9/11 Readers Theatre, Fall 2011

Oblivious, I sat

in a boxed-off desk

Diligent

to the patronizing textbook.

Ms. P comes up with fear all over her face,

scared and worried saying,

�Schoolwork isn�t important now!�

and leads me into the classroom.

The television is showing the leaky tower,

leaking smoke and life.

That little television and the leaky tower

are branded

inside my brain.

Bonnie

I woke suddenly

not sure why

maybe my body sensed it.

My father�s voice booming

from the bathroom

�the second one fell,� he said.

My first thoughts: the tree

outside or the bathroom cabinet?

Seeing as the roof was intact

and there were no branches lying

on top of me,

I decided to dismiss that one.

It must be the cabinet,

that cabinet has always been rickety.

I decide the warmth of my blanket

does not outweigh my curiosity.

I decide to get up and investigate.

The bathroom yields no clues and

I decide I should investigate the front room

where my parents are.

I had never seen my mom�s face like

that before.

a sense of worry, a sense of I don�t

know what to do.

I notice her red cheeks, the signature

sign that she has been crying.

I have it, too!

�Oh my God, what�s wrong, Mom?� I say.

�Well, Honey,� she says, �there has been

a terrorist attack on New York and

hijackers flew planes into the World Trade Center buildings.�

�The buildings we just saw when we were

there?� I say.

�Yes, Honey, those buildings. And they have

collapsed and many people have died.�

I didn�t quite know how to respond,

I finally asked

�Are we safe, Mom?�

�I don�t know, Sweetie, I don�t know.�

I turned to the TV in time to watch the second

building collapse, realizing soon

it was a replay. I sat there for

an hour,

watching that scene replay over

and over

and over

again.

Were more planes coming here? Were

we safe?

Thank God I have this month

off from school, thank God I was at home

today.

But was I even safe here?

Was I?

Never had I felt this way before.

Rachel

My mom woke me up earlier than

normal today.

�What�s going on?� I ask.

�Something terrible�

�So�do I still have to go to school?�

�Yes.�

Teachers cancel their lesson plans

the halls are filled with the

whisper

of the news.

Except for my history teacher.

The news is not on in his classroom

He talks.

He was very insightful.

I always wondered why

he didn�t run for president.

He struggles as he tries to explain

the gravity of the situation to

a classroom full of 8^th graders.

I still don�t really understand

what is going on.

The next day

still no regular class or lesson plans.

Instead, the lines of a poem

written by Clive Chan

�like the ashes of a phoenix, we will

rise again�

rings through the loud speaker

of the classroom.

Today, there are fewer kids in

class

My history teacher tries to explain

again.

With those of you in military

families, don�t be surprised if your

mother, father or older siblings leave for

a while.�

I hear a friend of mine sniffle

behind me.

I�m starting to get it now.

The lines of the poem echo

�we will rise again.�

DeAnn

It was a cool morning

the grass was still moist from the night before

I waited outside the door

the school year was still new

I was still adjusting to my new classes

High school was only a year away

Just as that thought left my mind

Raymond came walking up.

Casually he said, �did you hear?�

�Hear what?� I said

�Some planes crashed in New York,� Raymond replied

�How�d that happen?� I asked

�They�re not sure yet,� Raymond said

I had never heard of the Twin Towers till that morning

Then in first period we watched the news

the footage on the TV too shocking to understand

the rest of the day moved silently

there were no noises from the sky

and there hasn�t been a day as still

and quiet as September 11, 2001.

Matt

I grab my spoon, my bowl,

steal the Cheerios from my brother,

find the milk he hides in the oven.

It�s our normal morning.

But my mom is watching TV.

In the morning.

That�s not normal.

She takes us to school.

It�s what we would normally do.

Nothing about this day is normal.

A special announcement plays over the loudspeaker.

Should we try to carry on as normal, show them we�re strong?

Learn algebra as normal?

But the teacher can�t tell us what�s normal now.

Normal has changed.

Brittani

I had arrived at the elementary school,

my sole task being to read a book.

