On what seemed to be the beginning to a regular day as a college freshman, I crawled out of bed and began getting ready for class. For some reason, Katie had left to run an errand that morning. As I was standing in the bathroom drying my hair, Katie ran in and told me to turn on the T.V. When we turned it on, we both stood in shock. The World Trade Center had been hit by a plane. At that moment, we did not know what had really happened. Was is a problem with the plane or was it really terrorist crashing into the World Trade Center? When the second plane hit, it was confirmed that the United States of America was under attack. The campus was quiet that day as was the rest of the country.
In only ten days, we will be standing at the memorial of the World Trade Center. Please share your story. What were you doing on September 11, 2001 when you heard the horrific news?
I was at work that morning in Franklin, Tennessee. There was a girl who worked there who was from New York. She came to the back of the office with the news. After the Oklahoma City bombings a few years earlier, I had learned to take this sort of alert very seriously. It was a somber day at work. I remember Air Force One going to Barksdale and calling Mother to see if she saw it. Or just to talk to my Mother.
ReplyDeleteI did a crown on a man with a horrible name that I thought would have been a jinx any day much less 9/11. I guess we were pretty distracted because we later had to remake that crown. The rest of that week, I was filling in for another dentist in the Murfreesboro Road office. That office had a TV and we were able to watch all of the memorials and coverage. I became a twenty-four hour news addict even up until Jackson was born. On Sunday, our church was packed beyond seating capacity for the first time.
Despite all the naysayers, I optimistically thought our great nation would have this little problem licked in a couple of years. I never imagined that Bin Laden wouldn't be caught until the next president's term or that the Statue of Liberty would be shut down for security upgrades eleven years later!
I [Meredith] was only in third grade when 9/11 took place. This was really my first memory of anything like war or tragedy or other similarly horrific news even registered with me. When the planes actually hit the towers, I was in the classroom with Mrs. Richards. I don't actually know how the teachers found out, but I remember Mrs. Richards leaving the room and then coming back with huge eyes, like she was in shock almost. I don't really remember if she told us what had happened then or if the day was just really quite and eery. I do remember getting home that afternoon and mom still had the news on. I was able to watch the pictures over and over and over.
ReplyDeleteI had just started my job as reading teacher in 2001. By September 11, I had my classes organized and that morning I had pulled my first graders to work with them when the teacher next door motioned for me to step outside. It was hard to go back in and those innocent little faces, wondering what would be next for them. My first thoughts went to my children, and if I remember correctly, I had to finish class and take my students back before I could talk to my own children. I could pray, so that is what I did. I don't think my cell phone would work in the building - I'm not even sure I had it. I remember trying not to panic in front of the students and I remember the tv being on in the library and watching that second tower fall. We moved a tv into the workroom. I do remember that afternoon, thinking how eerily quite the sky was with no planes flying.
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