88 20 2325 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: Bearing Witness to History" Stories Submitted Online Description An account of the resource Visitors to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History's, "Bearing Witness to History" online exhibition submitted these reflections beginning in 2002. NMAH Story NMAH Story: Story How did you witness history on September 11th? Share your experience. I was at lunch when somebody told me a plane had crashed in the world trade centers. NMAH Story: Life Changed Has your life changed because of September 11, 2001? If so, tell us how. Yes, i cherish life a lot more, knowing it might be my last. NMAH Story: Remembered What do you think should be remembered about September 11th? The courage and unity of new York City, and the heroics of the police and fire departments. NMAH Story: Flag Did you fly an American flag after the events of September 11th? Have your feelings about the American flag changed as a result of September 11th? Yes, I no longer see it as a flag with stars and stripes, I see it as 50 states bunched together, united and strong as one. 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 nmah4759.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. 207.28.166.251 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: Bearing Witness to History" Stories Submitted Online Description An account of the resource Visitors to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History's, "Bearing Witness to History" online exhibition submitted these reflections beginning in 2002. NMAH Story NMAH Story: Story How did you witness history on September 11th? Share your experience. NMAH Story: Life Changed Has your life changed because of September 11, 2001? If so, tell us how. I wanted to add some things to my earlier, longer entry today, if I may. For one, I have come up with the Voting Duty Act, which I think should be passed by Congress. In it, everyone eligible would have to vote in a modernized system, such as the one we have here in Marin County, using automatic ballot counters and felt-tip markers with three ballots in all, in case we make a mistake or need to do "research." And since candidates rarely give full profiles of their views, it will be mandatory that everyone running state how he or she feels about the issues and this cannot change, without good reason. Same goes for ballot measures. Unfortunately, when I emailed Senator Feinstein about this act, which has not been introduced to Congress, yet, though I'd like for it to be, she did not get back to me in a very positive way about how to do that. In fact, she did not get back to me at all about that particular issue, and merely had a staff person, no doubt, write, at first, that it will be "kept in mind," or something like that. I also wanted to write of the wonderful film, "9/11," which I'm sure you've heard of by now. It was filmed on location, as firefighters fought the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center--originally, it was to be about a rookie fireman, but that, obviously changed. In the DVD version, further interviews were conducted with firefighters, and "surprisingly," or maybe not so, they began to sound like me, saying things like it's more important to be happy and things like money aren't as crucial, and that spirituality may enter into their healing processes. I forget the exact quotes, but it's interesting--you should check it out, if you have not, already. Your local library should have a copy, as mine does. Another point I wanted to add was that in the fall of 2002, Coretta Scott King received the Circles of Hope 2002 Award from the Metropolitan Community Foundation in San Francisco. It houses, among other things, one of the two local soup kitchens where Amma devotees volunteer. I was, at the time, the only one who volunteered at both. Amma, who had just won the Gandhi-King Award in Geneva, Switzerland, was at her ashram about an hour away by car, giving her retreat, and I thought, as did another devotee named Daya, that they should meet. Only it wasn't to be that night, since Mrs. King left for Georgia right after her wonderful speech on Civil Rights, focusing on the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community, since the MCF is one of the oldest church organizations for that in the country. I later wrote her letters at The King Center that didn't get through. I regret that I didn't fax a copy of Amma's Gandhi-King Award speech, as her assistant requested, when I was put through to her on the phone, one day. Later, when Yolanda joined "Amma-ville," as one devotee has put it, rather jokingly, I told her, when she turned up for Devi Bhava night the following fall at the ashram, of this story, never minding Dayamrita's not observing her father's birthday in the temple earlier that year. I didn't want to "embarrass" him, but I now regret that, as she would most likely have been helpful in this, and not just let it be a "last minute" thing he put together without Amma's help. To be on the "bright side" of this issue, devotees decorated an elaborate poster, asking Amma to come to Atlanta, and that was my idea last year, already, when I had trouble getting Dr. King's birthday observed in the temple that year. Hopefully, that will come about--most likely, at some point, but I won't get any credit. One "last story" I'd like to tell, regarding Amma, and then I'll really quit, for now. I confess I do like the on-going nature of this archive, as it is helpful for to me put my experiences into perspective. So here goes: In the summer of 2001, I began to practice the "new moon sadhanas," which Bri. Maya Tiwari wrote of in her book, "The Path of Practice," out in 2000. Originally, we women menstruated with the new moon, and the ancient Vedic texts say that is central to our good health. By Mother's Day of 2002, I was menstruating with the new moon, almost to the hour the day began at midnight. I was excited, as I thought I'd finally be healthy, because of this phenomenon. The following month, however, Amma returned to her ashram in San Ramon, and I menstruated with her arrival there, totally throwing my cycle off. It had always been short, since childhood, when I had amenorrhea, due to a case of anorexia nervosa I suffered as a ballet dancer. I forget how short it was that June when Amma returned, but it was definitely shorter than 29 1/2 days, which is how long the moon's cycle is. I went on tour with her for the first time that summer--7 out of 11 cities in the US--and during that time, I gave up the new moon practices almost altogether, except for full moon bathing, which I still like to do, sometimes. I had trouble that tour, as you may guess, with a full-blown case of PTSD and many traveling companions, some of whom can be grouchy and mean, too. At the end of the summer tour, I flew home to the Bay area, back from my parents' house in suburban Maryland, where I'd spent a few days after the tour. In the lavatory, I asked myself, off-hand, if Amma is really my teacher, and I beagn to menstruate at that moment. So I took that as an answer, "Yes." One trouble I had on tour was being "randomly searched" every time I bought a one-way airline ticket at the counter. I'd freak out and say things like I didn't vote for Bush and we didn't elect him, which is true. He and his administration knew, apparently, ahead of time about the terrorist attacks, as had Clinton's, but that is downplayed in the press, now that he is up for "re-election." War sells, and that is what the mass media cares about--nothing else, practically. You are lucky if you read anything worthy in it, which is another reason why I loved France so much--the mass media there was not in favor of the wars and not afraid to print the truth. I really hope I don't get investigated just for writing relevant details of my experiences since 9/11, because freedom of speech is still a Constitutional right, is it not? Bu that's the kind of fear I live under, now. I fear my own government more than any other, just about, and that is the truth. Now, back to my story--I had, originally, been in a van, that left for LA without me, since I didn't have the proper insurance to drive a rental and needed to get some. But the long, dangerous overnight drives were too much for me and many of my companions, and I got out after we got to Santa Fe and began to fly and skip cities inbetween, staying at a devotee's house there, and so on. After I got back to Muir Beach, I began the new moon sadhanas, once again, because I didn't want to let Amma's presence "throw me off" my cycle. But in the fall, when she returned that year, I began to menstruate the third day after her arrival at the ashram, so I "gave up" on those. Since then, I've menstruated intermittently. I can never be quite sure when I am going to, and it is disconcerting, to say the least. I wonder, then, if Amma really IS for me, since this happens. For instance, last June, I menstruated not with her arrival in San Ramon, but a day or two "early," after I got darshan from her in LA the night of the Reef Check event, where Leonardo DiCaprio didn't show for his own benefit, and his mother flew her own mother home to Germany that very night, skipping the VIP party after the premiere MacGillivray Freeman film, "Coral Reef Adventure." And then, in November, before Amma was here last, I told an intern named Massey Burke at the Solar Living Center in Hopland, where I happened to be helping her build a teacher's hut out of sustainable materials. I said how I "resented" menstruating at "auspicious times," when Amma's here, and not with the new moon, which I'd practiced to do for over a year. I was four or five days "later than usual," and I suspected I'd menstruate really late--the following week, with Amma's arrival at the ashram in San