A children�s book for children about

something they could understand,

something they could cope with.

The children were so excited to see me

and I was excited too.

I began to read

and they began to listen,

nothing more important on our minds

than that story.

Not long after I had started reading

one of my men walked calmly over to me

and whispered something in my ear.

A great tragedy had occurred,

something the children

would not

could not

understand.

I remained calm and

continued reading,

struggling to prevent any change

in my voice or on my face.

They were so young and little

and they didn�t need to know what had happened.

Not right now.

A short while later,

the same man came over to me,

whispering once more.

Tragedy had struck once more.

I continued reading.

Perhaps I should have stopped,

perhaps I should have gotten up and left.

But what could I have done?

The damage had been done.

I had been powerless to stop it.

But I was not completely powerless.

Rather than scare the children,

I sat

and I read.

I did what I thought was

the one thing I could do at that moment.

I tried to protect them for just a while longer.

I had failed to protect my country,

but I would not fail to protect them.

Scott

�Welcome back to class everyone.

Yesterday was an unimaginable day for

many of us; I spent most of my day in front of

the television watching those horrible events unfold.

Let�s have an open discussion about the events yesterday,

but I ask you to remember we have agreed our class is a

safe place to share ideas.

Some in our class are of Afghani descent and others of us

may have loved ones in New York or the armed forces.

I would like to open the discussion with this thought.

Terrorism wins only if we allow fear to dictate our actions

and the way we treat each other.�

Charlie

My mom don�t watch the news

corruption and mass murder is as

every day as going to get

those steamy tortillas every morning

--she is Mexican – I grew up

this way.

It�s a happy day in my desert

but my White teacher is crying

I don�t understand her always

she talk funny sometimes.

I didn�t know what those twin towers

were – well I saw them

in a movie: Home Alone 2 –

I didn�t realize it was those.

My mom�s boyfriend took me out

of school – told me if they

bombed the U.S. they would

bomb here.

I always knew we had a big

base here – under the floor

it�s �that�

kind of big – I guess

he should know, he works there.

Nana and Papa watch us – it�s like a family party.

I play and eat snacks

with my brothers, sisters, and cousins.

It was a good day

It was only later I realized – I was too young and didn�t know.

Brianna

I wake up to my mom screaming �Wake up, wake up.

A plane just hit the Twin Towers.�

I rolled out of bed half asleep and asked, �What do you mean

a plane just crashed into the Twin Towers?�

My mom said, �Come and take a look.�

I came downstairs

and on the news they were talking about how a plane

just hit the Twin Towers.

I woke up straight away at this point and couldn�t believe

what I was watching.

Then another plane hit the Pentagon.

Another set of lives was lost.

I couldn�t believe how many people died that day.

What must the families have been thinking who lost a loved one!

All the sorrow and loss many people must have felt that day.

I had to talk to someone about it so,

I remember calling my friend Lara that day.

I said, �Did you see the news about the planes

hitting the Twin Towers?�

Lara: �Yes, I did. I can�t believe it. How can anyone have done

this? all these lives of innocent people lost.�

�I know, those poor families! This is the day that America has

suffered many great losses.

The next day I went to school and that�s all

anyone talked about that day.

Sabrina S.

I sit upon the couch

books lying across the floor

watching the morning news.

I�m watching live footage of a skyscraper,

smoke billowing and filling the skies.

A pair of towers, I watch,

as an airplane flies straight into

its sister tower. I�m alone.

I scream for my mom, she doesn�t

even know about the first one yet.

I watch streaming live footage

as men jump off these building.

I�m 12 years old and all I know

is I watch people dying all morning

from the safety of a couch.

As the day progresses my brothers and sisters

flock to the couch. We sit in silence.

We stayed home to spend the day together.

Savoring our family, as we�d just

witnessed so many destroyed.

I don�t even know what these towers are.

Janie

My dad was up early,

he doesn�t usually

watch TV in the morning.

I was worried

he didn�t know if I should go to school

but I went

We watched TV in homeroom.

