9/11 Readers� Theatre Fall 2013

 

She didn�t believe me when I told her the news.

My own mother

thinking that I am a liar.

I told her that a plane hit one of the Twin Towers.

She mumbled.

Really, Mother, wake up!

 

Mother slowly rolled to her side,

her eyes were barely open – barely listening.

Mother, something is happening.

I turn on the television.

Crying faces, confused anchorwomen, and repeated footage played.

Look, Mother, please look!

 

I saw her expression change.

I was looking right at her when it happened.

Confusion became disbelief became horror.

A regular snowball effect.

 

We both watched when the second plane hit.

She believed me by then.

Go wake up your sister, she managed to say.

My sister, barely in grade school, couldn�t understand.

I guess it�s better that way.

 

I should have let her sleep.

                                                            Sasha

I didn�t know what was going on.

It was just another school day for me

eat breakfast, dress warmly

I thought nothing of it other than

a glimmer

on the radio

about a plane crashing.

 

It wasn�t until I got to school

And my friends were talking

Talking about airplanes crashing

That I figured what had happened.

 

Our teachers gathered us

and turned on the news.

We watched first responders

and people trying to run

To help, to escape

The second tower had already been hit.

 

Reports kept coming in

And I remember comforting a friend

concerned for her uncle in New York.

After two hours, classes resumed

But our minds weren�t on English or math.

That night�s news recounted

the planes

the people running

the Pentagon

overhead shots of the horror

of death and destruction.

They played the footage of the

planes flying and crashing

as everyone silently willed

the planes� paths to change

after the fact.

                                                Stephanie

 

(Liz, junior year, 16 yrs. old)

It�s six in the morning

Pai is sitting in the family room

like every morning

watching RTD

while we get ready for school.

 

�Pai, what movie are you watching?�

I ask my father

as I eat my

unfrosted strawberry Pop-Tart

like every morning

 

It�s not a movie

That smoking tower is on the

Portuguese news

 

7:00 a.m.

First period

Creative Writing

We watch the news.

Danny starts scrawling in his notebook

a poem I will remember better than I remember him.

He�s in ROTC fatigues

He�ll be in Afghanistan next fall.

 

11:00 ish

Fourth period.

We do our grammar exercises.

Red proofreading marks bleed across the overhead projector

like every day in junior English.

 

Lunch time. Rumors fly.

Not who got with who.

But why.

Rumors fly under a silent sky.

 

6^th period, French class.

Madame is frank with us.

�We just don�t know what happened.�

Mais Madame hait tout.

et jamais parle anglais.

 

No swim practice today.

Not that I�ll use the chance

to get caught up on homework.

                                                Liz

 

Early morning as usual.

Getting dressed,

not wanting to go to school,

as usual.

 

Mom and Dad in the

living room,

watching the TV

Mom�s hand over her

mouth

Dad�s arms crossed

over his chest.

 

Mom locks eyes with me,

lowers her hand and

walks to me.

�Time for school, Sweetie.�

her voice not sounding right.

 

She turns me away from

the TV and we go to

walk out the front door.

 

Miriam our neighbor

who flies planes

is right there by our front door.

Mom for some reason

seemed happier,

no it seems more

like relief to see

Miriam.

 

Miriam talks about

her flight being

cancelled that morning.

She looks like she

is about to cry.

 

I don�t understand.

 

Dad�s voice comes booming

down the hallway.

 

Mom and Miriam run

past me

straight back to the TV

 

I quickly follow confused.

 

I see the three adults

所有的表情都是

悲伤

恐怖

难以置信

 

我看电视,看到

冒烟的大楼

 

An announcer�s deep voice echoes

穿过我们的公寓

 

�A second plane has hit.�

                                                            米歇尔

 

(Innocent bystander witnessing the crash)

I was just getting my morning coffee,

just as I would any other day.

This plane is flying awfully low, I thought,

but I didn�t think too much of it.

我走向我的工作,�

ready to sit there like a mindless drone

for another eight hours.

突然，一场巨大的爆炸

followed by screaming.

Everyone�s running away now.

I follow suit.

说到西装，我的咖啡都溅到我身上了

that�s a shame.

我现在是这场踩踏事件的一部分。

刚才到底发生了什么？！

I continue running,

大楼倒塌的声音

太吵了。

我累了。�

Sure wish I had a coffee right about now.

                                                            Ricky N.

 

我不知道这是怎么回事

当老师向十岁的孩子讲述发生的事情时，她感到很困惑

What�s the Twin Towers?

