story5718.xml

story5718.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-09-11

I had just dropped my children off at school and then came home and sat down in front of the television. When I turned it on I wasn't sure of what I was seeing. There was a tall building on fire and I admit I didn't recognize it at first. I thought it was a plane crash that was happening somewhere else in the world. As I listened I realized it was one of the Twin Towers that was hit. It still didn't seem so bad at first. It looked like just part of a floor was on fire and that most everyone would get out. I felt so bad for the families of the people on that floor, not yet realizing the horror that was to come. Then the newscasters started telling the statistics of just how many people worked there and could be in that building. Everyone was wondering if it was an accident or something worse. Then, as I watched in disbelief, another planed crashed into the second tower. I knew instantly that none of it was an accident...this was an act of terrorism. I remember crying and saying, "No...you rotten bastards", and wondering what else could happen next. I called my parents and my in-laws to let them know what was happening. I was glued to the set...I felt so helpless...I wanted to do something...anything...but I just sat there watching and waiting. Then the Pentagon was hit. One of the stations was reporting that a journalist was on that plane and had called her husband before they crashed. I kept wondering how many more planes were going to crash and thinking, "What if some of the passengers could do something. If they knew the planes were being used as bombs, couldn't they do something?" I knew it was just a desperate thought...how could anyone do anything if they weren't prepared or trained? Then the towers fell....first one...then the other. It was incomprehensible. How could these gigantic skyscrapers just collapse in on themselves and come crashing down...floor by floor crushing everything inside? I thought things had been horrific up to that point....then I knew what horrific really was. It was seeing the Twin Towers being hit and burning, over and over again on the television. It was hearing how many people worked in those towers each day. It was watching people jump out of windows to their deaths, because they couldn't stand the burning heat in the building. It was watching the Pentagon being hit and knowing there were more planes unaccounted for. It was seeing United States citizens and United States icons being destroyed by people with hate in their hearts. It was especially, watching those buildings come down and knowing there were people in them. Knowing there were police and firefighters in them who had risked their lives to get as many people out as they could and in doing so had lost their own lives. It was the shock of seeing all this unfold and knowing we couldn't do anything to stop it. And then it was seeing that the last plane unaccounted for had crashed and there were no survivors. As the stories started rolling in about cell phone calls from Flight 93 passengers and what they had said, a picture of heroism started to unfold. It started with the police and firefighters that had gone into the Twin Towers and continued with the passengers of Flight 93 who tried to retake the plane so no more people would die below. It continued after that day with the men and women that dedicated themselves to cleaning up Ground Zero and accomplished it before a year had rolled by. 911 was such a horrific tragedy...but out of the ashes we have become stronger as a nation and patriotism has made a true comeback. Citizens are feeling more connected to each other as we have all experienced this together. Terrorism did not accomplish it's objective. Instead of making us cower and flee the region the terrorists came from... we went in there and went after the cowards who were hiding in their caves. We are not a weaker nation as they hoped.. we are stronger and feel more connected to our country than ever before. May God Bless America!