Writer's Block: 9/11
"What a beautiful, perfect autumn day", I thought to myself on the way into work. About an hour later, I was In my office about 3 miles from the Pentagon. My boss Darren came in and told me about NYC. We went to watch the television the office manager had wheeled into the conference room. As we watched in horror what was happening there, we heard a loud crash ... then a few minutes later we saw the Pentagon on the screen. I was truly expecting a tragedy in every city, every hour. And who knows ... there might have been plans for that. My other boss worked from home in KY Monday & Friday and flew in every Tuesday morning to National Airport. That morning, her flight was coming in from Boston. I remember Darren telling me in a panic, "Keep calling Janie's phone and find out where she is". Whenever I could get a line out, all I got was her voice mail. An hour later, she made it to the office. She had absolutely no idea what had happened.
I found a co-worker and good friend of mine is his office to tell him about the Pentagon. His sister worked there. I'll never forget the look on his face. "Excuse me?", he said. I repeated myself. Of course, his attempts to get through to her were useless. He stayed calm as I sat there with him ... I don't know how he managed to, but he did. There was such chaos and pandemonium that day. Finally, about 2 hours later, she showed up at our office. She had forgotten to lock her car and was coming back in from the parking lot when the plane hit. Everyone in her office was killed. Divine intervention, maybe?
I called my mom and she started to cry. I called my boyfriend at the time. He was off of work that day and I wanted to see him, but we thought it was best if he stayed at home. Nobody knew what else might happen. Finally around noon, they told us to go home.
I remember walking back to my car which was in a garage a few blocks up the street. I remember driving the 2 miles home to the apartment I shared with my brother. I remember how quiet it was, how empty the streets were. I remember what a beautiful day it was. I remember overwhelming sadness and shock I felt.
When I got home, my brother was there. He worked the 3-midnight shift at the time, and I was glad his office was closed. I didn't want to be alone. My brother and I did not have any sort of cable or satellite service so we just listened to the radio.
That night a few friends came over. One of them had been on I-395 which runs right by the Pentagon. He saw the plane hit and was thoroughly shaken. I remember going to bed that night ... totally drained and exhausted but not being able to sleep because of all the helicopters flying overhead. Those helicopters were there for weeks after. We lost a family friend at the Pentagon. He had 2 children and another on the way.
Half of that day is a complete blur, yet other details I remember so clearly.
What started off as a beautiful, perfect autumn day turned out to be one the darkest days in our country's history.
I found a co-worker and good friend of mine is his office to tell him about the Pentagon. His sister worked there. I'll never forget the look on his face. "Excuse me?", he said. I repeated myself. Of course, his attempts to get through to her were useless. He stayed calm as I sat there with him ... I don't know how he managed to, but he did. There was such chaos and pandemonium that day. Finally, about 2 hours later, she showed up at our office. She had forgotten to lock her car and was coming back in from the parking lot when the plane hit. Everyone in her office was killed. Divine intervention, maybe?
I called my mom and she started to cry. I called my boyfriend at the time. He was off of work that day and I wanted to see him, but we thought it was best if he stayed at home. Nobody knew what else might happen. Finally around noon, they told us to go home.
I remember walking back to my car which was in a garage a few blocks up the street. I remember driving the 2 miles home to the apartment I shared with my brother. I remember how quiet it was, how empty the streets were. I remember what a beautiful day it was. I remember overwhelming sadness and shock I felt.
When I got home, my brother was there. He worked the 3-midnight shift at the time, and I was glad his office was closed. I didn't want to be alone. My brother and I did not have any sort of cable or satellite service so we just listened to the radio.
That night a few friends came over. One of them had been on I-395 which runs right by the Pentagon. He saw the plane hit and was thoroughly shaken. I remember going to bed that night ... totally drained and exhausted but not being able to sleep because of all the helicopters flying overhead. Those helicopters were there for weeks after. We lost a family friend at the Pentagon. He had 2 children and another on the way.
Half of that day is a complete blur, yet other details I remember so clearly.
What started off as a beautiful, perfect autumn day turned out to be one the darkest days in our country's history.