9/11 Readers� Theatre Fall 2013

She didn�t believe me when I told her the news.

My own mother

thinking that I am a liar.

I told her that a plane hit one of the Twin Towers.

She mumbled.

Really, Mother, wake up!

Mother slowly rolled to her side,

her eyes were barely open – barely listening.

Mother, something is happening.

I turn on the television.

Crying faces, confused anchorwomen, and repeated footage played.

Look, Mother, please look!

I saw her expression change.

I was looking right at her when it happened.

Confusion became disbelief became horror.

A regular snowball effect.

We both watched when the second plane hit.

She believed me by then.

Go wake up your sister, she managed to say.

My sister, barely in grade school, couldn�t understand.

I guess it�s better that way.

I should have let her sleep.

Sasha

I didn�t know what was going on.

It was just another school day for me

eat breakfast, dress warmly

I thought nothing of it other than

a glimmer

on the radio

about a plane crashing.

It wasn�t until I got to school

And my friends were talking

Talking about airplanes crashing

That I figured what had happened.

Our teachers gathered us

and turned on the news.

We watched first responders

and people trying to run

To help, to escape

The second tower had already been hit.

Reports kept coming in

And I remember comforting a friend

concerned for her uncle in New York.

After two hours, classes resumed

But our minds weren�t on English or math.

That night�s news recounted

the planes

the people running

the Pentagon

overhead shots of the horror

of death and destruction.

They played the footage of the

planes flying and crashing

as everyone silently willed

the planes� paths to change

after the fact.

Stephanie

(Liz, junior year, 16 yrs. old)

It�s six in the morning

Pai is sitting in the family room

like every morning

watching RTD

while we get ready for school.

�Pai, what movie are you watching?�

I ask my father

as I eat my

unfrosted strawberry Pop-Tart

like every morning

It�s not a movie

That smoking tower is on the

Portuguese news

7:00 a.m.

First period

Creative Writing

We watch the news.

Danny starts scrawling in his notebook

a poem I will remember better than I remember him.

He�s in ROTC fatigues

He�ll be in Afghanistan next fall.

11:00 ish

Fourth period.

We do our grammar exercises.

Red proofreading marks bleed across the overhead projector

like every day in junior English.

Lunch time. Rumors fly.

Not who got with who.

But why.

Rumors fly under a silent sky.

6^th period, French class.

Madame is frank with us.

�We just don�t know what happened.�

Mais Madame hait tout.

et jamais parle anglais.

No swim practice today.

Not that I�ll use the chance

to get caught up on homework.

Liz

Early morning as usual.

Getting dressed,

not wanting to go to school,

as usual.

Mom and Dad in the

living room,

watching the TV

Mom�s hand over her

mouth

Dad�s arms crossed

over his chest.

Mom locks eyes with me,

lowers her hand and

walks to me.

�Time for school, Sweetie.�

her voice not sounding right.

She turns me away from

the TV and we go to

walk out the front door.

Miriam our neighbor

who flies planes

is right there by our front door.

Mom for some reason

seemed happier,

no it seems more

like relief to see

Miriam.

Miriam talks about

her flight being

cancelled that morning.

She looks like she

is about to cry.

I don�t understand.

Dad�s voice comes booming

down the hallway.

Mom and Miriam run

past me

straight back to the TV

I quickly follow confused.

I see the three adults

all with looks of

sadness

horror

disbelief

I look to the TV and see

a smoking building

An announcer�s deep voice echoes

through our apartment

�A second plane has hit.�

Michelle

(Innocent bystander witnessing the crash)

I was just getting my morning coffee,

just as I would any other day.

This plane is flying awfully low, I thought,

but I didn�t think too much of it.

I�m walking towards my work,

ready to sit there like a mindless drone

for another eight hours.

All of a sudden, an enormous explosion

followed by screaming.

Everyone�s running away now.

I follow suit.

Speaking of suits, my coffee�s all over mine now

that�s a shame.

I�m part of this stampede now.

What in the hell just happened?!

I continue running,

the sound of the collapsing building

ever so loud.

I�m tired.

Sure wish I had a coffee right about now.

Ricky N.

