I remember the morning vividly. It was just another Tuesday morning, or so I thought. I had a jam-packed ‘To Do’ list of things to accomplish at church that day. As I got ready, I flipped on the television in my bedroom to catch a few headlines before racing off. What I saw instead was horrifying; a live national nightmare. Both of the tallest towers of the World Trade Center complex were ripped open with the unmistakable black smoke of burning jet fuel billowing above them, dissipating in the wind. Stunned, I remember reaching for my cell phone and calling my secretary at the church office and saying, “Gena, lock-up the church and go home. The world just changed.”
Since that horrible day, Michelle and I have visited the WTC site twice. ‘Surreal’ is the only word I can find to describe our time there. During our second visit we took our children. Interesting enough, as buildings and fields burned in New York, Washington D.C. and Pennsylvania, our youngest Lily was coming into the world.
Just a year before the attack, Michelle and a girlfriend had visited a childhood friend who worked as a broker for Cantor Fitzgerald at the very top of Tower 1. By fate, he relocated with another company to another city in the interim. Through sobs he shared with Michelle on the phone that evening, “They’re all gone. Everybody I worked with and introduced you to – gone.”
Where were you?
2 comments:
i was driving into work and one of our guys called and said "turn on the radio....we're under attack". hours of tv and radio....i remember watching live news as the first tower burned when the 2nd plane hit. life changing. i saved this in my calendar. i read it every year. it's what all the new stations were saying that day.
Commercial planes were hijacked and flown into the world trade center, pentagon, and missed Camp David. Both world trade center buildings collapsed. First day estimate of 50,000 dead. FAA grounds all flights in U.S. for two days. All Federal & State building closed for the day for security.
John and I were on vacation in Yosemite. I remember standing in the trailer flipping our breakfast eggs when our neighbor came and told us the news. At first it was disbelief, we had to see for ourselves. Then is was just complete sadness....then anger.
I remember wanting to talk to my mom and dad. All of the phone lines were just on fire with calls....so we were not able to reach anyone until several hours later. Fast forward to today, thinking of 9/11 still brings me nothing but chills and sadness.
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