be sent home, and that all of downtown Columbus was going to be evacuated. A radio announcement at 11:00 said that no decisions had been made, but a PA announcement immediately afterward told us that Governor Taft was releasing all state employees for the day. My husband works on the same floor with me, so I checked in with him and made plans to leave. I took time to send e-mails to other family members telling them that Peter was all right and that we were headed home. We then walked to our car and proceeded to weave our way through all of the barricaded streets and traffic jams. No one knew what streets were open, but drivers were cordial and patient with each other. Our seven-mile trip, which usually took 15-20 minutes at rush hour, took about an hour. At home, I realized that one of my coworkers had not been at work that morning but was planning to come in for a staff meeting that had been scheduled for 1:00. My call caught her just before she walked out the door. I babbled warnings to her about staying at home and a plane hitting the World Trade Center. We had a bad connection, and after a pause, her only response was, "Who is this again?" I told her to sit down and turn on the TV for an explanation. During that afternoon, as the news got worse and worse, we heard from Peter several times. He said he could see the smoke from the Pentagon from the street in front of his apartment building. At one point he sounded panicky and was making plans to get out of town. We encouraged him to calm down, turn the TV off, and do something to distract himself. In the days to come we suggested that he try to get back to his normal routine, and that he find a way to feel he was making a contribution, even if only in the form of a blood donation. Throughout the horrible sequence of events, I felt shocked and numb and frightened. The damage and losses were unthinkable, but they were real. I was relieved that Peter was safe, but it was then and still is painfully obvious that as long as he chooses to stay in Washington he will be in a high-risk location. I felt angry that his options and decisions might be affected by these acts of vicious hatred, but I also realized how insignificant his loss and mine really was. Peter is a graduate student at the Center for History and New Media at George Mason University. He has been involved in the development of this website, and he encouraged me to write my story about 9/11. I hope he did follow through with that blood donation, but this project is a wonderful contribution too. 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 story210.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. 2002-03-10 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 24.26.137.3 Annotation Annotations to this item. Gov't workers (non-military and non-rescue) Struggle to get home 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: My phone rang early and that's never a good sign. My friend called to tell me about the first plane which hit the trade center. We turned on the news and watched in horror as the second plane hit the twin tower. When I went to work, I took my Bible. I asked The Lord,"I don't understand, Lord. What's going on here?" He led me to Matthew 7:24 which tells that we will have wars, rumors or wars and nation against nation and kingdom against kingdom but that we should not worry but instead look toward the heavens for this was the beginning of His return. I only pray that out of this tragedy many will turn to the one and only true Savior, Jesus Christ. My hope lies in Him only. Deborah Begnoche 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 story2909.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. 66.74.37.249 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 day in my office and I had the cleaning lady that day who came in at 8:50 Am on Sept. 11 and told me that there was this big fire in a building in NY and that I need to watch the news. I turned on the TV and saw the tragic sight of the North tower burning and they were saying in the news that a plane hit that tower an apparently it was a mistake by the pilot being so low. As I was watching I saw this other plane going towards the South tower and I thought this was a replay of the incident and that I could not imagine what was going to happen. My mother was with me that day watching the TV and the announcer on the news was confused as well and did not know what to say. The news then started to realize what happened but said that this was another plane that was too low and hit the tower and then they said oh no it seems that this is a terrorist act and that they were not sure and they had the word that the president was going to speak and confirm everything they are saying. President Bush came in and announced that this appeared to be hijacked planes and that they are terrorists act. My mother and I were stunned and were mesmerized in front of that TV. As we were watching the news events, we heard a big sound that made us jump off our feet and I thought it was a thunder sound but I said to my mom how come when it is sunny out we hearing that sound and we did not know until they announced that the Pentagon was hit as well and that was the sound of the explosion that we heard. I live close to the Pentagon in Virginia off of the I395 that is about five miles from my house. We also heard the news of the plane in Pennsylvania and were sadden and scared of what's happenning. My husband was in Japan that day working for the Navy as a civilian and he was up watching the Japanese news and he did not understand a word. All he saw was the fire coming from the first tower and then also the second one. In his mind, he thought that this was just a new movie that the Japanese were making and that this was not for real but fake. The news started converting their language to English and he was worried and chocked. He tried to call us in the USA and couldn't that day and it was the same here when I tried to contact him. The Navy contacted my husband immediately and told him to stay in the hotel for now and that he could not return home the next day which he was planning to for security reasons. He was traped in that hotel for four days until they were able to get him on a plane back to the USA. My children were in school and I wanted to go and get them but they said in the news that the safest place for the children is the school and that they don't need to watch all the events because they will be scared and I waited until almost the end of their day and I ran to school to bring them back and keep them in my arms. My 12 years old knew about what happened from school but my 10 years old did not know anything since they did not want to scare those elementary school kids. 