Flight 93 “Goodbye, Tom! I'll see you in three days. I love you.” The woman said, standing at the doorway as her husband slowly backed out of the driveway. The feeling over loneliness immediately washed over her, and she began reminding herself that he'd only be gone a few days before he'd be back home to his loving family. Tom was leaving for a business trip to San Francisco to open the new warehouse that his company was setting up. The Smith's were no strangers to the constant business trips, although they'd never been this far away from home. Tom, Maria, and their two children lived in the Florida suburbs which meant Tom would have to catch another flight in Newark, New Jersey just to get to his final destination in San Francisco, …show more content…
California. Maria quickly shook herself from her thoughts and walked into the empty kitchen. The woman stood quietly at the kitchen sink, the faint sound of the children playing in the living room. She hummed softly to herself, before deciding she was bored. She picked up the ratty dishtowel and dried off her hands, and then grabbed the tv remote, eager to find something to entertain her. She decided on watching the news, since nothing else was on at nine in the morning. She glanced down at the dish, but she soon heard something that fully grabbed her attention. “Two planes have crashed into the World Trade Center in Manhattan, New York City. Authorities arriving at the scene believe the crash was an intentional terrorist attack on the U.S,” The reporter spoke, “The 911 center in San Francisco recently received a call from the United Airlines Flight 93 concerning another hijacking. The hijackers claim to have a bomb onboard.” The blood drained from Maria's face. The words, “Flight 93” were flashing in her head, she knew all to well that that was Tom's flight. She hoped and prayed that he was somehow late for his flight, or for some reason he wasn't on Flight 93, but she knew deep down that Tom was on that plane. Maria sat in silence, the children looking up at her questioningly. She buried her face into her hands, crumpling down into the floor. All that could be heard was the slight thump on the ground and the young woman's quiet sobs. “Mommy what's wrong? Are you okay, Momm-” The soft voice of the little girl was silenced by the telephone ringing. Maria quickly jumped up, and ran to the telephone that was still lying on the kitchen table. “Hello? Tom? Tom is that you?” She spoke desperately into the phone, hoping that it was her husband. Waiting for him to tell her that he was okay. That is was some big joke, and he'd be home soon. Unfortunately, that moment never came.
Instead, an unfamiliar voice rang through the phone. “Hello, is this Maria, Tom's wife?” Maria spoke a quiet yes through the phone. “Your husband left a number written down in case something like this happened We were hijacked earlier, and he said that if something happened to him, for one of us to call you. Flight 93 is still in flight, but unfortunately your husband didn't make it. The terrorists, they, they killed him. He asked me to tell you he loved you. I'm so sorry.” The phone fell from the woman's hand, landing with a loud crash on the tile floor and busting to pieces. No matter how hard she'd try, she couldn't help the sobs that escaped from her mouth. They became louder and louder, until suddenly they came to a stop. All emotion flooded from her body, and she lay there motionless on the tile. Her two young children hovering over her, fear evident in their eyes. She sat up, grabbing her two young children into her arms, hugging them tighter than she ever had. Losing a loved one is hard. They die and everything or anyone they'd every loved gets left behind. In order to get through that loss you have to remember them for the good they did. Remember how they died, and realize it was heroic and saved more lives than you could ever imagine. In the end, the fourty four people who died on Flight 93 didn't die as scared victims, they died as heroes who saved tons of
lives.
During an interview of three family members, I was able to learn more information about the events of 9/11. My mom, Jamie Goldman, was the first person I interviewed. She told me she was helping a friend with her new business in Aiken, SC. She first heard on the radio, breaking news, that a plane had flown into one of the Twin Towers at the World Trade Center. Her first thought was that a plane had crashed accidentally. As the day went on, she learned of even more horrible acts against our country, and then realized our Nation was under attack from terrorist. My mom was heartbroken, scared, sad, and mad all at the same time. She struggles with forgiving the terrorist but knows that God would want her to forgive them. The song "God Bless the USA" is a song that helps my mom cope with the events of 9/11. My mom did not know anyone personally that was killed or injured on 9/11. She said, "after 9/11, our country has been a country at war. We have stopped loving our neighbors and instead, started judging them."