Ramon. But that night, I menstruated after a film we saw in Ukiah, called, "Winged Migration." I took that as a sign, too. Earlier in the year, I'd gone to Mono Lake for the first time, in the Eastern Sierras. I find it a very peaceful, serene place--home to millions of migratory birds, to boot. It is endangered, since the LA aqueduct has been diverting water from it since 1941, and only in 1994, after a 16-year court battle, did the Mono Lake Committee win an agreement with the LA DWP to "replenish" 20 of the 40 feet that have been taken off its surface since then. Either that, or it's just a "coincidence," but I sort of doubt it, considering everything. By the way, I'd returned to Mono Lake--or tried to--for a benefit dinner thrown by the American Legion at the Lee Vining Community Center there. Only I didn't quite make it all the way, and I ended up spending the night for the first--and only time--on Yosemite Valley floor, at Camp Curry, in a tent cabin, protecting my edibles in "bear-proof" boxes and so on. I did, however, make it back to Mono Lake for the Committee's 25th anniversary field trip, led by Sally Gaines, who is David Gaines' widow. David started the Mono Lake Committee in 1978, when he realized it was endangering his beloved birds he loved to study. Most people here seem to have forgotten 9/11, already, as that was one of the few events commemorating it I saw in the area, and Mono Lake is about 7 hours away, by freeway from here. I still see an occasional sign, that says "We'll never forget," but they get fewer and farther between all the time. I really will go now. What more can I say? I feel a bit like a failure when it comes to this, "life's highest goal," but there is always time for growth, no? P.S. I don't mean to sound "hard" on the satguru--I'm just telling it like it is... NMAH Story: Remembered What do you think should be remembered about September 11th? NMAH Story: Flag Did you fly an American flag after the events of September 11th? Have your feelings about the American flag changed as a result of September 11th? 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 nmah6410.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. 2004-01-18 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 66.81.217.250 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: Bearing Witness to History" Stories Submitted Online Description An account of the resource Visitors to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History's, "Bearing Witness to History" online exhibition submitted these reflections beginning in 2002. NMAH Story NMAH Story: Story How did you witness history on September 11th? Share your experience. When I woke up on September 11, 2001, I thought it would be a normal day. That was until I was going to school. My dad and I was listening to the radio when we heard about the Twin Towers. I wasn't sure about what was going on until I arrived at my Engilsh class and my teacher told all of us what happened in New York. NMAH Story: Life Changed Has your life changed because of September 11, 2001? If so, tell us how. My life really hasn't changed that much, except that I am scared to go onto airplanes. The summer of 2002, I went to visit relitives in another country. The flight there wasn't that bad, but the fly back to America was really scary. There were so many police men, but the other men with huge guns was the scary part. NMAH Story: Remembered What do you think should be remembered about September 11th? I think the bravery of the people is what should be remembered. Not just the bravery of all the people in New York or the firefrighters/policemen, but the bravery of all the people in America. I know we are all probably scared, but we never stopped living. Everyone continued to live their lives, not letting the terrors and fears take over. NMAH Story: Flag Did you fly an American flag after the events of September 11th? Have your feelings about the American flag changed as a result of September 11th? yes we did. I think now that our flag represents more than it use to before. It represents freedom and bravery. 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 nmah2776.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. 209.79.73.105 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: Bearing Witness to History" Stories Submitted Online Description An account of the resource Visitors to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History's, "Bearing Witness to History" online exhibition submitted these reflections beginning in 2002. NMAH Story NMAH Story: Story How did you witness history on September 11th? Share your experience. My name is Eric Kebbel. I was at school when the tragic events happened. It was second period when the first plane hit; however, I didn't know what had happened until fourth period at about 10:00 a.m. When it first happened,pur principal came over the intercom and told the teachers not to turn on their televisions. In fourth period my history teacher finally told us what had happened. I never saw any coverage until I got home at 3:30 p.m. My mom and two sisters were sitting tere watching the coverage. I didn't leave the tv for the rest of the day. NMAH Story: Life Changed Has your life changed because of September 11, 2001? If so, tell us how. This is something that I will tell my grand children about. I have learned that we can't take things for granted, even in the United States. I also learned that people are not afraid to attack us. That we must spend time and money protecting our borders and seeking out and destroying our enemies. Finally, I learned that tragedies such as this do not pull Americans apart, as the terrorists thought, but they pull Americans together as one big, grieving family. NMAH Story: Remembered What do you think should be remembered about September 11th? I think that the lives of all the innocent people that were killed should be remembered. Also, the lives of all the heroes who die dwhile trying to save people. The passengers of United Flight 93 should be remembered as heroes for not letting the hijackers get the plane to where they wanted it to go. We should remember that we will always have enemies and that we must protect our borders against them. We should remember the rescue effort that went on. Finally, we should remember that Americans will always come out on top. NMAH Story: Flag Did you fly an American flag after the events of September 11th? Have your feelings about the American flag changed as a result of September 11th? Yes, my family flew American flags after the events. My feelings have changed a lot because of the events. The flag now symbollizes freedom, perseverence, and power. Also, I remember September 11, 2001 every time I see the flag. 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 nmah3554.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. 216.109.3.68 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: Bearing Witness to History" Stories Submitted Online Description An account of the resource Visitors to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History's, "Bearing Witness to History" online exhibition submitted these reflections beginning in 2002. NMAH Story NMAH Story: Story How did you witness history on September 11th? Share your experience. I turned on the TV to catch up on the news from the night before. Tower One had already been hit but there was not, at that time, an indication that we were under attack. I watched and listened in horror to the reports of eyewitnesses; many who indicated that it was a small plane that had crashed into the North Tower. Minutes later, in one split second, it became apparent to me that we were indeed under attack. In that split second the second plane came into view on the TV screen. I KNEW at that second what those in control of the second plane had in mind....I KNEW IT and all I could do was watch it happen. WHAT A FEELING OF TOTAL HOPELESSNESS! I wanted to hit a "Pause" button so that I could prevent the inevitable. I wanted to do SOMETHING but realized that I could do NOTHING... And then it happened... Flight 175 careened into the side of the South Tower. What I din't know until hours later was that my sister's son- in-law, Brian Sweeney, was on United 175. May God rest his soul and bring peace and closure to his wonderful wife, Julie. We love you. NMAH Story: Life Changed Has your life changed because of September 11, 2001? If so, tell us how. Make today a day that counts in your life, for tomorrow may never come. Tell those in your life today that you love them for tomorrow may never come. NMAH Story: Remembered What do you think should be remembered about September 11th? The innocent victims and those who tried to save them and all of their families and loved ones. NMAH Story: Flag Did you fly an American flag after the events of September 11th? Have your feelings about the American flag changed as a result of September 11th? Yes, I flew the flag both before and after September 11, 2001. I see the flag only as a symbol of my country. The more important thing to me is the values of the citizens and leaders of my country. 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 nmah4302.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. 