I didn�t think much of it

Everyone was talking though

为什么?

It might have been an accident

                                                            卡梅隆

 

妈妈不舒服，

所以我待在家里不去上学

因为她不能开车送我去。

I lay next to her in her bed

and we watched the smoke coming

塔外的电视。

我们这么做是为了

like a long time.  Every channel showed the same thing.

妈妈真的不舒服。

后来我等了一会儿

医生给她做了检查。

I watched the collapsing towers

在医院候诊室的电视上

那里没有多少人

waiting room, but those who

没有把他们的目光移开吗

that little TV.

我想知道我是否去上学了

如果那天我能看到的话

this on a school TV or would we

还在继续学习吗

学校的东西。

                                                            Ashliegh

 

�Wake up! 醒醒吧!她说：“老兄，妈妈，现在才早上6点。”

我们现在需要给你的埃斯特阿姨打电话——她应该在工作。

但愿她今天没去上班。  -她当然喜欢；3个小时。领先。

——我的天啊！  看那架飞机

电视上显示一架飞机从大楼里伸出来。

It�s too early for this.

到底发生了什么事？  Hey �doesn�t Aunt Esther work there?

电话响了

妈妈说：“哦，谢天谢地！�

埃丝特阿姨今天没去上班。

我甚至不记得有什么担心

但不知为什么，我如释重负地叹了口气。

然后我妈妈说

�Ok, time to go to work today.�

Why did I all of a sudden get scared?

昨天，上班很安全。

如今，情况并非如此。

                                                宋美龄

 

就像每隔一天的早晨一样。

Although, it wasn�t.  因为外面更冷。

Not like any kind of cold, but a chilling cold.

就像空气中携带着更多的东西。

 

The bus ride�was�the same�

我周围的每个人都为他们必须醒来而生气

起得这么早，就是为了听这些人说话

ramble about how our minds must be � opening-

 

把门关上。The driver let us out.

But no one was around� What happened?

Was class not being held? �

我问我旁边的人：“你觉得这是怎么回事？”

And right before his answer� sprung out � We saw the Spanish

老师出来了。  满是泪水；she could no longer deal

with whatever monster was inside.  她一句话也说不出来，

So we simply stepped in to see the skies burn black on the TV.

 

America has been attacked�

人们纷纷下车

我们被袭击了

Horror clasped hold of the skies above.

I have been attacked�and my heart sank� and I went outside to cry

with the Spanish teacher.

                                                            瑞奇·M。

 

我的闹钟响了

and it was dark in my room.

Mom�s not home and my brother

我必须准备好去上学。

我们也�t在早上看电视。

�我们不需要它。

 

家里的电话响了。

阿姨杰基想知道

我们是如何做的。

好,我说,为什么?

她告诉我们打开

电视。

 

所有平常的频道都是

卡住了

在同一张图上

直到录像回放。

 

Smoke coming from a

crashing building and it�s

all falling down.

记者说了很多，但是

所有

我听到

飞机撞到的那个重要吗

建筑。

 

我弟弟和我都很担心

because our dad was supposed

to be on a plane back to the U.S.

We call Grandma and she

says everything is ok.

妈妈在莱思罗普的基地。

Dad�s in New Jersey,

安全的。

She tells us to go to school.

 

There is no mind for lessons.

我们想做的就是看着

电视。  My teacher takes

me outside and says my mom

will come to get me soon.

 

I�m relieved, right at this moment,

我需要靠近我的

家庭。

                                                            世界时装之苑

 

I�m in school and people talk.

Something about airplanes?

I don�t know.

我有一本书，

And Tetherball at recess,

And there�s math homework due.

I�m 10, what do I care about airplanes?

首页。

Mom�s doing laundry on the living room floor,

clothes piled around her, half-folded, half-not.

TV�s on, but it�s news.

Why news? 我们从不看新闻。

�Two planes crashed in New York�

我妈说。

�So?�

我说。

Planes crash all the time, don�t they? TV says so.

�So a lot of people got hurt.�

“哦，”我说。I forgot people get hurt in crashes.

�It hit buildings.�

�哪一个?白宫在纽约吗？

�Twin Towers.�

我不知道这些是什么。

And they�re so far away.

is New York even a real place?

It�s way 在那里．

It�s imaginary, like China and France.  太远了，我不在乎。

but I�m sad people got hurt. 虚构的人。

I go to my little brother�s room

(where the tvi）

and try to watch The Simpsons.

