{"id":21257,"date":"2026-09-10T19:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-10T23:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/?post_type=wfsu-news&#038;p=21257"},"modified":"2026-09-10T19:41:05","modified_gmt":"2026-09-10T23:41:05","slug":"a-tallahassee-native-reflects-on-surviving-the-9-11-attacks","status":"publish","type":"wfsu-news","link":"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/wfsu-news\/a-tallahassee-native-reflects-on-surviving-the-9-11-attacks\/","title":{"rendered":"A Tallahassee native reflects on surviving the 9\/11 attacks"},"content":{"rendered":"<!--[if lt IE 9]><script>document.createElement('audio');<\/script><![endif]-->\n<audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-21257-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/cpa.ds.npr.org\/s390\/audio\/2026\/09\/so-911segment.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/cpa.ds.npr.org\/s390\/audio\/2026\/09\/so-911segment.mp3\">https:\/\/cpa.ds.npr.org\/s390\/audio\/2026\/09\/so-911segment.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n<p>A Tallahassee native who has lived in New York City for decades is reflecting on the 25 years since the 9\/11 attacks.<\/p>\n<p>Christina Stanton and her husband Brian were in their apartment six blocks from the World Trade Center when the planes hit. Her book, <a href=\"https:\/\/christinaraystanton.com\/product\/out-of-the-shadow-of-9-11\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Out of the Shadow of 9\/11<\/em><\/a>, was published in 2019.<\/p>\n<p>Stanton has been a licensed tour guide in the city for over 30 years. Now, she spends much of her time taking tour groups to the city&#8217;s 9\/11 memorial and working to keep the memory alive.<\/p>\n<p><u>Stanton spoke to WFSU to share her thoughts about this big and terrible anniversary<\/u>:<\/p>\n<p><em>I have noticed a lot of angst this year, and there&#8217;s a lot of build up to this 25th anniversary, and I think it really is meaningful to a lot of people. And it will be a very sad time. <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>There&#8217;s a lot of people who get anniversary effect. That is a psychological term for commemorating an anniversary of a loved one who died, or a man-made disaster, or a natural disaster&#8230; So maybe some extra prayers raised up would be awesome. Hopefully it&#8217;s a time that the country can really kind of stand back and think about where we are as a country in unity and concern for each other and empathy.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Life in NYC since 9\/11\/2001<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>There&#8217;s been a lot of life in 25 years since 9\/11 happened. I would say in general when it comes to New York, they talk about the unity on September 12th and New Yorkers coming together and how the city opened up its heart and was just one big unified, loving entity. I actually, and call me a Pollyanna, but I still think that there is a real sense of unity and responsibility to each other from 9\/11 than what I remember experiencing in New York before 9\/11.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>I lived in New York for eight years before 9\/11 happened, and I still really sense that there is a shared feeling of responsibility. I want to keep myself safe, and keeping myself safe, I help keep other people safe. If you see something, say something\u2026 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>I still believe that there is that sense of unity that wasn&#8217;t there before 9\/11, and for me personally, there&#8217;s so many roads, so many things in my life that all have their tentacles and their roots in 9\/11. From the kind of job that I have, which is taking people around the 9\/11 memorial, to living in the financial district and still loving that neighborhood &#8211; the neighborhood that was hit the hardest &#8211; <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/lovingallnations.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>to the nonprofit that my husband and I have<\/em><\/a><em> that also has a lot to do with our heart since 9\/11 and wanting to give back.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Stanton&#8217;s health since 9\/11<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>In December of 2024, I was just feeling kind of funky, and I was actually in Tallahassee. So as soon as I got back to New York City, I went to my doctor, and the doctor said you have uterine cancer. So I had a full hysterectomy in March of last year, and happily it was stage one. He did not recommend chemo or radiation, which was wonderful. I see doctors all the time, but you know what? I can&#8217;t complain about that.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>I have been diagnosed with kind of a common skin cancer that just two weeks ago itself was certified as 9\/11, and when I say it&#8217;s certified, that&#8217;s a letter I get in the mail, just like my uterine cancer. That means the 9\/11 funds &#8211; there are two of them &#8211; would pay for medical care surrounding this issue. But you know what? I&#8217;m doing all right. I feel good. I still have lots of energy, and it&#8217;s all good, really.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>The heroes<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>9\/11 was one of the worst days where humanity showed its worst and its most evil face. But it was also a day that we just saw so many heroes. We saw heroes in the boat evacuation, <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=MDOrzF7B2Kg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>the largest boat evacuation in history<\/em><\/a><em>. The deckhands, <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.saturdayeveningpost.com\/2025\/05\/a-new-york-ferry-captain-comes-to-the-rescue-again-and-again\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>the boat captains that were volunteering<\/em><\/a><em> their time to take people to safety. You know, over 500,000 people.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>I tell people about, of course, the policemen and the firefighters and the rescue workers and responders. They were incredibly selfless that day. <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>There were also the everyday people within the building (World Trade Center) and strangers \u2026 people who had no connection to the buildings at all who ran in to help people, like Welles Crowther, <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Welles_Crowther\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>the man in the red bandana<\/em><\/a><em>. He helped at least 18 people to safety, and he himself could have could have left the building and been fine, but he wanted to keep saving people, and it was just a day that saw so many of that. I love stressing that for people so there can be some moments of hope.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Helping the youngest generation understand<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>When it comes to the younger generation and 9\/11, I definitely give rote facts as a tour guide, but I bring in my personal story because that&#8217;s where connection can happen\u2026 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>They see somebody in front of them that it affected. And honestly, I get a lot of really great reception. I mean, the kids are always really respectful, and I can&#8217;t tell you how many times they have said to me, &#8220;Wow, you&#8217;re the first person I&#8217;ve ever met who really experienced 9\/11,&#8221; and it just makes me feel like I&#8217;m accomplishing, you know, helping to round out their information and understanding of that day to make it real for them.<\/em> <\/p>\n<div class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2026 WFSU<\/div><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","wds_primary_category":0},"categories":[],"tags":[1136,1135],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>A Tallahassee native reflects on surviving the 9\/11 attacks - WFSU Local Routes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/wfsu-news\/a-tallahassee-native-reflects-on-surviving-the-9-11-attacks\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Tallahassee native reflects on surviving the 9\/11 attacks - WFSU Local Routes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Christina Stanton was six blocks from the World Trade Center when the planes hit. 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