65.58.214.96 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: Bearing Witness to History" Stories Submitted Online Description An account of the resource Visitors to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History's, "Bearing Witness to History" online exhibition submitted these reflections beginning in 2002. NMAH Story NMAH Story: Story How did you witness history on September 11th? Share your experience. I was sitting in science class when a friend who had gone home for lunch came into class and said that a plane had hit the twin towers and maybe hit the pentagon. I thought it was a joke. I thought who and why would do this us. I wondered if actually did have enemies. I thought all my ife that no hated my country. NMAH Story: Life Changed Has your life changed because of September 11, 2001? If so, tell us how. no not really NMAH Story: Remembered What do you think should be remembered about September 11th? I think we should remember that not everybody likes us and not be so fool hardy when it comes to threats. I think we should remember all those people who died in the towers and on the plane and also all those people who saved lives ven if it was just one person. I also belive that we should rember over the last year who of not lost a loved oone but helped and consoled in some way. From listening to makeing quilts or raising money to rebiult. NMAH Story: Flag Did you fly an American flag after the events of September 11th? Have your feelings about the American flag changed as a result of September 11th? yes, i feel that i am more proud of our flag and that we are united as a nation. 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 nmah4766.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. 207.28.166.251 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: Bearing Witness to History" Stories Submitted Online Description An account of the resource Visitors to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History's, "Bearing Witness to History" online exhibition submitted these reflections beginning in 2002. NMAH Story NMAH Story: Story How did you witness history on September 11th? Share your experience. We ust changed for gym. Another student said she saw on TV a plane fly into the World Trade Center. Mrs. Dunn, my fourth period gym teacher, and 35 students ran into an empty room and watched the second plane hit. When we saw the plane hit, many girls were crying. Afew immature classmates were laughing. How could they laugh at this. Then it fell. The building was gone. They stopped laughing. The period was over. The Trade Centers are gone! NMAH Story: Life Changed Has your life changed because of September 11, 2001? If so, tell us how. No. The only thing that has changed for me is that the travel places arre much more hard to get through. NMAH Story: Remembered What do you think should be remembered about September 11th? We never gave up. We are over there right now beating the crap out of them, watching them run out there caves like rats. We whill find a stop to all this. NMAH Story: Flag Did you fly an American flag after the events of September 11th? Have your feelings about the American flag changed as a result of September 11th? 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 nmah1903.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. 2002-09-09 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 207.99.16.132 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: Bearing Witness to History" Stories Submitted Online Description An account of the resource Visitors to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History's, "Bearing Witness to History" online exhibition submitted these reflections beginning in 2002. NMAH Story NMAH Story: Story How did you witness history on September 11th? Share your experience. September 11, 2002 dawned as a very ordinary day for me. I arose at the usual 5:30 A. I went to Forestbrook Middle School where I am a seventh grade math teacher. It was the most normal of days until I received an emergency email from the office.It said not to turn on CNN or the Weather Channel for our classes. I had no idea what was going on. While my students worked on an assignment, I went to the Cnn website to see if I could get some information. There was little at that point. I had lunch/playground duty. My principal came out to brief me on what was going on and how to approach it with my students. He told me about the planes hitting the Twin Towers in New York City, the plane into the Pentagon, and most personally chilling to me was the plane that went down near Pittsburgh. All my family lives in the city. When I got back to the classroom, I went to the CNN website again and read their reports with fear. NMAH Story: Life Changed Has your life changed because of September 11, 2001? If so, tell us how. My life has changed drastically in one sense. I have been a Catholic all my life, but on September 9, I had given my heart and life to Jesus and was born again. Because of the Twin Towers tragedy, I have left the Catholic church and joined a charismatic church where I am better able to live my life in His service. All my priorities have changed and I have a totally different focus on life. NMAH Story: Remembered What do you think should be remembered about September 11th? I think that the victims of the tragedy and their families should be remembered. We should all remember that our freedom isn't free and that there is a price that has been paid and will continue to be paid for it. WE should not take many our freedoms for granted as we have in the past. We should get back to God and thank Him every day for what we have as Americans. We must also stop being the spoiled children of the world and live up to the responsiblities that the graciousness of God has granted us through His many blessings. NMAH Story: Flag Did you fly an American flag after the events of September 11th? Have your feelings about the American flag changed as a result of September 11th? Yes. I have always held the flag in great honor and respect. I am more conscious of its symbolism now and the price that was so freely paid for the freedoms that it represents. 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 nmah1438.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. 2002-09-06 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 206.219.164.11 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: Bearing Witness to History" Stories Submitted Online Description An account of the resource Visitors to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History's, "Bearing Witness to History" online exhibition submitted these reflections beginning in 2002. NMAH Story NMAH Story: Story How did you witness history on September 11th? Share your experience. I was sleeping until my mom woke me up at 6:30. She told me that one of the towers on the World Trade Center had been hit. My first thought was, what are the World Trade Centers? When I got up and looked at the tv I realized it was the twin towers- and just as I had started watching the second plane hit the other tower. It scared me so much that I started crying. Then after I had gotten out of the shower (while listening for any new news on the radio) I watched as they said that the pentagon had been hit. At that point I did not want to go to school. After I had gotten dressed I watched as both towers fell to the ground. After I had gotten to school, I went into a classroom where they had a tv set up and I watched it till it was time to go to class. Near the end of the day, I was in my science class and we were all watching the tv when they showed the most horrific scene that is still fresh in my mind one year later. They had filmed people falling from the building because they had jumped out of the windows. That scene will never leave my mind. NMAH Story: Life Changed Has your life changed because of September 11, 2001? If so, tell us how. YES! It has made me more aware of my country and other countries accross seas. It has also made me get very scared whenever a plane flys overhead. NMAH Story: Remembered What do you think should be remembered about September 11th? How couragous those people were who ran in the towers just as they knew they were about to collapse. Those are the brvest people that I will ever know because I know i could never be able to do what they did, risk their lives for strangers. NMAH Story: Flag Did you fly an American flag after the events of September 11th? Have your feelings about the American flag changed as a result of September 11th? I have tried to fly a flag everyday since the tragic day of 9/11. I have also put red, white, and blue ribbons, braided, on my backpack to remeber that those are the colors that bind this country and hold it together. 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 nmah2924.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. 198.81.21.162 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: Bearing Witness to History" Stories Submitted Online Description An account of the resource Visitors to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History's, "Bearing Witness to History" online exhibition submitted these reflections beginning in 2002. NMAH Story NMAH Story: Story How did you witness history on September 11th? Share your experience. September 11 is my mother's birthday. No more. She'll never celebrate it on that date again and I don't blame her. On this day we had plans to go out to dinner. I started my day in a good mood due to the splendid weather. My job in Route Sales took me into a market on Asbury Avenue in Ocean City NJ where I looked up at the television and saw a surreal vision of the World Trade Center on fire. "How terrible", I thought, "a nasty accident." I return to my truck. Minutes later I reenter the market and the second tower is a raging inferno. The hair on the back of my neck stands straight up and all I want to do right now is find a church. I go to St. Augustine's a few blocks away and stumble in, saying Hail Mary's as I collapse into a pew. When I go back outside my wife pages me. "Do you know what's going on?" she asks, her voice thick with emotion. I tell her I do and we talk for a few minutes while she is watching the drama on TV. At one point she screams "THEY'VE JUST BOMBED THE PENTAGON!" She is crying now. "What are we going to do?" I tell her I don't know, that we just have