It�s the news.

All the channels are news.

Strange, plastic people talk with clear enunciation about

planes that crashed in some imaginary world a million

英里远。

我把它关掉，读一本书。

到底什么是“恐怖分子”？

                                                            Helina

 

我在车里，

suddenly the radio is

the most important voice

关于飞机的一些东西

我很困惑为什么

nobody wants to explain

 

It was a day like any other

though perhaps more sinister

in background though at

eleven I hardly notice it

 

A day like any other

但这是不可能的

不时被攻击打断

在我们的塔楼上，有许多生命

我们那天就迷路了。

 

这样一个正常的开始怎么可能呢

to a normal day herald such a

loss of life an attack on our

生活方式。  所有这些

and more on the radio while

I was in the car.

                                                            约旦

 

我在课堂上不知道，不确定什么

正在发生，但我看到脸上的沉默

of those around me.

I didn�t know that terror and fear

have reached our shores.

我不知道双子塔是什么，我不认识里面的人

我不知道人们正在死去，爆炸，崩溃，被压垮

I didn�t know that there were people dying in the flames that

would ignite many more deaths in the

未来的岁月——我不知道——但我也是

我哭的时候，脸上带着无知的严肃表情

那些知道一切的人严厉的面孔

太好了。  I cried because I didn�t know,

I cried because I would soon know all too well.

                                                            托尼

 

Oh my God, I�m so afraid.  我感觉如此

独自一人，我无法联系上我的父母

the phone circuits are

忙了。  I know my family out there

is worried to death.

This isn�t what I pictured when I

chose to attend college out here. 我的意思是,

any place can be dangerous, but I

never thought we (America) would be

攻击。

            We�re asked to stay inside for our

安全,但我能听到塞壬和气味

烟,看到灰尘、碎片和灰烬。

            这是我经历过的最可怕的事

经历的是1989年的地震

七。  我当时并不害怕，我

被家人包围。

            这些电话线是什么时候

going to be free?  我知道他们是

试图联系我，

我知道他们吓坏了。

            我只是想跳舞，我只是

我想拿到学位——（电话响了）

            喂?Phyll？  是的，我很好。可以

我要和爸爸说话吗？

            你好，爸爸，我想回家。

                                                            菲利斯

 

起来!伙计们，起来！

My sister�s voice was loud, loud enough to make me

crack one of my eyes slightly open.  我看到

我的另一个哥哥帕特里克发出一声典型的中产阶级的呻吟

一个学生开始意识到他必须面对的现实

another school day, and rolling over in his bed.

但这将是不寻常的一天。

起来!

My sister�s voice was more forceful the second time, and as

我扭过头来回应；她抓住了我的舌头

又有一架飞机撞上了世贸中心！

我哥哥直接在床上死了，怎么了？

She answered back as if trying to soften the blow, �they are

不过，我还是站着

My mother was coming through our bedroom door

trying to reassure us, shortly after walking me to the yard

在红橡树小学。

当我走到我的班级线

声音在院子里回荡，

你听到了吗，你听到了吗

你听说了吗？

                                                            安东尼

 

(Primrose Siegel, 6 years old)

我靠着爸爸的肩膀睡得很熟

我被震醒了

尖叫的人们

我打了自己一拳，看看自己是否还在

做梦

我希望我是

但我没有

I was so scared my heart felt like it

would pop right out of my chest

我看着爸爸

他看起来和我一样害怕

我勇敢的爸爸

他很害怕

I knew something was terribly wrong

我把脸埋在他的胸膛里

I did not want to see those scary men

I think Daddy and I both knew

这就是结局

我们一起向这个世界说再见

locked in each other�s arms

如此害怕

我爱你，爸爸。

                                                            凯莉

 

我没有手机

prior to 9/11/2001

但我肯定会打电话的

and say good by to people I love

the calls recorded from the flight

最终在宾夕法尼亚州坠毁

场

当我听到他们的时候，他们的声音萦绕在我心头

played over and over

CNN的赞美

 

当我看着的时候，我也被缠住了

现场死亡

我在计算机教室

西卡罗莱纳大学

我不知不觉地去了哪里

悲剧正在上演

心烦意乱，感觉措手不及

去教我大一的比较课

 

之前的教练已经离开了

投影仪,

我的学生和我，沉默和恐惧，

看到了2^nd飞机失事

双塔倒塌

people jumping to their death.