Candice

Class is going over The Outsiders today.

Man, I hate Soda Pop with his laid back attitude.

So I guess it�s a good thing that

I have to go to the hospital.

I swear, I never even wanted to go on that

scavenger hunt.

Having tripped over my own foot and breaking an ankle,

though? Even worse.

Ow, ow, ugh�maybe putting a boot

on this foot isn�t such a good idea.

Wait, what was that about New York?

No time for TV, gotta get to the doc�s

office.

Huh�why�s Mom crying?

Ryan

I came out of my room

ready to leave for school.

Mom was on the couch,

staring at the two buildings on TV,

going up in flames. I knew something was wrong

We rushed out the door,

like it was any other day, we didn�t speak.

At school, the teachers had

us talk about the news. I was 10; I didn�t watch the news.

How did we feel about the

terrorist attack on America?

What was I supposed to say?

I didn�t even know what

a terrorist was. No one explained anything.

I knew I was supposed to be

sad, sad about all those people

who died. Sad about all those

kids who lost their moms and

dads.

All the adults were sad.

I can�t remember how I felt.

I didn�t understand.

Anna

School was in an hour and I did my

usual morning routine.

I sat down on the floor and began doing my

hair. I stared at the TV in awe as

the first tower fell.

I didn�t understand what was going

on. Everyone was panicking and running; it was chaos.

My mom came into my room letting my younger brother and me

know that we were not going to school.

We picked up my older brother and he explained

it all. My mom was crying, �Who could do

such a thing?� I couldn�t believe it, finding

out how many people were in the tower.

Staring helplessly at the TV. All day we

watched the news, over and over again

we saw the towers get hit and fall. I

was scared.

Priscilla

I remember exactly where I was

the day 9/11 happened.

I was at home in bed

while my sister was getting ready for school.

Dani suddenly woke me

and said, �Oh my God! a plane just crashed

into one of the twin towers.�

We watched on TV, the footage of what

just happened.

We were silent the whole time just

watching the smoke coming from the towers

and people running covered in ashes.

Claudia

It happened on the last day of my

14^th year.

The day the towers fell.

The day the world stopped making sense.

I was home, playing hooky—

my history report was due, and

wasn�t done. I didn�t know.

I knew no one

in New York or D.C.

no one on a plane

no one personally touched by the tragedy

Yet we all were

scared.

Terrified.

Just starting to understand the world

around us

And watching it crumble

I watched those towers fall over

and over again

inescapable

Not understanding the pain thousands

were feeling

but knowing we were all in danger.

The fear – the terror – we thought

lived thousands of miles away

flew into our hearts.

Nothing, nowhere felt safe

felt like it never would again.

It�s easy to forget, now

how we came together

to grieve.

But we did

and surely, we will again.

Jane

I was in the car on the way to school

when it happened.

The first news of 9/11 came to me from

over the radio.

The radio station reporters were panicked.

The report was alarming, and we could hear the fear

in their voices as they described the Twin Towers.

I looked over at my mom and we sat there stunned.

We were shocked by what we had just

heard.

There was nothing we could say.

Danielle

I lived in North Carolina in September 2001,

teaching at Western Carolina University.

On that Sept. 11 morning I was in my

office – cramming to be ready for class.

First Sandra came by – did I know that

a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center

in NY?

I thought for a moment – what was the World Trade Center?

Then Gayle came, asking again had I heard this

terrible news?

Time for class – my freshman comp course – meeting

as it did once a week in a computer classroom.

The previous instructor had left the LCD projector

and computer on – CNN was playing

My students and I watched as the 2^nd plane crashed

as the Towers billowed with smoke

as people jumped to their deaths

--live and in real time the disaster unfolded

No class this day, only stunned silence

One of my students left in tears, her father was at

the Pentagon

Three years later, 2004, I moved to CA

It took three years to realize how people on the West Coast

experienced 9/11, to learn the destination of the planes.

Dr. Warner

Mommy and Daddy call me

into their bedroom.

Daddy sits me on his lap and holds me close as we watch the TV.