Tom is a very ambitious person when it comes to his work. He is caught up in getting a promotion from work by doing a project. Tom just focuses on the “big picture,” which is his future, rather than the “small picture,” which is what his wife is doing. This trait changes at the end when he decides to go to the movies with his wife. When the paper flew out the window for the second time, he realized that he can do the paper over again but he can never take back that one specific night he could have spent with his wife.
After the traumatic event, the Brennans are continuously mistreated, causing them to feel they are “no longer wanted” (Burke, pg 1). After feeling ostracised by the township, the alienated Brennan family are driven to leave the town of Mumbilli at 4:30am. With hardly any peer support, Tom begins to lose his sense of security, resulting in his transformation into an unconfident teen who is afraid of public opinion. It is no wonder that Tom is unable to move on in his new town as he is being held back in fear of revealing his past. Burke tactfully illustrates Tom’s emotional kaleidoscope through phrases such as “I felt the knot snap” and “my guts landing at my feet” (Burke, pg 172) when reflecting on the accident. On the contrary, with encouragement from family members, Tom begins to step out of his comfort zone and face the future that is to
She thought about her family, and the neighbors, and the town, and the dogs next door, and everyone and everything she has ever met or seen. As she began to cry harder, she looked out the window at the stores and buildings drifting past, becoming intoxicated suddenly with the view before her. She noticed a young woman at the bus stop, juggling her children on one side of her, shielding them from the bus fumes.
Susie’s mother opened the door to let Molly, Susie’s babysitter, inside. Ten-month old Susie seemed happy to see Molly. Susie then observed her mother put her jacket on and Susie’s face turned from smiling to sad as she realized that her mother was going out. Molly had sat for Susie many times in the past month, and Susie had never reacted like this before. When Susie’s mother returned home, the sitter told her that Susie had cried until she knew that her mother had left and then they had a nice time playing with toys until she heard her mother’s key in the door. Then Susie began crying once again.
time he plans on going home and visiting his family. When he arrives his mother asks
The third and final reason Tom is unhappy and wants to leave, is due to his dreams being put on hold to support his family. Tom envisions a life of adventure, something of which he feels his life is meaningless without. After his father leaves, though not his obligation, Tom takes over the role as the man of the house. Tom feels that he is now responsible for taking care of his mother and sister. Even though Amanda and Laura need him, Tom decides anyway to leave them in search of his own adventures. Tom does not necessarily want to be unlike his father, he thinks of his wanting leave as a gene of sorts, a destiny, something he is supposed to do. When Tom’s coworker, Jim, is invited to dinner, Tom even confides in Jim that Tom is “like my [his] father” and that he is “the
Her eyes were heavy, her body weak. As she crawled into the bathroom two feet away, Abby felt her body slowly succumbing to the numbness. All of her pain would be gone in less than 10 minutes, so why would she want to turn back? What about the senior trip Abby had planned with her best friend? What about the chair at the dinner table that would now be vacant? A couple of hours later Abby’s family came home from her little sister’s soccer game. Little did they know what they would find as they approached the top of the stairs. Her little sister, Ali, stood still as she looked down at her feet. There on the cold floor lay her big sister, her role model, and her super hero. Ali was crushed when she saw the pill bottle in her hand and the pale color of her skin. Her mom fell to her knees screaming and crying, wondering where she
Which is why he is left to help support his sister and mother “Oh I can see the handwriting on the wall as plain as I see the nose in front of my face! It’s terrifying! More and more you remind me of your father! He was out all hours without explanation-Then left! Good-Bye! And me with the bag to hold. I saw that letter you got from the Merchant Marine. I know what you’re dreaming of. I’m not standing here blindfolded. Very well then. Then do it! But not till there’s somebody to take your place.”(Williams 2308) Amanda knows Tom doesn’t want to be there doing the same thing every day. She knows he is unhappy on where he is in life, but her and Laura need him to support them until Laura can get a gentleman caller. Amanda even states in the play that whenever Laura gets a gentleman caller that he can go wherever he wants to go land or sea. (Williams 2309) Tom goes out to the movies to watch different films most nights to help cope with not being able to go on adventures and be free. He lives that life through the actors in the film that get to expierence his dream. “ Yes, movies! Look at them-(A wave toward the marvels of Grand Avenue.) All of those glamorous people-having
You spy with your possibly (or-possibly-not-so) little eye, a YOUNG MAN who happens to be asleep at the moment. The CLOCK that stands next to this man’s bed has just struck twelve, though whether it’s the night or the afternoon, the clock doesn’t bother with. It’s job is simply to tell the time and it feels that it’s doing that just fine enough for now. But the beams of sunlight shining through the window solve this problem for you. This young man should’ve been awake hours ago, it seems.
