"Where were you on 9/11" Post
I was in the 11th grade. I didn't take the news seriously at first because a few days prior a stunt man from France (I think) got stuck on the Statue of Liberty and it was on all the news stations needlessly keeping me from my weather report, so I thought it was another stunt. Mom and I sat and watched everything as long as we could til we had to go to work and school.
In my first period English, my teacher (who is also my Godfather) was very hyped up, encouraging any of us to go on the computers to see if there was any new information. The computers were slow, being that they were still on dial-up or a really slow DSL at the time. I remember I was searching for information with this guy I fancied called Daniel M. I remember exactly how my teacher told us, "We're going to war, children! Absolutely! This means war!" Later on during lunch a girl was wearing a "I <3 NY" shirt and some of the kids were saying, "Bomb Claudia!!!", unaware of how massive the situation was.
In my American History class, our teacher Mr. Bailer (who was a sweet, funny, tiny old man who looked like Captain Crunch) was telling us the significance of the date 9/11 for us to be attacked and didn't think we were going to war over this. He continued to tell us about how he'd been drafted during the Vietnam war and considered chopping off his trigger finger with the school's industrial sickle but did not, as it was his "nose picking finger".
In Economic's class, we were still getting as much information as we could as to how many planes, how many locations, how many people have died, how the towers fell and no one thought they would, how we saw the second plane crash into the building earlier on TV. One of the girls from an earlier period was frantically trying to get a hold of her mother, who worked in Downtown Los Angeles and had a fight with in the morning. It made us a bit more aware of our blessings. Also, at this point, we were still unsure if any planes were headed to LA, San Diego, or any other part of the states for that matter.
I am fascinated with natural disasters, environmental disasters, freak accidents, anomalies of that nature. Seeing this at first, I didn't understand how big it was. A year later in class we watched a documentary about a crew following New York firefighters. As they were checking a gas leak, the crew got the very first plane crashing into the first tower. From there it lead us through the entering of the building were the crew described people on fire as "big, burnt cows" cos of their bodies expanding from the severity of their burns. They shot video of then-Mayor Giuliani running around the site and getting information. The fire fighters had a priest with them, helping give last rites to the dying and praying. (Mychal Judge, who is a fascinating character, please take time to read about him.) We saw the moment were rubble hit his head and he was dead, just like that. As I was watching this documentary, I felt sick to my stomach that all this had occurred.
I am still very much interested in this attack, how and why it happened, what it's meant to so many people, how so much has changed, how so many children were left without parents and how many are still feeling this event as if it were the day it happened. This has been a major point in history that has changed a lot of things and a lot of people, and American life as we knew it. We will never forget, but hopefully time will help us change to the brighter future of those who are still here that we hold dear.
In my first period English, my teacher (who is also my Godfather) was very hyped up, encouraging any of us to go on the computers to see if there was any new information. The computers were slow, being that they were still on dial-up or a really slow DSL at the time. I remember I was searching for information with this guy I fancied called Daniel M. I remember exactly how my teacher told us, "We're going to war, children! Absolutely! This means war!" Later on during lunch a girl was wearing a "I <3 NY" shirt and some of the kids were saying, "Bomb Claudia!!!", unaware of how massive the situation was.
In my American History class, our teacher Mr. Bailer (who was a sweet, funny, tiny old man who looked like Captain Crunch) was telling us the significance of the date 9/11 for us to be attacked and didn't think we were going to war over this. He continued to tell us about how he'd been drafted during the Vietnam war and considered chopping off his trigger finger with the school's industrial sickle but did not, as it was his "nose picking finger".
In Economic's class, we were still getting as much information as we could as to how many planes, how many locations, how many people have died, how the towers fell and no one thought they would, how we saw the second plane crash into the building earlier on TV. One of the girls from an earlier period was frantically trying to get a hold of her mother, who worked in Downtown Los Angeles and had a fight with in the morning. It made us a bit more aware of our blessings. Also, at this point, we were still unsure if any planes were headed to LA, San Diego, or any other part of the states for that matter.
I am fascinated with natural disasters, environmental disasters, freak accidents, anomalies of that nature. Seeing this at first, I didn't understand how big it was. A year later in class we watched a documentary about a crew following New York firefighters. As they were checking a gas leak, the crew got the very first plane crashing into the first tower. From there it lead us through the entering of the building were the crew described people on fire as "big, burnt cows" cos of their bodies expanding from the severity of their burns. They shot video of then-Mayor Giuliani running around the site and getting information. The fire fighters had a priest with them, helping give last rites to the dying and praying. (Mychal Judge, who is a fascinating character, please take time to read about him.) We saw the moment were rubble hit his head and he was dead, just like that. As I was watching this documentary, I felt sick to my stomach that all this had occurred.
I am still very much interested in this attack, how and why it happened, what it's meant to so many people, how so much has changed, how so many children were left without parents and how many are still feeling this event as if it were the day it happened. This has been a major point in history that has changed a lot of things and a lot of people, and American life as we knew it. We will never forget, but hopefully time will help us change to the brighter future of those who are still here that we hold dear.