I don�t know what to make of it

Teacher baffled as she tells ten year olds what happened

What�s the Twin Towers?

I didn�t think much of it

Everyone was talking though

Why?

It might have been an accident

Cameron

Mom wasn�t feeling well,

so I stayed home from school

because she couldn�t drive me there.

I lay next to her in her bed

and we watched the smoke coming

out of the towers on the TV.

We did that for what seemed

like a long time. Every channel showed the same thing.

Mom really wasn�t feeling well.

Later I waited while

she got checked by a doctor.

I watched the collapsing towers

on the hospital waiting room TV.

There weren�t many people in that

waiting room, but those who

were, didn�t take their eyes off

that little TV.

I wonder if I went to school

that day, if I would have seen

this on a school TV or would we

have continued to learn about

school stuff.

Ashliegh

�Wake up! Wake up!� she said� Dude�Mom, it�s only 6:00 a.m.

�We need to call your Aunt Esther right now – she should be at work.

Hopefully, she didn�t go to work today. – Of course she did; they�re 3 hrs. ahead.

--Oh my god! Look at the plane��

The television is showing a plane sticking out from the building.

It�s too early for this.

What in the world is going on? Hey �doesn�t Aunt Esther work there?

The phone rings

Mom says, �Oh, thank god!�

Aunt Esther didn�t go to work today.

I don�t even remember being worried

�but for some reason I sighed with relief.

then my mom said�

�Ok, time to go to work today.�

Why did I all of a sudden get scared?

Yesterday, going to work was safe.

Today, it is not.

Meiling

It was�like�every other morning.

Although, it wasn�t. Because it was colder outside.

Not like any kind of cold, but a chilling cold.

Like the air carried with it something more.

The bus ride�was�the same�

Everyone around me mad that they had to wake �

up so damn early� to hear these people �

ramble about how our minds must be � opening-

ing the door. The driver let us out.

But no one was around� What happened?

Was class not being held? �

I asked the guy right next to me, �What do you think is going on?

And right before his answer� sprung out � We saw the Spanish

teacher come out. Full of tears; she could no longer deal

with whatever monster was inside. She could not speak a word,

So we simply stepped in to see the skies burn black on the TV.

America has been attacked�

The people dropped off�

We have been attacked�

Horror clasped hold of the skies above.

I have been attacked�and my heart sank� and I went outside to cry

with the Spanish teacher.

Ricky M.

My alarm went off

and it was dark in my room.

Mom�s not home and my brother

and I have to get ready for school.

We don�t watch TV in the morning.

We don�t need it.

The house phone rings.

Aunt Jackie wants to know

how we are doing.

Fine, I say, why?

She tells us to turn on

the TV.

All the usual channels are

stuck

on the same picture

till the footage replays.

Smoke coming from a

crashing building and it�s

all falling down.

The reporter says a lot but

all

I hear

is that airplanes crashed into important

buildings.

My brother and I worry

because our dad was supposed

to be on a plane back to the U.S.

We call Grandma and she

says everything is ok.

Mom�s on base in Lathrop.

Dad�s in New Jersey,

safe.

She tells us to go to school.

There is no mind for lessons.

All we want to do is watch

the TV. My teacher takes

me outside and says my mom

will come to get me soon.

I�m relieved, right at this moment,

I need to be close to my

family.

Elle

I�m in school and people talk.

Something about airplanes?

I don�t know.

I�ve got a book,

And Tetherball at recess,

And there�s math homework due.

I�m 10, what do I care about airplanes?

Home.

Mom�s doing laundry on the living room floor,

clothes piled around her, half-folded, half-not.

TV�s on, but it�s news.

Why news? We never watch news.

�Two planes crashed in New York�

Mom says.

�So?�

I say.

Planes crash all the time, don�t they? TV says so.

�So a lot of people got hurt.�

�Oh,� I say. I forgot people get hurt in crashes.

�It hit buildings.�

�Which one?� Was the White House in New York?

�Twin Towers.�

I don�t know what those are.

And they�re so far away.

is New York even a real place?

It�s way over there.

It�s imaginary, like China and France. Too far to care.

but I�m sad people got hurt. Imaginary people.

