#1583 | Wednesday, August 21st 2002
On 9-11-01 I was in Colorado Springs and had a full day scheduled. A friend came over and was crying, telling me what just happened, I watched a little bit of the TV but had to trudge on with my day. Off I went....as the day progressed the first thing that caught my attention was the quietness in the city. Since there are several military bases in Colo. Spgs and an airport, there is alot of air traffic. I began to notice the skies were erriely quiet. THat caught my attention and I began to listen to the radio. I knew this was bad. Never did I realize that within the next couple of weeks I would be a volunteer at Ground Zero for over 7 weeks. My life was forever changed after being there....I will never, ever forget.
Jill | 42 | Colorado

#1561 | Saturday, August 17th 2002
I was at the Renaissance Charter school in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York City.

I work there as a couselor twice a week. When I first heard that the tower had been struck, I like many of my colleagues believed it to be a freak accident. As the morning wore on and we were able to catch some television stations that teachers were utilizing in their classrooms, it became clear to us what had occurred and I was just walking around in a state of total disbelief. I could not imagine that what I was viewing on the television was actually happening.

The schools went into security alert mode and parents began to race to the school demanding with good reason for the release of their children. It became quite chaotic a scene. Some of the other memories I have are of children crying in the main office and being comforted by extended family members who themselves were in shock of sorts, because these childrens parents were working in the towers. A part of me just felt like I was walking around as an observer to all this happening around me and my responses were almost robotic in a way. It was when I finally arrived home in the late afternoon and watched the newscasts, that I finally was hit with the reality of what had occurred on this day. It was simply unbelievable.

For the next two weeks or so, I found myself waking up in the middle of the night, startled and thinking...."Is this really happening? Did this really happen? Did those people really jump out of this building?" It was so surreal.

In late September I registered with the Red Cross and began going to ground zero as often as time would allow for me to do so on the weekends, when I was free from work. When the Red Cross pulled out and the Salvation Army tent went up, I registered and began to volunteer with them at the tent on the site. It was an incredible experience. I stayed on through May 30th, the offical closing of the recovery mission.

At this time, I am looking forward to September 11th, 2002, the anniversary, as a day to remember the lives lost. I am not so much concerned about another terrorist attack at that time as I am about how I will feel going into the city and being around the site again. A part of me simply wants to get through the anniversary date, then close the book, and put it on the shelf where I can see it and be reminded, but where I can also go on with my life. I believe the most honorable tribute I can pay to those who lost their lives, is to get up every morning and live my life to the fullest in their name and in their honor.


Denise | 42 | New York

#1508 | Tuesday, July 30th 2002
I remember vividly, the shock and horror that I felt, as the news of the twin towers tragedy first broke here in England. I watched in tears, wondering which of my friends to contact first. Many of these wonderful people, I had met on the internet, but they were no less thought of because we had never met in person. I had friends in New York, and in Pittsburgh too, some who had lost relatives and friends in the aftermath of one of the most tragic events that I had ever witnessed in my lifetime.
I have a daughter in Kansas, who is married to an American serviceman, and thoughts of her, my son-in-law, and my new baby grandaughter, were also running through my mind. I was in no doubt, that soon, my daughter would be separated from her husband, as soon as American forces were deployed.
I remember too my anger, that anyone could commit such a cruel and unprovoked attack, on innocent people. Depriving loved ones of family members. That night I could not sleep...I wrote these poems...

As The Eagle Starts To Fly

Let nothing cloud our judgement
As we enter into war
Warnings have been given
Now it’s time to say NO MORE
This time the devastation
Was more than we could bear
So many lives were taken
Others left in deep despair
These acts that you’ve committed
You can never justify
Just watch the skies above you
As the Eagle starts to fly
We will not show you mercy
As this world of ours unites
Steadfast in our unity
Together now we’ll fight
The wrath that you’ve awakened
Will even haunt your sleep
This time there’s nowhere left to hide
You’ve scarred this world too deep
***************************************

A Day That Shook The World (A Tribute)

Dark circles surround her eyes
Tear stained cheeks, her face so pale
Didn’t get to say goodbye
Sleep now evades her living hell
She’d kissed him at the door
As she’d done a thousand times
Not knowing that today they’d pay
For someone else’s crimes
Today he was to lose his life
In such a tragic way
In the aftermath of a terrorist act
That shook the world that day
Her heavy heart remembers
That smile upon his face
As he held his child upon that morn
In his tender warm embrace
How could anybody be that cruel
To devastate their lives
It wasn’t only theirs she knew
Not many had survived
Such cowardice had robbed them
Of the ones they all had cherished
One man condemned them all to death
At his command they’d perished
In the name of God, they commit these acts
They defile his very name
They could never justify their sins
So on him they put their shame
May God in all his mercy
Bless each soul that has been lost
And bless the world lest they forget
How many lives this cost




Wendy | 42 | United Kingdom

#1420 | Monday, June 24th 2002
I can remember September 11, as if it were yesterday, even thought it is now June 24, 2002. I remember I had a three hour drive that day. My husband and I and our two older sons had to take care of some personal business. My sister-in-law called me and told me to turn on the television. That the twin towers in NY had just been bombed. Then I turned the TV on and watched while I got ready. We put the radio on for the three hour drive and heard it all the way to our destination. But about 1 hour into our drive, we heard that Beyer school was being evacuated. That was the school that my youngest son went to. So we then had to call a friend to pick him up. It was a very tense day for all of us. It was like a dream. It was very scarey. I can remember the drive back and I remember the radio saying that all airlines had been on hold. No planes flying in or out. Then when we were about 1/2 hour from home in an empty field area. There were three planes flying right over us. My heart pumped so fast. At that time it was already getting dark on our drive back home. I remember being so scared when I saw the airplanes coming right over us and then my husband reassured me that they were not enemies. But just the paranoia that went through my mind was scarey. I will never forget September 11, 2001. My son just got out of the Army in July 2001. So I was very relieved and scared. My husband and I wanted to do something for the people that lost their families and for our heroes. So we decided to build a web site and keep it maintained and going for as long as possible. The website name is godlovesamerica.org. We felt so bad about the people that could not find their loved ones and had to wait in long lines to see the hospital lists, so we made a link to the hospitals. We just couldn't get our website out there. We continue to keep it maintained and will run it as long as possible. We feel that this is a good way for everyone to remember what we cannot forget! Remember God Loves America and God Bless America!
Thank you,
Marina and Ruben Franco
Marina

Marina | 42 | California

#1351 | Thursday, May 30th 2002
I"ll never forget that morning.I was on my pc and my mailman rang my doorbell and she told me to put the tv on.We watched in horror as the second plane hit tower 2.
steve | 42 | Massachusetts

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