In the next chapter, the reader is introduced the bleak stretch of land between New York City and West Egg. It was there that Nick first met Tom’s mistress. Nick and Tom were taking the train into New York City one Saturday when Tom signaled to Nick that they were going to get off the train halfway to their destination in what seemed to be the middle of nowhere. Tom walked into an auto garage where he talked with a man named George Wilson, who asked about a car Tom was supposed to sell him. Wilson’s wife, Myrtle, emerged from the upstairs of the garage. When Wilson went off to his office for a moment, Tom quickly told Myrtle that he wanted to see her and to take the next train into New York. They arranged where they would meet quickly and moved away f...
Amanda, like Laura, wants Tom to strive for is full potential and be all that he can be. Their relationship is strained because Tom reminds Amanda of her husband. He just does not quite fit in with the rest of his family. He aspires to travel and see the world. He does not want to just get by; he wants to live and experience life. Amanda sees this in his and acknowledges that he has the same flighty attitude as his father. Mrs Wingfield snaps at her son and exclaims, “Oh, I can see the handwriting on the wall as plain as I see the nose in front of my face! It’s terrifying! More and more you remind me of your father! He was out all hours without explanation—Then left! Goodbye! And me with the bag to hold. He is the major breadwinner in the family. He brings in all the income and if he leaves Amanda and Laura will not be able to make it. Amanda takes it upon herself to mold Tom into the man that she wished her husband was. Of course, he takes it upon himself to be anything but. He spends every night at the movies. Tom uses the movies as a form of escape form his home life and satisfy his urge to leave and explore. He says, “People go to the movies instead of moving.” Tom is more of a realist compared to Amanda’s hopeful view on life. He knows life will never measure up to his mother’s expectations. The world has changed and he feels his mother needs to wake up. His personality is a direct contrast
Tom supports his family despite his unhappiness of his world. He tries to please Amanda by being the sole supporter, but only gets rewarded by Amanda's constant nagging and suspicion. Eventually Tom finds himself more like his father as he seeks adventure in the movies and hangs out on the fire escape he avoids suffocation, and desperately seeks the life he always desired; the life of adventure.
Our eyes locked, as tears streamed down her sullen face. She was a petite woman with heavy dark eyes, revealing her struggle, her pain, and a hope for a better life. She cradled her infant gently, yet firmly as if it was her last breath. With every sway, she kissed her child’s head as a promissory note that she would take care of her and provide for her the world.
It was a beautiful day, when Opal had found her husband shirt that was handing on the back on a chair. It was the last time her wore it. When she came from the funeral and saw the shirt, she stared to cry. She was crying as she had been unable to cry before. Then her children gathered around her and started to calm her down. They were the only reason to go on. She had small four children. Her husband had had a heart condition that could be controlled with medication, but something went wrong. When he had lain down in the yard, he was only forty- one year old. The days had passed without her husband. She knew that she needs to live for her children.