Never Forget!!!
I remember where I was, on 9/11/2001... do you? Of course you do... we all do...
I was at work. One of my managers called, to tell us that a plane had crashed into the WTC tower. While I was talking to her, she watched the second plane hit. Shortly there after, another co-worker came in, shouting that a plane had hit the Pentagon, too. At that time, our office did not have internet, and we had no TV. It wasn't until I got home, at 5:30 that evening, that I saw the sheer horror of what had really happened. My overactive imagination had not come close to the reality.
I remember being glued to my radio, all day, waiting for word that more planes had crashed into more buildings.
I remember telling my boss that if a plane crashed any closer to St Louis, I was leaving work to go get Chryssi, and he could fire me if he wanted, but I was going to go be with my family.
I remember a phone call at work... Someone called to talk to my boss... he was out of the office. I then spent 20 minutes on the phone with this man, talking about the attacks. Talking about NYC, talking about the terrorists. Talking about everythig that happened that day, and how it made us feel. The man never left his name, and he never called back, but he made me feel a bit better.
I remember my Daddy calling, from Little Rock, where he was on business. He told me he thought the TV coverage was an ad for a movie, until he saw the little "LIVE" logo on the TV screen. He told me that everyting was going to be OK. At that moment, I KNEW everything was going to be OK... even if a plane crashed on my office building at that moment, it wouldn't have mattered, because Daddy said everything was going to be fine.
I remember the skies going quiet, as all planes were grounded. It was an eerie quiet, because I worked in the flight path of Spirit of St Louis airport.
I remember a tenant of our coming in to pay his rent. He owned a limo company. He offered to drive to Little Rock, to go get my Daddy, because he couldn't fly home. He was going to do it, for free... because it was the American thing to do. (Dad just kept his rental car, and drove home)
I remember waiting for more than 30 minutes, at the gas station, because I , and everyone else, was afraid that we would run out of gas.
I remember getting home, and finally seeing coverage of the attacks, and sobbing... just sobbing. Watching people jump out of burning buildings, from 30+ floors up. Watching the towers fall, watching the cloud of debris cover NYC... over and over, and over.
I remember Chryssi coming to me, asking me why I'm crying. She was 2. I told her some very bad men, had done a very bad thing, and a lot of people died. She looked at me, patted my back, and said "I'm gonna go play outside, now", and skipped off.
That's what it took to snap me out of my tears. Yes... bad men did a bad thing, but if I, if we, as a nation, just sit and cry... they win. I will never forget what happened on 9/11/2011, but I will not just sit and cry... I go on... we go on, and WE WIN!
There are very few days in my nearly 40 years of life, that I remember with such clarity.
I will never forget that day... will you???
I was at work. One of my managers called, to tell us that a plane had crashed into the WTC tower. While I was talking to her, she watched the second plane hit. Shortly there after, another co-worker came in, shouting that a plane had hit the Pentagon, too. At that time, our office did not have internet, and we had no TV. It wasn't until I got home, at 5:30 that evening, that I saw the sheer horror of what had really happened. My overactive imagination had not come close to the reality.
I remember being glued to my radio, all day, waiting for word that more planes had crashed into more buildings.
I remember telling my boss that if a plane crashed any closer to St Louis, I was leaving work to go get Chryssi, and he could fire me if he wanted, but I was going to go be with my family.
I remember a phone call at work... Someone called to talk to my boss... he was out of the office. I then spent 20 minutes on the phone with this man, talking about the attacks. Talking about NYC, talking about the terrorists. Talking about everythig that happened that day, and how it made us feel. The man never left his name, and he never called back, but he made me feel a bit better.
I remember my Daddy calling, from Little Rock, where he was on business. He told me he thought the TV coverage was an ad for a movie, until he saw the little "LIVE" logo on the TV screen. He told me that everyting was going to be OK. At that moment, I KNEW everything was going to be OK... even if a plane crashed on my office building at that moment, it wouldn't have mattered, because Daddy said everything was going to be fine.
I remember the skies going quiet, as all planes were grounded. It was an eerie quiet, because I worked in the flight path of Spirit of St Louis airport.
I remember a tenant of our coming in to pay his rent. He owned a limo company. He offered to drive to Little Rock, to go get my Daddy, because he couldn't fly home. He was going to do it, for free... because it was the American thing to do. (Dad just kept his rental car, and drove home)
I remember waiting for more than 30 minutes, at the gas station, because I , and everyone else, was afraid that we would run out of gas.
I remember getting home, and finally seeing coverage of the attacks, and sobbing... just sobbing. Watching people jump out of burning buildings, from 30+ floors up. Watching the towers fall, watching the cloud of debris cover NYC... over and over, and over.
I remember Chryssi coming to me, asking me why I'm crying. She was 2. I told her some very bad men, had done a very bad thing, and a lot of people died. She looked at me, patted my back, and said "I'm gonna go play outside, now", and skipped off.
That's what it took to snap me out of my tears. Yes... bad men did a bad thing, but if I, if we, as a nation, just sit and cry... they win. I will never forget what happened on 9/11/2011, but I will not just sit and cry... I go on... we go on, and WE WIN!
There are very few days in my nearly 40 years of life, that I remember with such clarity.
I will never forget that day... will you???