to remain calm. I am having trouble believing my own answer. I tell her that I will go home immediately if they let our son out of school early. She doesn't want him home alone watching all of this, and neither do I. Until then, I have to keep moving and stay occupied. On the radio, a DJ announces that a plane has crashed in a field in Pennsylvania while presumably headed for Camp David. Is the President there? How would they know if he was? In a diner an old man sitting at the counter turns around and looks at me just as the North Tower is collapsing on the screen behind him. "You know, it's only 7:00 in California" he says. I don't answer but he has confirmed my worst fear - the attack is going all the way across the country. I feel as though it is not a beautiful day outside, but rather, an oppressive heat wave. Everyone walks in slow motion, avoiding direct eye contact. They look at their shoes, at the wall, at the ceiling, as though any acknowledgement of another person will result in a wave of tears. I move through my day, looking for any sign of normalcy. Several stops later, I enter a small restaurant. I am standing at the cash register, waiting to get paid when I spot a sign taped to the wall. It reads " Don't be afraid of tomorrow. God is already there." Right next to me a small girl, about four years old, is seated at a table with an older woman whom I presume to be her grandmother. She is chatting and singing while kneeling on her chair, apparently delighted to be out to breakfast with her grandma! It must have looked like I was fascinated by this scene, and maybe I was. The peaceful innocence of a young child in the midst of all this horror seemed out of place, yet it was soothing at the same time. Finally, my day ends and I return to the shelter of my home and my family. Over and over the TV replays the events of the morning. Tom Brokaw broadcasts from the New Jersey side of the Hudson River, Manhattan smouldering in the background. We are in no mood to eat and so we watch the wall to wall coverage deep into the night until it is time to sleep, but sleep does not come. NMAH Story: Life Changed Has your life changed because of September 11, 2001? If so, tell us how. Most importantly, it has not. I continue to work, to laugh, to love, to appreciate life. I do not live in fear of the unknown and I am certain that, eventually, cooler heads will prevail. I understand that a task as monumental as this one will take a long time to resolve and I am prepared to wait. I have confidence in my country. Many times I have witnessed the resilience of the ordinary citizen and that, I truly believe, is the backbone of our great country. NMAH Story: Remembered What do you think should be remembered about September 11th? That ordinary people, who were doing nothing but going to work, were brutally and senselessly murdered. September 11 should be set aside as a national day of mourning, but not in the form of a holiday with a long weekend. We should go about our business as they intended to do, as a tribute to them. NMAH Story: Flag Did you fly an American flag after the events of September 11th? Have your feelings about the American flag changed as a result of September 11th? I have worn an american flag pin everyday since September 11 and will continue to do so for the rest of my life. 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 nmah594.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. 2002-08-29 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 209.128.233.106 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: Bearing Witness to History" Stories Submitted Online Description An account of the resource Visitors to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History's, "Bearing Witness to History" online exhibition submitted these reflections beginning in 2002. NMAH Story NMAH Story: Story How did you witness history on September 11th? Share your experience. iwas at school and i was shocked when i heard that a plane flew into the world trade center and caused it too kill a thousand people. i want the people in new york too know that our prayers are with them and we know exactly how it feels to lose someone that you love and care a lot about. that day made me want too wonder if the end of our life on earth was about too be over. ireally think about that day and the lives that were lost and the people who had ashes all of them . i really felt sad when i heard about the attack on newyork. america wants them to know that we love them and we will pray for them. we will put our hands together and pray for those who lost loved ones. we care a lot about our country and we want freedom and liberty too be in our country because america needs freedom and liberty . we are so glad too share our feelings with yall about this day. as americans we are proud too know that we have freedom and we are not proud too hear about the attack that came on this beautiful country . now we will srive too have freedom andliberty for our country. we love new yorck and we want forget this day. NMAH Story: Life Changed Has your life changed because of September 11, 2001? If so, tell us how. NMAH Story: Remembered What do you think should be remembered about September 11th? NMAH Story: Flag Did you fly an American flag after the events of September 11th? Have your feelings about the American flag changed as a result of September 11th? YesI flew the American flag because I want our country too know that we still have our freedom and justice. 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 nmah2474.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. 168.8.108.5 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: Bearing Witness to History" Stories Submitted Online Description An account of the resource Visitors to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History's, "Bearing Witness to History" online exhibition submitted these reflections beginning in 2002. NMAH Story NMAH Story: Story How did you witness history on September 11th? Share your experience. September 11th started out as a regular day for me. I woke up at 4:30 a.m because I had to open up the healthclub that I worked at. I remember how beautiful the morning was. I got to work around 5:25 a.m, twenty minutes early, So I would have time to eat breakfast. When I finished my breakfast I turned all of the television's on. I put them on all of the news stations because the club is in the financial district in Boston. The majority of the members are business people who like to watch CNN, MSNBC, FOX News as well as the local news. They would always watch the news while they exercised so they would know what was going on in the world. Everything was normal until around 8:50 a.m when one of the stations that was on said that there was a fire at the World Trade Center. At first no one thought anything of it until they showed Tower 1 on fire with a huge whole in it's side. The anchor then said that either a missile or a plane hit the tower. When they said it was a plane everyone thought it was a terrible accident until we saw the other plane hit Tower 2 right before our eyes. Then we heard about the Pentagon being hit and seeing the video of it on fire. I will never forget the look on everyone's faces that were there. Everyone was just in shock. We could not believe what we were seeing. By that point no one was working out. Everyone was watching the T.V's. Everyone stood there watching until both towers were gone. It felt like an eternity standing there watching everything unfold. To this day I still think about what happened. It is still fresh in my mind how such a beautiful day turned into such a nightmare. One of the many things that I learned on September 11th,is that life is to short to take things for granted. Live for today because you never know when you will be gone. Take the time to tell someone you care about, that you love them. I am very proud of how this country came together after everything that happened. I have never been more proud to be an American. The people of this country proved once again that this is the greatest country in the world. UNITED WE STAND! GOD BLESS AMERICA! Francis C. Corvino J.r South Boston Massachusetts NMAH Story: Life Changed Has your life changed because of September 11, 2001? If so, tell us how. I look at things differently now. I appreciate life more. I try to not let the little things in life bother me. NMAH Story: Remembered What do you think should be remembered about September 11th? Everything that happened that day and the days that followed. How the country came togehter to rally around New York and the rest of the victims I hope that we never forget. I will never forget what happened on September 11th. I will remember it for the rest of my life. NMAH Story: Flag Did you fly an American flag after the events of September 11th? Have your feelings about the American flag changed as a result of September 11th? Yes. Both of my grandfather's served in the military during World War II so I have always had a lot of respect for the flag that they and thousands of other men and now women fight to protect everyday. I believe it should be against the law to burn the American Flag. 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 nmah5630.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. 