Adam Allen’s 9/11 Experience
On
September 11, 2001 Mr. Adam Allen was sixteen years old and in first period APC
class at Randolph Southern Jr. /Sr. High School. "I watched on television
as the second plane hit the World Trade Center. I assumed it was some type of
attack. I was scared and worried," Allen said.
Allen’s
brother left the school that day to go home with a friend; they both forgot gym
shorts that they needed for basketball conditioning that night. When his
brother and friend got back, they told their History teacher who then went to
the cafeteria and turned on the television. "He came and got us out of the
gym and told us to sit down and watch this," Allen said.
Allen's
day was filled with silence and worry. He was worried about his uncle who
worked in New York City. He worked in Manhattan, only 14 blocks away from the
World Trade Center. "He had to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge to get out
of the city. He grew up in NYC, they now live in Scottsdale, AZ and won’t go
back because of the experience," Allen said.
"I
remember my teachers; a lot of them were very worried and upset, especially as
the news of the rest of the planes came in, "Allen said. “They told us we
would always remember this day for the rest of our lives. I remember leaving
school. My mom called the school to tell my brother and I to stop and get gas,
I'm not sure why, but when we got to the gas station there was a line wrapped
around the block."
That
wasn't the end of Allen's day. When he got home his mom was watching television
and crying. His dad was trying to make contact with Allen's uncle to make sure
he was okay. His mom made Allen and his brother sit down and watch the new
unravel all night.