I go to my little brother�s room

(where the TVis)

and try to watch The Simpsons.

It�s the news.

All the channels are news.

Strange, plastic people talk with clear enunciation about

planes that crashed in some imaginary world a million

miles away.

I turn it off and read a book.

What the heck is a �terrorist� any way?

Helina

I�m in the car,

suddenly the radio is

the most important voice

something about a plane

I am confused why

nobody wants to explain

It was a day like any other

though perhaps more sinister

in background though at

eleven I hardly notice it

A day like any other

only this was not to be

punctuated by an attack

on our towers, many lives

were lost that day.

How could such a normal start

to a normal day herald such a

loss of life an attack on our

way of life. All these things

and more on the radio while

I was in the car.

Jordan

I am in class unaware, unsure what

is happening, but I see the silence on the faces

of those around me.

I didn�t know that terror and fear

have reached our shores.

I didn�t know what the twin towers were, I didn�t know the people in them

I didn�t know that people were dying, exploding, crumbling, crushed

I didn�t know that there were people dying in the flames that

would ignite many more deaths in the

coming years� I didn�t know � but I too

cried with the solemn faces of the unaware, I cried with

the stern faces of those who knew all

too well. I cried because I didn�t know,

I cried because I would soon know all too well.

Tony

Oh my God, I�m so afraid. I feel so

alone, I can�t reach my parents, all of

the phone circuits are

busy. I know my family out there

is worried to death.

This isn�t what I pictured when I

chose to attend college out here. I mean,

any place can be dangerous, but I

never thought we (America) would be

attacked.

We�re asked to stay inside for our

safety, but I can hear the sirens and smell

the smoke and see the dust, debris, and ashes.

The scariest thing I�ve ever been

through is the quake of �89 when I

was seven. I wasn�t scared then, I

was surrounded by my family.

When are these phone lines

going to be free? I know they�re

trying to get in contact with me,

I know they are freaking out.

I just want to dance, I just

want to earn my degree – (The phone rings)

Hello? Phyll? Yes, I�m fine. May

I speak to Dad?

Hello Daddy, I want to come home.

Phyllis

Get up! Guys, GET UP!

My sister�s voice was loud, loud enough to make me

crack one of my eyes slightly open. I saw

Patrick, my other brother, let out a groan typical of a middle

school student coming to the realization he had to face

another school day, and rolling over in his bed.

But this wasn�t going to be a normal day at all.

GET UP!

My sister�s voice was more forceful the second time, and as

I twisted my head to respond; she caught my tongue

A second plane just hit the World Trade Center!

My brother shot up straight in his bed, what!?

She answered back as if trying to soften the blow, �they are

still standing, though��

My mother was coming through our bedroom door

trying to reassure us, shortly after walking me to the yard

at Red Oak Elementary.

As I walked to my class line

voices echoed over the yard,

Did you hear, did you hear�

Did you hear

Anthony

(Primrose Siegel, 6 years old)

I was sound asleep on my daddy�s shoulder

when I was jolted awake

by screaming people

I punched myself to see if I was still

dreaming

I hoped I was

but I wasn�t

I was so scared my heart felt like it

would pop right out of my chest

I looked at Daddy

He looked just as scared as me

my brave daddy

he was scared

I knew something was terribly wrong

I buried my face in his chest

I did not want to see those scary men

I think Daddy and I both knew

that this was the end

together we said good-bye to this world

locked in each other�s arms

so afraid

I love you, Daddy.

Kellie

I didn�t have a cell phone

prior to 9/11/2001

but I would have wanted to call

and say good by to people I love

the calls recorded from the flight

that ultimately crashed in a Pennsylvania

field

haunted me when I heard them

played over and over

compliments of CNN

I was haunted too as I watched

death happening live

I was in a computer classroom

at Western Carolina University

where I�d gone unaware

of the tragedy unfolding

gone distracted, feeling unprepared

to teach my freshman comp class

The previous instructor had left the

projector on,

my students and I, silent and horrified,

saw the 2^nd plane crash

the towers crumble

people jumping to their death.

Dr. Warner

It was cold that morning.