2003-09-02 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 68.163.219.116 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: Bearing Witness to History" Stories Submitted Online Description An account of the resource Visitors to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History's, "Bearing Witness to History" online exhibition submitted these reflections beginning in 2002. NMAH Story NMAH Story: Story How did you witness history on September 11th? Share your experience. I woke up that morning after the attacks had already happened. I didn't know anything until one of my good friends came running up to me as I was getting on the elevator to go to class, she asked me if I was watching the news, when I told her that I hadn't watched the news at all she told me the whole story. Attending class that morning was difficult, to say the least. As soon as I could I made my way to the cafeteria which had a television in it. As I walked in I noticed that I was not the only one with a look of complete and total disbelief. Right then I witnessed the first tower fall. No one in the entire cafeteria said a word. Now if you can imagine a university cafeteria filled with around 200 students at the time so quite you could here a pin drop, that is what it sounded like. I also saw so many tears. Even from myself. I couldn't understand why or how this could have happened. Just as all of that was happening I remembered that one of my close friends that I had made while at college was from New York, she lived just minutes away from the towers and both her parents worked in the towers, I went rushing to the dorm. I found her in her room, basically in hysterics. I mean, how would you feel being in Texas, so far away from all of that, yet knowing that so many of the people and family you knew were right there. I spent about 3 hours with her, helping her find out about family and friends. We were using about 5 cell phones and 3 telephones tryong to get through. While I was with her we did find out that her mom, dad, and little brother were ok. However a close friend of the family that she baby sat for, his parents were both killed. When I left her room I was so numb. The first thing I thoought to do when I got in my room, was to call my mom. I talked to my mom for about an hour. We cried and sometimes just sat on the phone in silence together. When I finally got to see my boyfriend of 3 years that day I was really worried, the only thing that came to my mind was what if they reinstate the draft. So I was going through my mind trying to play out scenarios so he wouldn't have to go. For example, I told him that if they do start the draft again I would take him out back and shoot off a toe. They couldn't possibly take him if he was missing a toe, right? But then I decided that I really shouldn't worry about that right then. September 11th 2001 was a day filled with so many different emotions for me. I knew immediately that the world had changed. But as of yet, I don't know if it was for the worse or better. One day this will be in the history books and I will say to the children of that time that I was there and many villans and HEROES were born that day. Those HEROES will never ever be forgotten. NMAH Story: Life Changed Has your life changed because of September 11, 2001? If so, tell us how. NMAH Story: Remembered What do you think should be remembered about September 11th? NMAH Story: Flag Did you fly an American flag after the events of September 11th? Have your feelings about the American flag changed as a result of September 11th? 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 nmah706.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. 2002-08-31 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 67.25.225.53 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: Bearing Witness to History" Stories Submitted Online Description An account of the resource Visitors to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History's, "Bearing Witness to History" online exhibition submitted these reflections beginning in 2002. NMAH Story NMAH Story: Story How did you witness history on September 11th? Share your experience. I was in first period Biology class as usual the morning of September 11th. I did not want to stay in class so I asked to be excused to Student Services for something stupid. I remember walking in to the office and seeing the TV turned to the local CBS station, at first I could not tell what was going on, I thought that they were talking about power plants because all I saw was a tall structure with smoke pouring out of it and something I could not describe in Washington, D.C. and New York City. Then I got the shock of my life, the secratary at the office desk told me what was going on, the WTC and the Pentagon were struck by airplanes. I immediately ran back to my class room and told my teacher to turn on the news station now. I have never heard such an errie silence in that whole class room or in the school building for as long as I have been going there. So for the rest of the day, the entire school watched on live television the WTC collapse and the news reports about the plane crashing into the Pentagon and in Pennsylvania. NMAH Story: Life Changed Has your life changed because of September 11, 2001? If so, tell us how. I believe my life has changed as a result of 9/11. I am more patriotic and waive my American flag with pride and I don't worry at all getting onto an airplane like I used to before 9/11. NMAH Story: Remembered What do you think should be remembered about September 11th? I think the thing that should be remembered the most about 9/11 is the victims and their families. NMAH Story: Flag Did you fly an American flag after the events of September 11th? Have your feelings about the American flag changed as a result of September 11th? Yes, I did fly an American flag after 9/11 and I have much more respect for the country I live in and the flag that that also flies where I live. 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 nmah236.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. 65.166.236.128 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: Bearing Witness to History" Stories Submitted Online Description An account of the resource Visitors to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History's, "Bearing Witness to History" online exhibition submitted these reflections beginning in 2002. NMAH Story NMAH Story: Story How did you witness history on September 11th? Share your experience. God, take care of the victims that are now in heaven as your companions. please bless their families and friends. My witness: It was one of the strangest things. September 10, 2002 was supposed to be a day that I was to go to a sort of open house located on the 46th floor of 1 WTC for clerical work. I was excited because if I would have had the opportunity to work in such a grand building I would finally feel as if I were slowly but surely working my way up. As a college student, that would be a great feat. No matter what the position was, I wanted it. I thought about it for the entire weekend. But that Monday, I had other commitments to attend to. September 10th was also my first day of class and through a last minute choice I scheduled an interview downtown. Even though, ultimately, my main interest lied in whatever the position was that was offered in the World Trade Center. So because the recording stated that applications can be filled either the tenth or eleventh day I decided that Tuesday, September 11th I would dedicate the entire morning to be at the World Trade Center. My interview on the tenth turned out to be sort of suspicious and I ended up missing school anyway. My boyfriend had waited for me after the interview and for some reason we didn't have a good feeling about the next day at the World Trade Center. He felt that I couldn't miss another day from school and because I wasn't certain what the position was I should be weary of it. I experienced some turmoil but remained optimistic and decided that I would have to try it out, because who knew when I would have another opportunity. what if that was my last chance? My favorite jobs have come through pure chance. I set my alarm clock but when the time came to get ready I remained dazed on my bed contemplating whether I should actually get up or not. Hours passed and my phone rings. I ran to get it and its my boyfriend thanking God that I am still home. I asked him what happened. He asked me over and over, "Where were you going, the World Trade Center right?!?" I just laughed and asked "Yeah but I guess I won't be going because I am running late or should I?" but before I can even finish he is screaming that there was an explosion, he didn't know what it was they say it might be a plane and that he is just a few blocks away because he was doing building maintenance with his boss, instead of his routine highway maintenance. He still wasn't making sense to me. I heard every word, but it didn't make sense. My mother was in her bedroom getting dressed and he informed me to put on the television because by now it should be on the news. We turn it on and immediately my mother says "That was a terrorist attack." I thought she was watching too many movies but we continue to watch, I tell her that I was supposed to go there she yells at me to stay home all day, but it still didn't hit me. I thought that even though there was a distinct hole on the side of the building the plane must have miscalculated its distance. I hang up with my boyfriend tell my mother goodbye and to be safe when my phone rings again. My boyfriend is yelling another plane has hit and this time he saw the explosion. He says the ground shook beneath him and pushed him back, smoke, smog, and soot is covering the entire area he wants to go home that's all he wanted, to be home and be with me. pain, that's all i felt. for all the people that were on the planes, whoever was in their office. for all of their families. for all of the people that worked there. for everyone that knew someone there. for all of us new yorkers. for all of us in the world. it was such a bad movie playing over and over in my head and on every channel that I turned the tv to. i turned off the tv but the phonecalls came in. my relatives were worried about my mother's cousin's