#140 | Sunday, September 23rd 2001
i was about 16 blocks from ground zero when the attacks happened. I had come into NYC about 12 hours before ( monday evening ) and was up at 7:00 AM, getting ready to go about my day. I heard both "booms" but didn't know what to think about it. when i turned on the tv and saw what was going on, i began to make my way there to see what, if anything, was needed.
on my way there i stopped at points to see what i could see of the buildings - with all the smoke they looked like two candles whose flames had been put out.
then, only about 7 blocks from the area, i saw the first one had collapsed and i was struck with grief. i kept walking only to stop again momentarily because we could hear more sounds again. it was here that i saw the skyline changed forever. the second tower collapsed in on itself. one woman a few feet away from me had to vomit. the instant grief and disbelief was universal.
the rest of my day was spent trying to find one of my best friends whose company had offices both in the WTC and in a block near it. at around 6:00 PM , i found out he and his wife had exited the WTC building about a minute before it happened. They had seen everything and had been evacuated to Staten Island.
right now i am in Atlanta and am stuck with a mixture of feelings. i could not leave NYC for the next 7 days and in that time, i grew to become more connected with it than i ever have in all my visits there. perhaps it is because the feeling of community that I have always felt was heightened now. oddly, this is probably the opposite effect of what was intended by the people that did this.

| Atlanta |

Cedric | 29 | Georgia

#78 | Tuesday, September 18th 2001
I was at school. When I found out... that was a different story. It was French class, third period, and I was just sitting there playing around when my friend Mark came in to get signed out for the day. And the way he said it echoes through my mind, "Dude, did you hear about the terrorists?" He's a hippy figure. The teacher got aggrivated and thought that he was spreading rumors about terrorists in the school, so he was kicked out of the room. And then the news began a-brewin', and the teacher soon apologized to him for her rude actions to the truth.
Diana | 16 | Georgia

#75 | Tuesday, September 18th 2001
just getting out of my Freshman english class at UGA. classes got cancelled. everybody was in a panic. i went back to my dorm room and woke up my roommate with the news. he blinked dumbly and his expression was something like "um. what the hell?" He had been alseep until 11 am. pretty soon other guys on the hall were coming into our room watching the news. it was pretty scary. i remember thinking "one day my kid is going to ask me 'what were you doing when they took out the WTC dad?' This was history right before my eyes." I'd only thought people like my dad and grandfater had memories like this. JFK, Pearl Harbor... wow.
Thomas | 18 | Georgia

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