A yardstick was all it took….

Date Submitted: 06/14/2009
Author Info: Andy (Monmouth County - USA) 
Occupation: Student
Lived in NY on 9.11.01?: No
Knew someone who perished?: Yes

On 9/11, I remember being in school as a 2nd grader at a new elementary school in New Jersey. There was no odd emotion from my teachers (at least that I saw, being a 2nd grader and all…). I remember drawing a picture of a dog in my journal, and having story time. It was around 9 AM when we had a little time in class to play with our friends. Suddenly, this girl in my class accidentally poked me in the eye with a yardstick, scratching my cornea. My mom picked me up from the school nurse early and brought me to my doctor. I was then told in the car, “Andrew, two planes crashed into the Twin Towers. You remember the Twin Towers, right? The ones we see on the (Verazzano) Bridge when we go to Grandma’s house in Brooklyn?” All I could think of though was my dad, he worked in New York City and was there on 9/11, Tearfully, I pleaded “Is Daddy OK?” She reassured me and hugged me, “Yes , he called me and he’s fine”. We arrived at the doctor’s office. All of the staff was crying and I started crying again. We waited in the waiting room to go into the doctor. Then on CNN, there was a news break. “We have just learned that World Trade Center 2 has collapsed with many tenants still inside”. My mom and everyone, including myself, burst into hysteria, crying “WHY?!”. We were called finally into the office, where the doctor examined my eye, trying to hold back tears, and said, “Yes, you scratched your cornea and I’m prescribing you some eyedrops”. We got the prescription, filled it, went home, and were glued to the television for the remainder of the day. At around 6, my dad caught the last train out of NY, home. He walked through the door, covered from head to toe in dust, and myself, my mother, and my sister huddled together and started bawling our eyes out. Finally, my dad said, “Billy (his best friend) was in WTC 1 when it collapsed. He’s gone.”. 9/11 is a day that will always, ALWAYS be in my memory forever. God bless the people who perished and may America live on!

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