I was driving in to work around 8:15 am, just merging into the lane for the MLK bridge, listening to the Point. When they announced the a plane had hit the WTC, I immediately thought "terrorism."
I went into work, which was in the tallest building downtown. I was scared to death. I watched the towers fall on TV, in silent shock that those huge metal and glass buildings were reduced to dust and rubble in a matter of hours. I kept thinking, what would I do, 26 floors up from the street? Those people were 70, 80, 90 floors up.
My dad called me and asked me why the hell I was there. If my dad was scared, then I knew it was serious.
We were evacuated at 10:30 and BFF Heather and I left to get our kids. We needed to hold them, to be reassured that they were okay, when the world was falling apart. To try to absorb their innocence before 9/11 ripped it away from them.
I was waiting in the hallway outside the school office to pick up Jessica. We had a bit of a tiff that morning before school. She came around the corner, and started running at me. She dropped her bag, and slammed into me, hugging me, apologizing and saying she was so scared, she heard the Arch was going to fall on my building. She was so afraid I would die and we had just argued and she hadn't had a chance to say she was sorry or she loved me. The irony there just kills me.
We went and got Kelli and Maddy and went home and watched the events unfold on TV. Maddy was a baby so she doesn't really remember much.
Kelli asked me why they hated us so much that they would hurt us this way. I had no answer.
We finally turned off the TV. We couldn't take anymore.
Jessica and I watched the movie United 93 shortly before she died. It was so surreal to watch the movie knowing exactly how it was going to end. Jessica said to me after it was over, "I kept thinking the passengers might win." I said "They did."
5 comments:
They did win and they are heroes. Thanks for taking the time to remember them today. We all need to keep it fresh in our minds as the years pass...
I'm glad you got to go pick the girls up.... :)
I can barely remember what I ate for breakfast yesterday but I can remember, with so much dang clarity what happened on that day...
What a profound post. I thought about posting something on 9/11 and then didn't. Matthew worked in the Pentagon until a few months before 9/11 and he is still very bothered by that. If he hadn't changed jobs, he would have been in that exact section that was hit. He lost a friend that day and I'm sure he always thinks of him on 9/11. He was living in Arlington, VA and saw the smoke coming from the Pentagon. His National Guard unit air lifted people out of the Pentagon (he was called up to duty that day) and I think it all still haunts him. Yes, you are right, Flight 93 passengers did win. I always think about all the lives they saved that day by giving up their own lives. I always think I am done crying every year that the anniversary comes around. And, every year, I still cry.
I got chills reading your ending.
Excellent post.
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