                                                            华纳博士

 

那天早上很冷。

我并不太在意，因为我穿着我的长睡衣。

爸爸去上班了，我想去看看

爷爷奶奶在做什么。

或者他们会做什么食物

电视开得这么大声，他们可能在做什么

在厨房或后院。

但他们就在那儿，站在电视机前。看

因为飞机撞上了同一栋大楼

A simulated plane, an eye witness report of the plane. 然后是另一个平面。

I�ve never really �known� my grandpa, so his opinion

总是很罕见。

他不是那种会分享自己感受的人。

一个军人。

我们会找到的米�转账他们是负责任的。他告诉我们。

他们应该使用凝固汽油弹米�转账． 就像当年一样

I didn�t know what he meant, and didn�t know what napalm was.

我不太清楚发生了什么。

或者随之而来的变化。

                                                            埃斯特万

 

这是平常的一天

我的脑子一片模糊

在我准备上学的时候 

他们真的需要开始学校天之后我想

我走过电视机

在去浴室洗澡的路上

希望这能让我清醒

电影正在燃烧的建筑。

我太累了，没有意识到早上6点半看电影太早了。

我去学校的时候没有

再想想。

 

我的代数老师了

同样的节目在课堂上播放

每个频道都在播

我无法理解发生了什么事

超级英雄总是保存前一天发生了这样的漫画书

但这不是�t漫画,它是真实的,超级英雄

只存在于故事和幻想中

                                                            尼克

 

那件事发生的时候我才8岁

我所能记得的

新闻。

电视屏幕上的画面。

Two tall buildings up in smoke.

那天没有动画片

not in my house.

My mom was panicked

我不知道为什么。

这有什么大不了的？

Yes, it was sad.

但在那天

我只是不明白。

It wasn�t until the next day that I realized

这件事很重要。

Our class talked about how scared

our parents were, how the twin towers

被毁了，多少人失去了生命。

It was to be remembered forever

It was tragic.

but not on that day,

只有在。

                                                            丽莎

 

那天早上我睁开眼睛的时候

我还以为会像往常一样呢。

上学，和朋友玩，回家，做作业。

老方法——冲洗，重复。

我没想到会被哭声冲下楼

我的父母，

电视上疯狂的通告告诉全国

of the attacks.

我穿着睡衣站在那里，张着嘴，一动不动

我无法理解的感情。

很长一段时间以来，所有人都在谈论这件事。

I didn�t realize it then; 那时我只有十岁，

but I know it now; 的

那天失去的东西，我的安全，我的保障，还有一点

my own innocence                                                       Taylor-Dawn

 

“我感觉不舒服，妈妈。  我可以待在家里吗？

今天不上学吗？�

那是因为你把所有的糖果都吃了

昨晚。  Fine, you can stay home.

I�ll call your dad to come check

在你身上。我得走了

我可以看电视吗？�

如果你病得不能去上学，

you�re too sick to watch TV.�

妈妈去上班了。

我爬上她的床，转过身来

在她的电视上。

Some movie is on – not the kind

我喜欢看有爆炸的

人们大喊大叫

像分散的孔雀鱼一样奔跑

当你把脚伸进去

池塘。

我不想看这个。

爸爸进来了，穿着他的制服

他脸上忧虑的表情。

问我是否还好。  声音嘶哑，眼睛充血。

He must not feel good either.

�I don�t feel good. 你能

换电视频道？�

He stares at the TV

他把手放在头上

collapses to the couch

他项圈上的调度员报告说

莫名其妙的东西。

I ask him again to change the channel.

他目瞪口呆地看着电视

忽略了我。

我拿起遥控器

按下按钮。

再一次。

再一次。

再一次。

这部电影在每个

单通道。

“爸爸”——我呜咽着，然后停了下来

当我看到他的脸是湿的。

                                                            阿莉莎

 

The teacher skipped our multiplication tables today

谈论一架飞机撞上了什么建筑。

我很奇怪为什么飞机飞得那么低

它不应该在云端吗？

老师说是“恐怖分子”干的

很多人死了。

I didn�t believe her.

死亡只是假期的另一种说法

或者离开，

或睡眠,

不是�t吗?

明天,

当他们修好大楼和飞机时，

每个人都会醒来

回家去吧，

对吧?

                                                            梅林达

 

（11岁）

早上7:30——我坐在卧室的地板上，门开着。我在打领带

my black shoes with the white laces.  Sunlight shone down the hall.

