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#158 | Tuesday, September 25th 2001
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I was halfway down the entrance ramp to 422 West from Trooper Road here in Audubon, Pennsylvania. I was listening to KYW-1060AM (The News Station) when they cut over to WCBS-880AM in New York when the first plane hit...and I heard the second plane hit, live.
I knew it was an attack right then and there, and called my wife to tell her to "keep your head up - this is just starting."
I hate being right like that.
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Robert | 30 | Pennsylvania
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#149 | Monday, September 24th 2001
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I woke up on Tuesday, September 11th TOTALLY nervous about a group presentation I had to give in my Western Traditions Class at 11:00. This was my first class, so I was just waking up when the World Trade Towers were being hit. I listen to CD's while I'm getting ready, and my dad was trying to get a new program installed on my computer, so we didn't have the news on at all. I drove the 45 minute commute to school thinking what a beautiful day it was, and how happy I was that fall was coming, and listened to CD's AGAIN, so I was still totally oblivious to the destruction and tragedy going on just hours from me. My first indication that something was wrong was when I walked into the main classroom building and noticed a bunch of secretaries/office workers huddling in the hall. I heard one of them telling the rest that the World Trade Towers had been bombed and so had the Pentagon and supposedly more buildings were targeted. At that point I thought it was just a crazy rumor until I turned the corner and saw about 50 people standing in front of the t.v. in the lobby. Many of them were crying. I stood staring at the t.v. in a state of shock, watching the images but still not comprehending that the day I had naively never believed would come was finally here. Suddenly the stupid group presentation ceased to matter in my mind, and classes were cancelled and the campus closed shortly thereafter. I drove back home, this time in a state of shock and watching the sky expecting a plane to fall on my head at any given moment. Something changed inside of me that day, something I know will never be quite the same again.
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Andrea | 23 | Pennsylvania
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#138 | Sunday, September 23rd 2001
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I was at school. I'm in the photography program at The Art Institute of Pittsburgh. I was in the basement and ran upstairs to have something printed out.
A boy ran in and said "The World Trade Center blew up!!" and everyone was all like "surrrreee, kid"
The we turned on the news and saw it was true. No feelings yet. Shock.
Back in the basement and now they're evacuating the USX Tower since the 2nd plane has hit. USX is the tallest free standing structure in Pgh.
Other photo students run outside to take pictures of the evacuation.
Then the plane crashes in Sommerset, PA.
Now our school is being evacuated.
I am walking across the Smithfield St. Bridge and realizing how Pgh. is very similar to Manhatten in it's geographical setup.
A peninsula which is only accessible by bridges and one north location.
It is silent. A mass exodus away from downtown and it is silent.
I watch the news for the next 4 days 24 hours a day.
Those images play over and over in my head.
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Jill | 19 | Pennsylvania
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#117 | Friday, September 21st 2001
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Jose's roommate, Ben, knocked on the door a little before 10:00 in the morning.
"I dont know if you guys care, or whatever, but america is under attack...so you might
want to turn on the television."
And with the flick of the remote, my perception of the United States and, more
specifically, New York City, was forever altered.
We sat glued to the tv for hours, mesmerized by the grotesque and surreal qualities of
what was occurring just an hour and a half away from us.
That Saturday, Jose and I drove to New York City to help out. It was the first time I ever felt
an intense love for the city so many people claim to adore. I was in awe of the sudden
fragility of such a typically hostile environment. I was heartbroken by the pictures i saw,
the heights and weights and birthmarks of the missing faces haunting every flat surface. I
saw a woman across the street from St. Vincents hospital hysterically sobbing. And I cried
too.
We went back again the next Tuesday. We helped load things into trucks for a few
hours for the salvation army. And still, there especially, the unity was more than
admirable.
I don't know how I will feel about this in a year. Will it still remain as surreal and
unfeasible as it is now? Will I ever be able to drive down the New Jersey Turnpike and see
the skyline without imagining the rise of the deathly smoke and ashes? I don't know. In
many ways, I hope not. I don't want to forget this. I don't want to be less affected by this
extraordinarily evil attack than I am now. I want to always be capable of feeling both
shocked and appalled by this. I hope everyone does This is not something anyone should
ever accept as "normal."
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Elizabeth | 20 | Pennsylvania
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#66 | Tuesday, September 18th 2001
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I was on vacation in a remote part of Maine with my husband, baby and dog.
We live in Pennsylvania but we have an apartment in NYC because my husband works there.
He sometimes takes the Path train that goes under the WTC. He also takes the Newark flight to San Francisco about once a month.
I'm glad I planned our vacation as I did.
I think of the victims everyday. I ache for their families.
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KC | 38 | Pennsylvania
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