where were you?
I can't believe it's been three years since the terrorist attacks of September 11th. It seems like yesterday that I was pulling out of Dunkin' Donuts around 9 a.m. to go pick up Aunt Sis when I turned on the radio and heard about the first plane crashing into the tower.
Then the reports kept piling up, one upon the other. I kept up with Will on his cell, heard about the Pentagon, and listened to him as he stood atop his DC office building and watched it burn. I picked up my elderly aunt in the city, brought her out to Harford County and we watched the towers fall. I didn't care if schools were staying in session or not, and I'd heard no word, I needed my children so I went and picked them up at school.
It took Will hours to get home as the DC Metro was shut down as well as the commuter trains. He shouted out in the crowd, "Anyone else heading for Edgewood?" A beautiful African-American woman replied, "I am."
Long story short, Will and three sisters made the exodus from DC together. He's still friends with Donna who told him when she met him, "I was just praying God would send someone to help me."
It seemed harrowing enough, but when compared to the stories of the victims and the families, it was nothing. I'm praying for them today and already found myself crying. Some memories refuse to lay down like good dogs. And this is something to be thankful for because it memorializes the sacrifice of others, dignifies their suffering and rings the death knell once again for those who had no choice in the matter of their passing, and those, like the firefighters, policemen and the heroic civilians, who did.
grace,
lisa
posted by lisa @ 7:43 AM
3 Comments:
I was at home on 9/11/01 writing with the TV turned up loud. When the report came on about the first plane, I stopped writing and sat in front of the TV and watched the second plane hit. I pretty much stayed in front of the TV until we went to be exhausted at midnight. I was in shock, and stayed that way for a couple of days. A week later I was on a plane to Colorado. I still remember that flight. It was half empty, and the quietest flight I'd ever been on.
About 15 years ago, I worked in a tall black building directly across the street from the Twin Towers. (You've all seen it. It's usually included in the video of that area.)I commuted into the WTC on the subway daily. I ate,shopped, and had friends and clients who worked in the WTC. That's one of the reasons I was in shock. It was like a piece of my life was destroyed.
Even today, as I watch the films of the towers collapse, my mind refuses to accept that they are not there. A couple of years ago, I went up to NJ and shot a quick glance at the NYC skyline. It was horribly empty. I haven't been up that way since.
You're right, Lisa. We must never, ever forget. Not only for those that made the ultimate sacrifice, but for our country and our children.
I'm still proud of my fellow NY'ers during and after that crisis.
Thanks for posting this and allowing us to share our thoughts about Sept 11.
Suzan
For the first time in years I'd turned off the radio while I got ready for work, so I had no idea what was going on. A friend in Chicago, two hours ahead of me in California, called to ask if I had heard what was going on. I turned on the TV just in time to see the second plane hit. I thought at first I was seeing footage of the first, and was wondering why someone had been videotaping the towers in the first place, when I realized one tower was already smoldering.
It was my first year as a teacher and my second week on the job at a prive Christian school. By the time the kids made it into the building they all knew bits and pieces of what had happened. I broke down in front of my class as I laid out the basic details, try as I might to keep a brave face, and led them in a halting prayer for the families and victims and President Bush. After that we just tried to get on with our day. It's hard to know how ten-year-olds are going to handle that kind of thing; they're just getting to the point where they understand the finality of death and that parents and teachers can't save them from everything.
-Alison
I was at home getting ready to head to the Cleveland Clinis for a hernia operation. My mom had the tv on I walked in and was wondering why there was an action movie on tv that early in the morning. I couldn't believe it was real. I still feel selfish for the way I felt that day. At the floor of the hospital where I was to have surgery was one tv in the waiting room. Everyone was huddled around it, watching in horror. All of the doctors were there and were really affected. I was hoping they weren't too affected, knowing I would be under the knife shortly. As I lay at home for the next several weeks recovering I think I saw every single news report of the events surrounding this treagedy. I am almost numb to it because of that and for that I feel horrible. On saturday I watched as the read the names and I could only watch for a minute without getting teary eyed. My prayers are with those who lost their loved ones that day.
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