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 story6203.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. 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: My husband, Skip, and I were still in bed sleeping. I woke up with a bolt at 5:45AM and tried to get back to sleep without success. I finally decided to get up at 6:04AM. My husband asked what I was doing up so early - I am a night person and am usually up late and late to rise in the morning so this was very unlike me to be up at this hour. I told Skip that I didn't know why I was up but couldn't get back to sleep. Something was wrong - this had happened to me my whole life...I always got a warning of something going to happen like this. I tried to push it out my mind. I went to the back patio doors to let the dogs out and give them their treats and I was on my way back into the bedroom to get my glasses when my husband, who never turns on the bedroom tv first thing in the morning came hurrying into the family room putting on the tv and telling me to look at what was happening. There were the broadcasts of the World Trade Center buildings being hit by planes. I don't know why but at no time did we ever think this was a movie special effect although so very surreal. I said the same exact thing I said when he turned on the tv many years ago to show me the Challenger blowing up, "OH MY GOD!" I kept repeating this thru the hot tears stinging my eyes, trying to blink them away very rapidly so I didn't miss anything. Skip used to work in the North tower on the 13th floor just before we moved here to Arizona. I'd gone down there to pick him up so many times. MY GOD, if we hadn't moved here...he'd still be there... We watched and cried in disbelief to see the towers fall. We prayed that everyone was safely out. We prayed for empty floors where and above the planes hit the buildings. I called my parents in Columbia, MD right outside of Washington, DC and my sister in NYC - but our calls could not get to them with the circuits so busy. Our cell phones couldn't get to them either. My brother had just moved to ValDosta, Georgia. He had lived across the street from my parents in MD and worked at Prince George Hospital in DC. The news of the Pentagon being hit had us crazy with worry. What landmark was next, we wondered? Would we be hit here with all our air force bases? We finally did get thru to my family members and they were alright. My parents couldn't watch the tv after they saw the strikes first hit and I was the one to tell them that the towers were gone now. I remember Mom asking with such insistance, "WHAT DO YOU MEAN...GONE?" I said with a shakey, cracking voice in between my sobbing, "THEY'VE BOTH COLASPED - THERE'S NOTHING LEFT THERE NOW!!!" I heard her tell my Dad what I said and I heard him say, "Dear God, no!" Somewhere in time, the sadness became anger inside us. "How dare they do this to us!" Whomever they are, they've now woken the sleeping giant and they will be sorry they ever did this to us. We can't let THIS one go by without an answer. I was so mad and so hurt, I wanted to kill them with my bare hands - who did this? We were glued to the tv for days, maybe weeks. We couldn't think or talk about "IT" without crying. Till this day, we still tear up at the mention, at the site of a picture in the paper, a book, or on tv. We sent money and supplies and wondered how else could we help so far away now. It somehow hurt us more being native New Yorkers transplanted out here...always true New Yorkers at heart, than the other Americans living here in AZ. After all, even tho we didn't live in NYC now, our hearts were there along with our friends and relatives and ex-coworkers. Skip had worked in 1WTC and it hit him very hard. He used to be at work at 7AM - he used to take the Path in from Jersey from his grandmother's house when he stayed there - now he couldn't allow himself to think about it without breaking down. It's almost a year now...we have the picture of the 3 firemen raising the flag in a frame on the wall in the diningroom. We wore out our flag being out 24/7 in all kinds of weather - in front of the house...we just bought 2 more to replace it. And we just replaced the flag on the van's antenna...taking off the Jack ball to replace it with a Diamondbacks antenna ball. Flags still line our streets here and people won't sit passively by while some crazy terrorist tries to ruin any part of our "USA". I'm glad for that and I KNOW we won't ever sit still again. With all the heartbreak they caused us - they only succeeded in making us stronger and closer and more proud to live here - to be an AMERICAN than ever before. I can only think: God bless all of us and all the people who cried their tears for us and gave us support all around the world. God Bless OUR America...the land of the free, the home of the brave! 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 story1225.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. 