Mom walked by, �Good morning, Sweetie!  Time for school

and work!�  -- Mom worked at my school.  I liked it.

 

Car ride was quiet.  We never listened to the radio.

A beautiful warm, sunny fall day.

But also cold and brisk.

We walked into school, I ran to my friends.

Then Mom came up to me, half-whispered in my ear

�Mrs. Smith told me planes flew into buildings

in New York and the Pentagon in D.C.  I don�t know what�s happening.� she said.

It was like a movie scene.  I was scared, saw scared looks on friends� faces.  I knew

now why they weren�t happy.

 

�Don�t say rumors, wait for the teacher to tell you.�

Mom said, hugging me.

�See you later! I love you!� she called out.

 

And us kids stood in line, and waited for Mr. Grengo

who took us in from the cold, and into the warm classroom.

We were safe.  It was a school day, just a very

different one.

 

My dad�s one coworker was almost on one of the flights,

but he changed flights at the last minute, due to family wanting

to visit while he was in NYC.  He was lucky.  Dad told me

this later on.

                                                            Molly

 

It was school picture day.

Lucy, my nanny,

came running in and

flipped on the television.

She was in tears.

I did not understand

these tears, I was

twelve years old.

Images flashed across

the screen of a television

that was now alive.

No. Wrong word.

Images of the two towers

one with a gaping hole

in its side.

Now my parents were crying

I did not understand.

What was happening?

I was worried about whether

my uniform was on right.

I was worried about having the

right envelope with money in it.

It was school picture day.

It was only school picture day,

wasn�t it?

                                                            Jaclynn

 

I have to leave.

Just a minute ago I was listening

to this lady talk and  now I�m dealing with

a national crisis.

 

An accident?  Flying too low?

Impossible.

Not two planes.

 

How am I going to handle this?

I need to get a hold of Dick as soon

as I�m out of here.

No. Conde.

 

This has to have been an attack

of some sort.  Has to have been

from the Middle East.

 

I bet Al is happy he lost now.

Gotta� take this one step at a time.

Gotta� get briefed and get a hold

of everybody.

 

I hope those towers are the extent of it.

I hope these kids don�t mind that I have to go now.

�Excuse me, folks, but I�m afraid I have to leave.�

                                                            Jeremy

 

I woke up early for school

a normal day

arrived at school

pledge of allegiance

morning announcements

we went outside

filed onto the blacktop, the whole school

our principal, faced with the burden

telling your children

about the crash

not just the planes

the terrorists crashed into our safety

our freedom

I did not understand, maybe,

I never will

I am reminded each time

I take off my shoes at the airport

receive a note from the TSA,

my bag

�randomly selected�

those dolls were keepsakes,

not a cover up for cocaine.

                                                            Malyssa

 

(a shop keeper near Ground Zero)

A deluge of ash chased the people in the streets

Swallowing them, blanketing them with ashes, perhaps

of their fellow Americans

For now, I wasn�t worried about who did it

But how to help others out of there,

out of the snowstorm.

A businessman, a young couple, and a tourist

sat themselves in my bagel shop

I left my sign as �open.�

For now, I can�t offer any words of how I feel

Can even comfort these folks

Let the smell of dough and black coffee give them some comfort.

The lights go out, and the sun is blocked by this dome

Police sirens in an artificial night, trying to do their

duty as the scene of a crime,

against an unseen enemy

他们害怕，

我们害怕，

敌人是混乱的

敌人是恐惧

                                                            凯文

 

我的电话怎么响了

at 8 o�clock in the morning.

难道人们不知道吗

那我� 心里难受的

整晚都在工作？

喂?

亚当说：我们要开战了，伙计！哦吼! !

怎么啦？What are you talking about man?

adam says: they crashed a plane into some

building in new york.

把电视打开，伙计。

怎么啦？抓住�

oh� wait�

adam says: dude look, look, look!

这是另一个——我的天哪！

i got to call my cousin! i�ll

给你回电话。

亚当说：好吧，但是没有办法

你会成功的。

i just tried

打电话给我的家人。it says �all circuits are busy now. 请稍后再打来

there has to be a way.

亚当说：别担心，伙计。

i�m sure they are ok. what borough are they in?

长岛,brookland, and the Bronx

adam says: dude, just stay on the phone with me.

this shit is crazy.

i�m going to enlist in the army today!

他们不能逍遥法外。

ok, man. how long have you been watching?

hold on� 我 need to sit down and

喝点水