I didn�t care much because I had my lengthy pajamas on.

Dad was at work and I wanted to see

what Grandmas and Grandpa were doing.

Or what food they�d be making

with the TV on this loud, they�re probably doing something

in the kitchen or the backyard.

But there they were, standing at the TV. Watching

as planes hit the same building

A simulated plane, an eye witness report of the plane. And then another plane.

I�ve never really �known� my grandpa, so his opinion

was always rare.

He wasn�t the kind of person to share his feelings.

A military man.

�We�ll find those m�fers that are responsible.� He tells us.

�They should use napalm on those m�fers. Just like back then.�

I didn�t know what he meant, and didn�t know what napalm was.

Didn�t know much of what was going on.

Or the changes that would follow.

Esteban

It was a day like any other

My mind was in a cloudy haze

as I prepared for school.

They really need to start the school day later I thought

I walked past the television

on the way to the bathroom to take a shower

hoping it would clear my mind

A movie with burning buildings was playing.

I was too tired to realize that 6:30 in the morning was too early for a movie.

I left for school without

a second thought.

My algebra teacher had the

same show playing on the TV in class

it was on every channel

I couldn�t comprehend what was happening

Super heroes always saved the day before something like this happens in comic books

but this wasn�t a comic, it was real – and superheroes

only exist in stories and fantasy lands

Nick

I was only 8 when it happened

All I can remember is the

news.

The picture on the TV screen.

Two tall buildings up in smoke.

No cartoons were on that day

not in my house.

My mom was panicked

I had no idea why.

What was the big deal?

Yes, it was sad.

but on that day

I just didn�t understand.

It wasn�t until the next day that I realized

this incident was so important.

Our class talked about how scared

our parents were, how the twin towers

got ruined, how many lives were lost.

It was to be remembered forever

It was tragic.

but not on that day,

only after.

Lisa

When I opened my eyes that morning

I was expecting it to be like any other.

Go to school, play with friends, come home, and do homework.

The same old – rinse and repeat.

I wasn�t expecting to be rushed downstairs by the cries

of my parents,

the frantic announcements on the TV telling the nation

of the attacks.

I stood there in my pajamas, mouth drawn open, immobilized

by feelings that I couldn�t understand.

It was all everybody ever talked about for a long time.

I didn�t realize it then; I was only ten years old at the time,

but I know it now; the

things that were lost that day – my safety, my security, and a bit of

my own innocence Taylor-Dawn

�I don�t feel good, Mom. Can I stay home

from school today?�

�It�s because you ate all that candy

last night. Fine, you can stay home.

I�ll call your dad to come check

on you. I�ve got to go.�

�Can I watch TV?�

�If you�re too sick to go to school,

you�re too sick to watch TV.�

Mom leaves for work.

I climb in her bed and turn

on her TV.

Some movie is on – not the kind

I like to watch, with explosions

and people yelling and hollering

and running like scattering guppies

when you stick your foot in

the pond.

I don�t want to watch this.

Dad comes through the door, in his uniform

a worried look on his face.

Asks me if I�m okay. Voice hoarse, eyes bloodshot.

He must not feel good either.

�I don�t feel good. Can you

change the TV channel?�

He stares at the TV

puts his hand to his head

collapses to the couch

the dispatcher on his collar reports

something unintelligible.

I ask him again to change the channel.

He gapes at the TV

ignores me.

I grab the remote and

push the button.

again

again

again

This movie is on every

single channel.

�Dad� – I whine, and then stop

when I see his face is wet.

Alyssa

The teacher skipped our multiplication tables today

to talk about a plane hitting some building.

I wondered why a plane was flying so low –

shouldn�t it be up in the clouds?

The teacher said �terrorists� did it

and lots of people died.

I didn�t believe her.

Death was just another word for vacation,

or going away,

or sleep,

wasn�t it?

Tomorrow,

when they fix the buildings and the plane,

everyone will wake up and

go back home,

right?

Melinda

(11 year old)

7:30 AM – I sat on the bedroom floor, door open. I was tying

my black shoes with the white laces. Sunlight shone down the hall.

Mom walked by, �Good morning, Sweetie! Time for school

and work!� -- Mom worked at my school. I liked it.