The phone rings and Mommy quickly answers.

It�s Yvonne, my best friend�s mom.

�No,� she says, �we haven�t talked about it yet.

I�ll call you when we decide.�

She hangs up.

Mommy and Daddy talk about whether or not

I should go to school.

I don�t want to leave them, but I don�t say a word

too confused by the images on the TV.

Their decision is made and we continue getting

ready, still checking the TV every few minutes.

Driving to school, I am aware of every plane in

the sky. When we get there,

all the teachers usher us into our

classrooms. The TV is on and classes are

cancelled.

Erica

It was noisy that morning,

chatterings of this and that

all around me.

The excited voices only found

in the youth. I sat there

but not really – my mind still

back at home, in bed.

Melvin entered, but not

like she always did –

bright, exuberant, awake to life.

It was like there were two different

lenses in my glasses, one that

showed reality and another that cast

Melvin in a drab shadow.

If someone had asked me to describe

her normally fiery red hair,

I�m not sure I�d be able to leave

out the color �gray� that day.

She stood at her podium, eyes

filled with tears and her face

contorted.

Melvin told us about the

hijacking of the planes and

the twin towers.

We sat there mute.

No one said anything in those

first few minutes.

My lips moved but no sound

was made.

I could taste salt on my lips.

Manni

Marc, Age 19

Only a couple of weeks in

Marine boot camp,

the word came in about that

terrorist act.

Commander doesn�t know yet

if we ship out or not

not sure if I should be

excited or terrified

hope my family knows

I will be brave.

Never did get to say goodbye

to my family

But I can do my duty.

My brother had just enlisted in the Marines right before

9/11 happened.

I was only 12 at the time and I remember

that day vividly.

For my brother that day will live on forever.

Never really knowing if he was ready to fight a war

and survive.

He was only 19 at the time.

He was away from home with no way of communicating

with us.

Lucky for him, they kept training him for a few more.

He never did end up going. It must

have been pretty terrifying for him not to know

when and if the orders will be sent out for

him to join the war, to join his Marine brothers

in another land.

For me, I only remember waking up with a big

pain in my stomach. I knew something wasn�t right..

I just didn�t know what until my mother told me

that two airplanes crashed into the twin trade towers.

I still went to school today and couldn�t figure

out why parents were taking their kids out of

school, thinking a plane would head

for us. I remember it being empty with

scarcely anybody there.

Nicole

She sat us down

earlier than usual for reading time.

And she didn�t use the little girl voice

that I loved so much when

she put herself into character.

It was a hard, serious voice

tears in her eyes as

her strength wavered.

I was as confused as I was

in the third grade when

I couldn�t understand the difference

between an M&M candy wrapper

and the actual rapper Eminem.

the twin towers

was an unknown manmade landmark to me.

We were asked if we saw

what happened on TV

but what ten-year-old watches

the news before going to school?

I didn�t know or understand.

Students around me were just as confused

wanting to call every possible person they knew

in New York.

I just didn�t know

what did terrorism mean?

Sara

Ma said: Wake up! We�re under attack.

I scooted slowly

out of bed,

ignoring my ma�s frantic screams.

In her room

the TV was on, I sat down to watch.

People covered with dust,

I laughed.

You couldn�t see their faces.

I laughed.

dirty from head to toe

I laughed.

I quieted my giggles and focused on the TV,

I noticed no one else was smiling

The TV man sounded serious

I saw lots of people were frowning

I saw lots of people were crying,

I understood the dust now,

a building in pieces on the ground,

I

was no longer laughing.

Whitney

My mom called to ask if I knew what happened

if I saw it on TV.

How did she know about it?

My mom doesn�t speak or understand

English.

I said I heard about two buildings

a plane crashing through one of them

and then they collapsed.

I didn�t know this was �9/11.�

I thought it was just something on the news.

What are you supposed to think at 12 years old

when there�s no on to explain it to you.

I know now that it was an act of terrorism,

it declared war,

the one we�re still in,

ten years later.