husband, my mom's boyfriend, and my mom. My sister was teaching her third grade class in the South Bronx when parents were picking up their children and told her "All of Manhattan was blown up!" more family called to inform me to alert all family members who work in hospitals to be on alert for any of these people... i hate that day. after i picked up the younger children in my family from their school and my sister came to my house from work and the actual truth was explained to her, we cried while watching over and over what would change us forever. NMAH Story: Life Changed Has your life changed because of September 11, 2001? If so, tell us how. Everyone's life has changed after last years disgusting, dispicable, horrific... act. The building was a place that I wanted to go with my boyfriend one day. I had gone once when I was in the third grade but always remained confused as to whether the World Trade Center was the same as the Twin Towers of the city. He has never gone. Now he'll never be able to see them. Like many after that day we realized how important we truly were to one another. He has now become my fiance and we value every day that we see each other. September 11th also woke up the officials that run our country. We were really sleeping on what other people could do. some rare moments i feel as if I don't hate the people that did this to us because we thought it could never happen and it was our wake up call. i ask God to forgive us both. for America for being so damn cocky and the evil people because they need guidance. we are not inferior to anyone. we are just as vulnerable and they took the opportunity to destroy us. our spirits, our souls, stripped. everyone I know has an empty space there in their heart. so empty. but like many, on those other days that I can't find it in my heart to feel sorry for ignorant people like those terrorists, i hate them. i hate the terrorists. each and every one of them. the people that funded it, the people who acted it out, the people who thought of it. all of them i hate them. i ask God for forgiveness of such anger and while I know that I have no right to hate anyone, I still feel it though. just a few days preceding the attacks my father was discussing how much safer he feels in the sky than on ground. that has changed. it did not help the matter that just two months after the WTC attacks the flight of 587 killed my neighbor. my father was on a plane to and from DR just days before that. therefore i am now terrified. iam told that is what they wanted, it worked. i don't feel secure. NMAH Story: Remembered What do you think should be remembered about September 11th? The compassion that everyone felt. The helplessness, but also the courage. At one point or another everyone went through the same process. It hurt us so much,especially us here in New York. But we managed to come together for the same cause. To demonstrate that no matter what we are all Americans and love our opportunities here. We might not have known one another but this is where we all rest our heads, this is our home. We value our lives and try to make the world safer for our children (though I don't have any). It hurt every soul when those terrorists tried to take that away from us. So many people lost their lives without any conceivable or sane explanation. Everything needs to be remembered. History was a subject that I always hated until now. The future generations need to know, I never thought that I would experience anything as remotely detestable as this. NMAH Story: Flag Did you fly an American flag after the events of September 11th? Have your feelings about the American flag changed as a result of September 11th? I never had an American Flag publically displayed prior to the events of September 11th. After the tragedy I took its actual importance for what it was worth instead of overlooking its value. 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 nmah4431.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. 152.163.188.168 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: Bearing Witness to History" Stories Submitted Online Description An account of the resource Visitors to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History's, "Bearing Witness to History" online exhibition submitted these reflections beginning in 2002. NMAH Story NMAH Story: Story How did you witness history on September 11th? Share your experience. I was in Washington, DC for a national conference. Tuesday, September 11 was set to be my "goof off" day--a day to sightsee the nation's capital with my Mom who rarely traveled with me. We began with an early breakfast in the hotel restaurant. Ironically, we left our room just minutes before the first Trade Center building was hit. We made our way downstairs for a quick bite. Since we had no need to return to the room after eating, we boarded the subway at Crystal City to go into DC to begin our day. At the Arlington Station stop, on the banks of the Potomac River, our car came out into the daylight after several minutes of being underground. After riding in darkness,a natural instinct is to look out the window when you come out into sunshine. It was a gorgeous September day and I felt I'd take a peak at the view since I sat next to the traincar window. What I saw from that point changed my life. I witnessed an airplane hurling headlong into the Pentagon which could be seen about three football field lengths away. The explosion, fireball and thick, black smoke happened simultaneously. The next thing I remember is people screaming on the train as it lurched away from the station platform. They, too had witnessed ths same horror. We sped through several stationed stops before the subway car halted abruptly at Union Station. As the doors opened, we were greeted by police officers waving us quickly off. My Mom and I confused by what we had seen, made our way from the boarding area into the station. There we saw hundreds of citizens running into the streets of DC, frantic and trying to catch taxis to get home or elsewhere. As we made our way to the front of Union Station, what we saw and heard next terrified us even more. Another plane was expected in Washington, there were terrorist acts being committed in DC and NY... and the Capitol might be next. When we reached the front steps of Union Station, we became aware we were only a few hundred yards away from the Capitol. We froze. What would we do now? Taxis, buses, cars, trucks and all forms of transportation had stopped in place in the streets. People were lining the sidewalks, all stopping to use their cellphones, all wandering aimlessly trying to determine what to do next, with no where to go and no way to get there. Each time a plane circled overhead we cringed and gazed upward. The city took on the air of a science fiction movie. Mom and I picked our way through the crowd until we had gone a good distance from the station. In our minds we were trying to get as far away from the Capitol as we could. Eventually we came upon a sidewalk cafe attached to a tiny hotel. We sat there throughout the day and met many other stranded folks. We watched news reports on televisions through the open air bar. Over and over again we saw the planes slam into the buildings in NY. Over and over again we watched in horror and disbelief, realizing we were a part of this history as well. IF there was a plane would it be shot down? Would the President allow Washington to be taken hostage to another attack. We didn't believe what was happening. Finally by the early afternoon we were advised that the trains would be running again. We made our way back to Union Station and waited for the Crystal City connection to get us back to our hotel. By 4 p.m. we made it, only to be greeted at the door by heavy security and the smell of smoke in the lobby. The burning Pentagon was only a few blocks away from the hotel and the air conditioning system had taken in the odor. Although it was not toxic, it was another reminder of the tragedy that had happened that day. Before we could leave the lobby area we had to show our room key to enter the hotel. Security was at its peak, but we were glad to know it. Not long after we entered our room, two persons claiming to be "decorators" asked to enter our room. We let them in, not certain who they really were...as our room was immaculate and appeared to be recently decorated. The two men went to the window and attempted to measure the window, looked about in the room and left. We still do not know who they were, but believe their inspection had something to do with security measures for the hotel. From the 12th floor of our hotel, we could see the city was shutting down. Miles and miles of interstate into and out of the city were empty by late afternoon. It was a ghost town. We tried aimlessly to get a rental car to return to Alabama. The concierge informed us that within one and a half hours of the incident, all rental vehicles in DC had been taken by passengers on grounded planes from Reagan National airport. Because it was closed, we were forced to find another way home. Across the street from our hotel, the Sheraton Crystal City was set to be the "counseling center" for Pentagon victim families. We watched from our hotel window day after day as families came to the hotel to see and hear details about their loved ones. We watched reporters give "live" reports from the corner all during the day. Buses came and went taking families to the Pentagon to see the site from a distance. We watched hundreds of volunteers go into the hotel to offer counseling services, respite care, refreshment and relief for the victimized families. We were "stranded visitors" in DC until Friday, when we were able to get tickets on Amtrak to Atlanta, Georgia. All during the 14 hour journey, I could think of nothing except seeing my husband and getting home. He drove from Montgomery, Alabama to Atlanta, Georgia and picked us up. Needless to say we were exhausted, both mentally and physically...but glad to see the green, green grass of home. Now, when I see the news accounts of the Pentagon and the Shanksville, PA crash site, I am reminded over again of how near we came to personal catastrophe. If the plane had not been stopped by its passengers, the Capitol could have been hit, as well. If this had happened, my Mom and I may not be alive today. My life has been changed forever by this experience. I will never take freedom for granted again. Although we were truly blessed not to have lost a loved one in New York or DC that fateful day, we did experience the terror and panic of watching our Nation's capitol become a military state within hours. It was an experience I will never forget. God bless the USA. NMAH Story: Life Changed Has your life changed because of September 11, 2001? If so, tell us how. This question has been answered above. NMAH Story: Remembered What do you think should be remembered about September 11th? This question has been answered above. NMAH Story: Flag Did you fly an American flag after the events of September 11th? Have your feelings about the American flag changed as a result of September 11th? 