2002-08-19 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 67.3.135.53 Annotation Annotations to this item. Flags Premonitions/Coincidence/Fate Rescue/clean-up workers/volunteers Television Coverage WTC, worked in (ever) 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: September 11th affected me in several ways. I remember exactly how that day went, what I was doing before, during, and after that attack. It was a blue day, so I had my 2nd, 4th, 5th, and 6th period classes that day. I had just gotten out of my 2nd period pre-calculus class and was headed up to visit my guitar teacher just to stop by and say hi. As I walked in the door to his classroom, I noticed that everyone in there was just standing and staring at the TV screen. I nudged my way through the crowd and found out what was wrong. I couldn?t believe my eyes; the World Trade Centers were burning. It was truly unbelievable. These two pillars of American pride were in flames. I recall running from that room and into my German teacher?s room just incase she didn?t know. She wasn?t there, but the TV was on, so I knew that the word had spread. As I had run to her room, I was telling everyone I saw what had happened, most didn?t believe me, and one, I recall, didn?t seem to care. Then, as class started, my German teacher walked into the room and just started watching the TV. We had no idea what was happening. People slowly realized what was happening and began to understand how big of a catastrophe this was. Our teacher at various times started commenting on how she viewed all this, but as soon as she started, it seemed like something new developed, causing her to shut up once more. Then we heard news that a plane hit the pentagon and another was on the way. That?s when everyone felt the tragedy hit home. This was in our backyard! Many students in my class started crying since their parents worked at the Pentagon. My friend realized that her father might have been at the Pentagon on that day and got even more worried. I accompanied her to the office so she could call her father and make sure he was all right. On the way back, we stopped at her brother?s classroom to convey the message to him. This was one of the most horrendous things ever in American history. Afterwards, I can remember the intense sense of depression that plagued everyone in the halls. Everyone was upset and could think of nothing other than the events of September 11. Never before had we suspected that terrorism could strike this close to us, but alas, it had. It was apparently time to bring things into perspective. The very next day, I remembered everyone had on red, white and blue. And it seemed that one could not step outside the house without being ambushed by flags. Patriotism was at a high point. But the sad part of this is that it takes a national disaster to unite this country. Only through tragedy does politics get put aside and companionship embraced. But at least we have that sense of patriotism. It may not always show, but its there. 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 story7754.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. 2002-09-17 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 151.188.17.4 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 live in El Paso, TX, but on September 11th I was on vacation with friends in NY. Our plans for that particular day were to drive down to Washington D.C. to go sightseeing and return on that Wednesday, the 12th, to do more sightseeing in NY. After staying up all night in the city that never sleeps, we decided to head back to our hotel room, which was on a military base in NJ. We dropped off a friend in Brooklyn and drove back into Manhattan where we took the Westside Freeway to the tunnel. As we drove past the WTC we actually thought about getting out and doing our sightseeing then, this was a little before 8:30 am. Since parking is so hard to find and we were already late for picking up a friend to make the trip to D.C., we fortunately decided to see the towers the next day. By the time we exited the tunnel back to NJ, the first radio announcemount came over the air about a plane hitting the towers. I honestly thought that it must be a joke, we just drove past there. Unfortunately it was not a joke at all. By the time we reached our hotel room, the second plane had already hit as well as the Pentagon. We were in a complete state of shock and horror. The first things we tried to do were get in touch with our families to let them know that we were alright. That was almost impossible with the way the phone lines were. We did get through to our rental car agency and arrange to pick up another vehicle to get home, since the news had already stated the closing of the airports and we were to fly out of Newark Int'l on that Thursday, the 13th. We had to drive back up to Newark to trade in the car we had for another. On the way up there I remember seeing the huge cloud of smoke over Manhattan, it was terrible. After going through armed guards to get into the airport, we traded our car in and headed home. On the way back down the New Jersey Turnpike you could see just miles and miles of ambulances speeding up the Turnpike from different counties and cities. That really hit home on how horrible the damage was. (We hadn't seen a lot the news coverage of the events, yet.) Although we were all extremely thankful to be a life, it hurt to know that so many others were not as fortunate as us. The tragic victims and heroes of 9/11 will always have a place in my heart. 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 story4967.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. 205.188.209.38 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: On September 11th. I was in school just like any other day. When we were working on an essay we started to hear alot of sierens. So we went to look out the window and we started to see all this smoke. Our teacher turned on the t.v to see if there was anything on the news about what was happening. We wachted the t.v and it said that the World Trade Center has been hit. Later we heared that the Pentagon was hit to. When I got home my mom asked me if I had seen the news and I said yes. She was crying and was nervous. My dad had seen the news at work, in the hospital. He was working even harder becase of what happen in the Pentagon. We talked about what was happening and watched the news. WE were praying that my cousin wasn't working that day! 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 story11480.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. 2005-06-13 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 206.158.3.10