Charmaine

School wasn�t the same that day

neither was home

Mom said Granddaddy was in a plane crash.

It was a plane like the others

the ones that hurt our country.

Flight 77, she called it.

On TV it was overshadowed by the matching one

the ones in New York.

To me, Flight 77 was the most important

After all, my granddaddy was on that one.

He was so close to us

on his way to Southern California.

Then they took him

took him away from me

took him away from his family

took him away from his job

took him away from everything he loved in this now

Granddaddyless world

They took my granddaddy to prove a point

There were too many points to be proven that day.

Sabrina V.

It was supposed to be a Tuesday

like all the rest.

I was fighting for that extra five

minutes of sleep before I had

to crawl out of bed.

As I was slowly gaining my

will to wake-up, I heard something on

the radio that jolted me awake

in an instant.

Two planes had crashed into the World

Trade Center. It was an act of terrorism

they said. Impossible

Nothing like that could ever happen

on our soil.

I rushed downstairs just in time

to witness tower one collapsing.

It had to be fake,

a scene from a movie.

No, It was real and my sense

of safety was shattered in those

minutes watching that tall, iconic

tower crumble into dust.

America will never be the same.

Tara

I had just woken up for school

and ran downstairs

to the promise of fresh toast with

far too much butter.

My mom sat on the couch silently,

her face pointed pensively at the television

I had never seen her make that face

there were simultaneously horror and an eerie stillness

and her gaze was locked.

I looked around and there was no toast.

I glanced at the TV and I saw smoke.

�What happened?� I asked.

�Shhh!� she hissed.

�You aren�t going to school today.�

I sat down with my mother and

without my toast

and we both watched the text scroll morbidly across the

bottom of the screen.

We both cried as we saw

them fall

And suddenly,

I forgot all about

my

missing

toast.

Kaytlen

Clinging to the last wisp

of a beautiful dream

I hear my grandmother knock

on my door.

�Wake up, Jermaine!

Planes are attacking New York!�

I wonder what movie she is watching.

I roll over and go back to sleep

but that dream I left behind

would never be the same again.

Jermaine

Cuddled next to a full-bodied Pikachu doll

I woke.

The sun wasn�t here, but I released the latch

of my shutters and witnessed

the pale sky

tinged with violet

with rouge

resting in that majestic dawn where

the planets change guard.

Buzz. Hum. Yammer, yammer, yammer.

I was always the first up with this alarm.

I shut it off.

The morning ritual began.

Clothes: on

Steps downstairs

Bread: unwrapped.

Toaster hot.

Then the wait.

That horrible wait when your tummy rumbles

for food yet unprepared.

Then I hear the zing of a television.

I knew it as soon as the lights flickered.

It took raw energy – lots of it—

to hear that man�s voice.

She watches, my mother does,

to see the traffic

not the tragic.

I slipped peanut butter on the steaming

grain and marveled at its glossy goodness.

What would I do after school, I thought.

Ride a bike

Read a book

Go to Johnny�s place.

I hopped on my bike ready to �bounce�

when she stopped me

called me inside

showed me the news

the explosions

the smoke so thick, like the steam

from my bread

But grey and ominous.

Ash. Brimstone. Death.

Mom, she said some responsible parent

things.

I forgot them as soon as I got on my bike.

People die everyday, why should I care about

them?

We�re too poor to worry about those things. We can�t even afford empathy

On the way to school, though,

Wind in my face, hair disheveling,

I became suddenly wide-eyed.

William

The phone rang

Her voice crackled through the receiver

I thought it was the signal

Finally there was the faint whimper, composing itself

Hello?

I told her what I had just seen on TV

There were passengers

They plotted to storm the cockpit

I love you

She didn�t know how long she�d be

able to talk.

Voices rumbled in the background

Let�s roll

The bus was late

It never showed up

I walked home

2 miles uphill

I snuck in through a window

I wanted to watch TV

News on every channel

Is this a new movie?

Dad came home

He watched with me

It was quiet. Somebody jumped.

I didn�t want to watch anymore.

I felt sick.

Micah