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 nmah2290.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. 24.214.168.20 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: Bearing Witness to History" Stories Submitted Online Description An account of the resource Visitors to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History's, "Bearing Witness to History" online exhibition submitted these reflections beginning in 2002. NMAH Story NMAH Story: Story How did you witness history on September 11th? Share your experience. I was in Pinehurst, North Carolina, during my break between 1st and 2nd period. I walked into the court yard to talk to my ex-boyfriend and he said "Did you hear about those 2 planes that hit the World Trade Centers?'' I didn't really think much of it because the last thing I expected was a terrorist attack. I walked into French and the televison was on with pictures of what happened. I then realized the magnitude of the situation. My dad and step-mom were flying from Dulles International Airport to LEX on the morning of September 11th. I had no way of knowing if his flight was the one that hit the Pentagon or not. I remember seeing a flight number from Dulles on the tv screen, and my friend Luke asked me if I was allright. I didn't really know how to react...and I asked why? Luke then informed me that I turned as white as a ghost. I remember being so scared and wondering if I had really lost my Dad and Step-mom. At first it didn't make sense why they would take planes that were going from Dulles to the other side of the nation, until I realized those planes would have much more gas than other domestic flights. I wasn't sure if my family was allright, I was scared as to what would happen next, and I left school. I went home and called my Grandma to find out if my Dad was on the flight or not...and it turns out his flight was the one right after the pentagon bound plane. The flights were seperated by 35 minutes. My high school was torn apart and united at the same time. Many of my friends knew someone who was impacted directly by the attack. It's amazing how many people were indirectly affected by the terror of that day. NMAH Story: Life Changed Has your life changed because of September 11, 2001? If so, tell us how. I don't think my life has altered immensly, but there are some small changes that I never even paid attention to before September 11th. When ever I'm in the airport I am always a little more nervous about my flight... I worry about my Dad travelling overseas more so now. NMAH Story: Remembered What do you think should be remembered about September 11th? The unity of America after the attacks. We should remember and honor the people that died in the Trade Centers or the Pentagon or on the flights, but great respect is also due to the police officers and fire fighters that saved anyone they could. Guiliani should also be honored for the strong and calm way he handeled and guided New York City through such a hard time. I want to remember as much as possible from that day because it is our generation's Pearl Harbor. NMAH Story: Flag Did you fly an American flag after the events of September 11th? Have your feelings about the American flag changed as a result of September 11th? I didn't have a flag to fly, but on my car's antenna I placed red, white, and blue ribbons to show my pride. I've always had a strong respect for the unity and freedom the American flag represents because my dad was a soldier for 20 years, but 9-11 strengthened my belief that America is the meaning of proteced freedom and no one can take that away. 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 nmah5715.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. 2003-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 208.31.154.100 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: Bearing Witness to History" Stories Submitted Online Description An account of the resource Visitors to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History's, "Bearing Witness to History" online exhibition submitted these reflections beginning in 2002. NMAH Story NMAH Story: Story How did you witness history on September 11th? Share your experience. I was in lunch at school like every other regular school day. I had heard what had happend when one of my friends walked up to me and said that their brother worked in the World Trade Centers. I didn't think it was as bad as it was until I got home and watched it on the television. I've kept newspaper articles about the attacks just to go back and look on. NMAH Story: Life Changed Has your life changed because of September 11, 2001? If so, tell us how. I used to be patriotic before the attacks of the twin towers, but ever sense then I've always had an American flag up in my window with a picture of the twin towers. On that day I also realized how much better of country America is compared to any other country in the world. To show my respect to the country and to the attacks on September 11, 2001, I have made a poster board with an American flag in the backround and I drew the twin towers. Above it, it says "9-11-01, Never Forgoten". NMAH Story: Remembered What do you think should be remembered about September 11th? The most important thing that i think that should be remembered about the September 11th attacks was when the four guys that crashed the jet airplane in Pennsylvania. Without the heroism of those four men more people innocent civilans could have died. The attacks on the World Trade Center twin towers should also be remembered. When the plane crashed into the Pentagon killing over 800 inocent officers, commanders, coloinels, generals, soldiers, leuitenants, and sargents. NMAH Story: Flag Did you fly an American flag after the events of September 11th? Have your feelings about the American flag changed as a result of September 11th? I always had an American flag in my room, but after the attacks i put the the American flag on my front porch to show my respect towards the incidents. My feelings have always been the same about the American flag and the will always be the same. 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 nmah2592.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. 66.144.8.173 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: Bearing Witness to History" Stories Submitted Online Description An account of the resource Visitors to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History's, "Bearing Witness to History" online exhibition submitted these reflections beginning in 2002. NMAH Story NMAH Story: Story How did you witness history on September 11th? Share your experience. I woke up that morning and was going to be late for school. When I arrived at about 7:30 Pacific Time. (school starts at 7:45), I was running up the steps of my school's dual story complex and one of my friends caught me and said, "Did you hear about a plane hitting a building in New York?" And I responded, "No." I was in a rush and just figured I'd hear about it later. A few moments later when I got to my English class, a number of people including the teacher were gathered around the television. I asked, "What's going on?" Someone said that a plane had smashed into the WTC and that a second one had hit not long after. We talked about the event during English. My teacher tried to explain that tragedies happen and that we just have to move on with our lives. It was mostly the same in my other classes. In my Social Studies class we watched the coverage of the event for most of the period. I immediately went home after school and stayed glued to the television all day long watching various press conferences and other coverage. It was later in the evening, though, with the sun still shining on a clear blue backdrop, when a military fighter jet flew over my house. Actually, my first thought, because the engine of the plane was so loud and I thought that all aircraft were supposed to be grounded, was that another attack was taking place; I soon realized that the fighter was just protecting me and my community. I watched it from my deck gliding gracefully through the sky and it seemed comforting in a peculiar way. I have never been one to call myself a patriot, but it was definitely a relief to know that the US was protecting me; we weren't going to let another tragedy happen again on this day. NMAH Story: Life Changed Has your life changed because of September 11, 2001? If so, tell us how. I tend to look at the world in terms of one human