Remembering 9/11

The Sparta Independent took to the streets of Sparta to ask some locals three questions regarding the September 11, 2001 tragedy. Here are some of their answers. Jim Huzella, 50, Sparta Where you were on 9/11? I was vacationing in Yellowstone National Park in a hotel in Montana. I turned on the T.V. in this log cabin and saw it going on. I had a couple of friends - one I played hockey with - that were in [New York City]. He was okay. How has it changed you? I don’t fly a lot. It made me look at things that we don’t like to. I think it’s made me more aware of what’s going on and I don’t take things for granted. I saw this article on Yahoo - I think it was a photographer from AP - who had this photo of a man free-falling down the side of the World Trade Center. There hasn’t been a day that goes by that I don’t think about that photo. How has it changed America? I think that we (as Americans) always thought that we were safe. That the oceans protected us but there are people, terrorists, on our soil that want to do us harm. We just can’t take those kinds of things for granted anymore. Kristin Maurizi, 16, Sparta Where you were on 9/11? I was in school in Glen Rock, NJ. I was in the first grade and they put our school on lockdown because we were so close to the city. I just remember I was crying so much that my Mom had to come and get me. How has it changed you? I think that living on the East Coast and knowing so many people that were in it just makes you more cautious about everything. How has it changed America? As bad as it is, it brings everyone together. You just do what you can when there’s a disaster. Tania Fonovic, 24, Sparta Where you were on 9/11? I was (a freshman) at Sparta High School. There was an announcement on a loudspeaker but there was a lot of confusion so some people went to the cafeteria and some went to the auditorium. But I had a friend whose parent was actually in one of the buildings so I went home with her. How has it changed you? I think I have a lot more pride in America and our soldiers that do so much for us. How has it changed America? I think it’s made us stronger and more together (as a nation.) Jerry Nechamkin, 68, Lake Hopatcong Where you were on 9/11 I was in Geisinger Hospital in the emergency room with my mother. I didn’t know what I was watching (on T.V.) I thought it was a movie until I realized what it was. How has it changed you? Travel is a pain in the wrong place but you have to endure it. How has it changed America? It put our country in tremendous debt. Rosario Esposito, 42, Rockaway Where you were on 9/11 I was at home in Rockaway. How has it changed you? No. How has it changed America? In a good way because now we know what’s going on. We used to live in a bubble. Carol Ann McKendree, 62, Branchville Where you were on 9/1 I was in Salt Lake City, Utah working as a nurse. I looked up at the T.V. and there it was. I had a friend who had a husband in the Pentagon. It turned out that he was all right. How has it changed you? It has heightened my awareness. How has it changed America? More skeptical. We open our doors to people from all over the world, but I think it’s made people think of other races and cultures differently. Suspicious, I guess. Melissa Scarpone, 16, Bellevue Where you were on 9/11 I was in school and my aunt came and picked me up. They closed the whole school and everybody went home. How has it changed you? I don’t like to go on airplanes. Last year my parents made me go on an airplane to Florida and I was really scared. How has it changed America? Security is lot tighter now. It’s stricter. But since they got Osama (Bin Laden) I feel a lot safer. Jen Wycalek, 65, Wolfpack, PA Where you were on 9/11 I was driving my car on (Route) 206. I heard it on the radio. How has it changed you? I think about it a lot because I live in Pennsylvania and planes fly over my house all the time. I think about the flight that crashed in the Pennsylvania field. How has it changed America? Not for the good. I think it’s made us more aware and leads to hate for the innocents as well as the guilty. Holly Leno, 16, Frelinghuysen Where you were on 9/11 I was in school in the first grade. There was a T.V. in every room. How has it changed you? My mom really didn’t want us to come home early because she didn’t want us to see her crying. My dad worked in the city and had a two-month old baby. My dad went to the (parking) garage and got his car and was one of the only people who drove out of the city that day. He told the policeman he had a baby at home so he let him leave. I was one of the few people who got to see their dad on that day. How has it changed America? It brought us all together. It made us all a lot tighter - it really united us. More 9-11 stories on pages 32 and 33