story7602.xml

story7602.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-09-16

I was in my office when a friend phoned and told me that a plane had hit the World Trade Center. Like most everyone else, I thought it was some small plane, but was shocked when I turned on my TV to see the gaping hole on the north tower. I phoned one of my co-workers to alert her and ask her if she wanted to come see the events. Since I'm somewhat of a joker, she didn't believe me and told me that it wasn't funny. I finally convinced her and she came to my office to watch. Shortly thereafter we watched in awe as the second plane hit.

My kids both live out of town, but I was able to be in touch with them via instant messaging over the computer. They were, of course, anxious to see if I was okay.

I live in Long Island, which is a suburb of New York City, and I travel to and from work via a commuter train. All such trains were stopped, so I was unable to use them to get home at first. I went then to a nearby hospital with the idea of donating blood. When I arrived, there was already a five hour wait! New Yorkers were quickly taking positive steps in the face of theis tragedy.

The trains began to run later in the day,so I was able to get home. I don't think I will ever forget the sound of sirens blaring as fire, police ans emergency heroes rushed to the site.