Car ride was quiet. We never listened to the radio.

A beautiful warm, sunny fall day.

But also cold and brisk.

We walked into school, I ran to my friends.

Then Mom came up to me, half-whispered in my ear

�Mrs. Smith told me planes flew into buildings

in New York and the Pentagon in D.C. I don�t know what�s happening.� she said.

It was like a movie scene. I was scared, saw scared looks on friends� faces. I knew

now why they weren�t happy.

�Don�t say rumors, wait for the teacher to tell you.�

Mom said, hugging me.

�See you later! I love you!� she called out.

And us kids stood in line, and waited for Mr. Grengo

who took us in from the cold, and into the warm classroom.

We were safe. It was a school day, just a very

different one.

My dad�s one coworker was almost on one of the flights,

but he changed flights at the last minute, due to family wanting

to visit while he was in NYC. He was lucky. Dad told me

this later on.

Molly

It was school picture day.

Lucy, my nanny,

came running in and

flipped on the television.

She was in tears.

I did not understand

these tears, I was

twelve years old.

Images flashed across

the screen of a television

that was now alive.

No. Wrong word.

Images of the two towers

one with a gaping hole

in its side.

Now my parents were crying

I did not understand.

What was happening?

I was worried about whether

my uniform was on right.

I was worried about having the

right envelope with money in it.

It was school picture day.

It was only school picture day,

wasn�t it?

Jaclynn

I have to leave.

Just a minute ago I was listening

to this lady talk and now I�m dealing with

a national crisis.

An accident? Flying too low?

Impossible.

Not two planes.

How am I going to handle this?

I need to get a hold of Dick as soon

as I�m out of here.

No. Conde.

This has to have been an attack

of some sort. Has to have been

from the Middle East.

I bet Al is happy he lost now.

Gotta� take this one step at a time.

Gotta� get briefed and get a hold

of everybody.

I hope those towers are the extent of it.

I hope these kids don�t mind that I have to go now.

�Excuse me, folks, but I�m afraid I have to leave.�

Jeremy

I woke up early for school

a normal day

arrived at school

pledge of allegiance

morning announcements

we went outside

filed onto the blacktop, the whole school

our principal, faced with the burden

telling your children

about the crash

not just the planes

the terrorists crashed into our safety

our freedom

I did not understand, maybe,

I never will

I am reminded each time

I take off my shoes at the airport

receive a note from the TSA,

my bag

�randomly selected�

those dolls were keepsakes,

not a cover up for cocaine.

Malyssa

(a shop keeper near Ground Zero)

A deluge of ash chased the people in the streets

Swallowing them, blanketing them with ashes, perhaps

of their fellow Americans

For now, I wasn�t worried about who did it

But how to help others out of there,

out of the snowstorm.

A businessman, a young couple, and a tourist

sat themselves in my bagel shop

I left my sign as �open.�

For now, I can�t offer any words of how I feel

Can even comfort these folks

Let the smell of dough and black coffee give them some comfort.

The lights go out, and the sun is blocked by this dome

Police sirens in an artificial night, trying to do their

duty as the scene of a crime,

against an unseen enemy

They are afraid,

We are afraid,

The enemy was confusion

The enemy was fear

Kevin

why is my phone ringing

at 8 o�clock in the morning.

don�t people know

that i�m hungover

and worked all night?

hello?

adam says: we�re going to war man! woohoo!!

what? What are you talking about man?

adam says: they crashed a plane into some

building in new york.

turn the TV on man.

what? hold on�

oh� wait�

adam says: dude look, look, look!

is that another� oh my god!

i got to call my cousin! i�ll

call you back.

adam says: ok, but there�s no way

you are going to get through.

i just tried

calling my family. it says �all circuits are busy now. please try your call again later�

there has to be a way.

adam says: don�t worry man.

i�m sure they are ok. what borough are they in?

long island, brookland, and the Bronx

adam says: dude, just stay on the phone with me.

this shit is crazy.

i�m going to enlist in the army today!

they can�t get away with this.

ok, man. how long have you been watching?

hold on� i need to sit down and

drink some water