race instead of nations and different various groups of people. Nations and states divide the world as a whole up and form artificial barriers that make it all the more difficult for the peoples of those nations to come to any type of understanding with each other. Eventually I believe that it will be in the best interests of the world to form a world government that looks to the future to advance our species in the next frontier. I believe that a great crisis looms ahead. As a country, America has the historical precedent to be reactive, not proactive, to our economic status and other self-interests when dealing with civil problems; we didn't free slaves because it was morally right, we did it because it was no longer profitable. The same problem exists today. We aren't going to go in to liberate the people of Iraq because they have an oppressive dictator controlling the nation and killing its own citizens; we will go in because our government at any cost wants to keep its oil interests safe in the Middle East. We are now fighting this war; A new kind of war. A war on Terror. A war without a specific enemy, that is not located within any specific border. Terrorism is an idea; how do you fight an idea? As a people we need to be constantly paying attention to the government's policy as it deals with people that fit the "profile" of terrorists. In World War II, our government detained thousands of American citizens of Japanese decent into internment camps; now we issue apologies to the survivors and their families. But we must ask ourselves, haven't we learned our lesson? After September 11th, most of the population of New York supported placing all the middle-eastern men of the state into internment camps. Many Americans have been held indefinitely without being charged. How far have we really come? NMAH Story: Remembered What do you think should be remembered about September 11th? We must remember and honor the sacrifices of all of the men and women who were going about their business and just trying to make a living in the trade center and the pentagon. We must remember the firefighters we bravely went into the WTC to rescue people and fight the fire on the top floors of the building and who ultimately lost their lives. We must remember the brave sacrifices of the passengers aboard the plane that could have hit another American landmark but didn't because they took back control of the plane, which crashed into an empty field. We must remember that on September 11th our country was snapped out of its isolation and complacency and it realized that the world is a dangerous place. NMAH Story: Flag Did you fly an American flag after the events of September 11th? Have your feelings about the American flag changed as a result of September 11th? I flew an American flag next to our door at our house on the night of September 11th. It remained for a few months until it was no longer presentable. To this day I choose to fly two American flags in my room; one in the window and on my room wall. It is important to recognize that I do live in the United States and that I am a citizen of a great nation and that I am very fortunate to live here. 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 nmah5428.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. 2003-02-05 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 12.230.62.33 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: Bearing Witness to History" Stories Submitted Online Description An account of the resource Visitors to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History's, "Bearing Witness to History" online exhibition submitted these reflections beginning in 2002. NMAH Story NMAH Story: Story How did you witness history on September 11th? Share your experience. I remember thinking what a beautiful morning it was - clear, crisp air, blue skies. I signed onto the internet to read the latest news as I prepared to start my work day. I had made it a habit to "refresh" the news screen constantly, so that I would get the stories just as soon as they came over the wire. An article appeared titled simply, "PLANE HITS WORLD TRADE CENTER". My interest peaked, I opened the article to find only those words again, "PLANE HITS WORLD TRADE CENTER". I knew that meant this was a breaking story where they would be gathering more information and updating the article as facts came in. I assumed that a small engine plane had either accidently or possibly intentionally ran into one of the buildings. Maybe it was some sort of stunt gone wrong. I walked across the hall to tell a co-worker of the headline...she hadn't heard anything yet, but agreed it had to be a small plane. I went back to my desk and by this time the article was updated to say that it was actually a commercial jet liner. A horrible accident I thought. Those poor people. Just then someone else came down the hall, asking if we had heard about the WTC. An eerie feeling came over me and I turned on my radio to try and find out more. The radio announcer was talking about the crash, passing along details as they came in, when mid sentence he said, "It has been reported that another plane has hit the 2nd tower of the WTC. We have confirmation that this is a terrorist attack." I sat there listening to the report still not aware of the magnitude of it all when the announcer came through with these chilling words, "We have reports of an explosion at the Pentagon." That is the point at which I became really frightened and realized this is a moment not unlike the "where were you when JFK was shot" moment that my parents and grandparents spoke of. I was frightened not only because the Pentagon is in esentially my backyard, but because it's THE PENTAGON. My God, if they can get to the Pentagon, there's no telling what can happen to us. The first person I called was my Grandma in Riverdale, MD. She ALWAYS has the news on. Every waking moment. So, I called and asked, "Are you watching the TV, Grandma?" But on this morning she hadn't turned it on yet. Her and my grandfather had just gotten up and were making breakfast. She answered, "No, what's going on?" What's going on?? My God, I had to be the one to tell her. I filled her in about the towers and the Pentagon. She gasped and then rushed off to tune in. By this time, our small office has gathered in a room usually reserved for our holiday luncheons or other office celebrations. Someone from our finance group had retrieved a small black & white TV from one of our other buildings. We stood in front of the grainy picture watching in horror and disbelief, along with the rest of the country, as the first tower, then the second crumbled before us. At that time, we didn't know that there were so many people still left inside, trapped. I remember thinking that the people on the top floors near the impact were most certainly killed, but that everyone else would have been evacuated in time. I guess I was naive. I'm grateful for that naiveness because I can't imagine watching that tower fall knowing how many people was dying at the moment. Our building is just down the road from the NSA, so our boss sent everyone home, just to be safe. There were rumors about an attack on Annapolis, where I live, and I remember thinking, I just want to go home and stay inside. I did not want to be out in public. I stayed home and called friends and family and even enemies to make sure everyone was okay. I have friends that had relatives working at the Pentagon that day and friends that are frequent airline travelers. I thanked God that everyone I knew was safe. 8 days earlier, on Labor Day, I took a friend that was in town from San Francisco on a drive up to New York City. He had never been and I had only been once, 10 years earlier. The night before we stayed in a hotel in NJ, but drove towards NY to see the city lights. My friend remarked, "There it is. (the city) There's the twin towers." That was the first thing he noticed. The next day we took the train into the city, but did not stop by the WTC. After the attacks, I remember feeling grateful to have had a chance to see the towers one last time and to see the city as it was before that dreadful day...Pre-911. I got my photos back from my trip and as I was looking through them, thought if only I had taken pictures of the WTC, because now there will never be that chance. That's when I noticed a picture my friend had taken of me in the train. Behind me there in a window, you can clearly see the twin towers. I stared at the picture and got a chill, as if it were a ghost looking back at me from beyond the grave. The saturday before Labor Day, I had also taken my friend down to DC to see all the museums and monuments. I just keep thinking again, how grateful I was to experience that city also, one last time, Pre-911. NMAH Story: Life Changed Has your life changed because of September 11, 2001? If so, tell us how. When I see commercial airliners in the sky, I look at them different. I stare. I don't know why. I just do. Whenever I hear the roar of a jet engine that's flying a little low, my heart unmistakably skips a beat. I now automatically, without thought, take notice of people that look to be of Arab discent. I used to feel that as long as I stayed within the borders of the USA I would be safe from the sort of terrorism Americans are exposed to in other parts of the world - now I feel vunerable. NMAH Story: Remembered What do you think should be remembered about September 11th? NMAH Story: Flag Did you fly an American flag after the events of September 11th? Have your feelings about the American flag changed as a result of September 11th? 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 nmah1190.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. 2002-09-05 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 141.129.1.114