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September 11, 2001 WTC NEWS & LINKS

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9/11/01 and far away from home
Posted by: Chuck K. from Newark, DE Wednesday September 11, 2002 @ 09:59 PDT
i was having a great vacation in europe. suppposed to be 3 nights in amsterdam, and the last 3 in rome. amsterdam went off without a hitch, and arrived in rome on the morning of sept 10th. did a little site seeing, but not too much. i was planning on the 11th being my big sight seeing day. went to the colosseum and was finished there for the day. a friend of mine that i work with asked me to call her from there, so i went looking for a payphone. i called and when she answered she asked if i had heard anything about what was going on. when i questioned her, she said that the united states was under attack, and that 2 planes were crashed into the twin towers. while she was filling me in on the situation, she started screaming that another plane went down into the pentagon. i couldnt believe this was happening. here i was thousands of miles from home, and stuck with no way to help. the phone line went dead. i then tried to call my parents and couldnt get through. i had no idea what to think. i dialed the operator and she told me that no calls were going into the united states as a result of the attacks. i started walking back to my hotel, with a million thoughts running through my head. i decided to take a taxi back, and the driver had the radio on. i could only hear bits and pieces. finally after what seemed like an eternity, i was back at my hotel. there were other american sitting in the lobby crying. i knew this wasnt good. i went to my room, and turned on the tv. thank god i was able to get cnn. i couldnt believe what i was seeing. all that destruction. all that hate. why? that was all i kept asking myself. who hates us that much? then i saw them fall. i had no idea. i only knew of the crashes. i was crushed and numb inside. the only thing i did for the next 2 days was try to get home. i felt so unwanted in rome. i was finally able to get a flight back to amsterdam, but still couldnt get to the states due to the grouned planes. when i got off the plane in amsterdam, everyone was so sympathetic. there were american flags hanging, and everyone was very supportive. finally, sept 17, i was able to fly home. i have never been more proud to be an american. when i walked off the plane, the staff of the airlines spoke to each and everyone one of us, welcoming us home. everyone had tears in their eyes. that is my story of 9/11/01. a day i will never forget.