When major life events like the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon happen, everyone remembers what they were doing and where they were. Quite simply these are defining moments of our lives. The years since the attacks have not diminished our shared and deeply felt experiences.
Dichotomy: It Was a Matter of Time and Place is not only an attempt to document these moments but to juxtapose our shared experiences. While most of us were affected by the horror of what we witnessed and felt, our lives will continue in much the same way as before. Not to minimize the intensity of our reactions and feelings, we are witnesses and chroniclers of that day. Other lives, however, were forever changed or extinguished by their location in time and place.
If you were directly affected by the events of that day and its aftermath, as a survivor, one who was involved in the rescue efforts, one who lost a loved one or friend, or if you would like to chronicle the day of one who did not survive, please go to the Participants section. A survivor can mean someone who worked in the World Trade Center or Pentagon. Or it can mean someone who was in New York City or Washington, DC and experienced the effects of this disaster directly. Simply living in either of these cities doesn't automatically mean you will post as a Participant. Your vantage point and how you are experiencing this period determines whether you post as a Participant or as a Witness.
If you experienced the atrocities, indirectly or via the media, and would like to participate in this project by chronicling your day on September 11, go to the Witnesses section.
The Pairings page places a Witness' entry next to a Participant's entry. Sometimes these pairings are random but sometimes they will be related to each other or to stories that follow [what does this mean?]. To view another pair, refresh your browser window.
Note: Some posts depict graphic events of that day and may not be suitable for a young audience. Please contact us if you have questions about this.
