September 11, 2007
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Where were you?
When I was looking at past challenges, the Kween had “A moment in time” as one. I thought about choosing that one, and knew the perfect moment to write about. It wasn’t a happy moment, it wasn’t a peaceful moment. It was an eerie moment. Since today is Patriot Day and the Anniversary of that moment, I’ll share it now.
Like my mother’s generation all knew where they were and what they were doing when they found out JFK had been shot, my generation, and my daughters, have the same knowledge of where they were when the attacks happened on 9 / 11. Since we were on the West coast at that time, I was sleeping when the first plane hit. Hubby was up, doing his early morning workout before starting his day. He woke me up after the second plane hit telling me they were sure there was some sort of attack going on. I was dumbfounded as we watched the events unfold on TV. The collapsing of the first tower, the plane hitting the Pentagon, the plane crashing in the fields, and the collapsing of the second tower.The horror of it was too big. By that time the girls were up and I had them get ready for school, although I had the feeling it would be canceled, and wasn’t sure I would let them out of my sight anyway. We lived on an Air Force Base at the time, and I was concerned about our safety, but at the same time so glad we were protected there. Hubby was called into work as soon as the second plane crashed. When he left I went outside, just out of a need to check that everything was still the same.
It wasn’t. This is the moment I will remember forever. Our base street was usually busy, busy, busy with neighborhood activity. Barking dogs, walking ladies, kids on bikes going to school, sprinklers going, people leaving for work. Not that day. I went outside and it was like I was completely alone in the world. No sounds, no cars, no kids, no dogs – even the birds were quite in the trees. No wind. No movement of any kind. The houses could have been empty. It was completely and utterly silent and still. Like the world itself was still in shock. I knew, in that eerie silent moment, that my world, the whole world, would never be the same again.
Later that morning I found out school was indeed canceled and base was locked down. NO ONE went in or out. Active duty personnel were let in at the gate if someone from their unit who was on base came and verified them and escorted them. No one else came in. The next day the gates opened, but every person was checked thoroughly, every vehicle examined. The wait to get on base was sometimes up to 3 hours. Armed security forces patrolled the perimeters on quads. Gate guards had their M16s at all times. It was a frightening time, but I felt safe and grateful. Watching the rescue efforts and crying for the losses everyday and knowing that my family and I were safe, for the moment, made me grateful.
Every year I look back and think of that day, and that moment. I mourn for those who lost everything and for those who had unspeakable losses. I mourn for all the losses that have followed. Today I take time to remember all those who lost their lives that day. The heros and the everyday people who were just going about their day to day lives. May they and their families find peace.
So there is my moment in time.
Where we you on 911?
Where Were You
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Comments (12)
I was just getting ready to go out and get groceries and I had the tv on. I saw the second plane hit and I was in shock. I stll made my way to the store, listening to the radio and talking to people in the store. Everyone was in shock, it just didn’t seem like it could actually be happening. My hubby and I were glued to the tv for the rest of the week.
i was at work. putting out movies. cause it happened on a tuesday. kind of like what i was doing today actually. nothing much has really changed except i was petrified and wanted to be at home with my family. now i am at home on lunch (did that that day as well) with no one cause everyone just left me to go to work too. and now my brother lives with us when then he was on a ship going god knew where because he was in the navy.
honestly? I was on the toilet.
D was getting ready for work and I had to pee.
I remember shortly after 9/11 I had to drop my son off with his dad at Camp Shelby. It was still on lockdown. I remember driving up to the gate and how weird it was. Usually, you just drove up and said hey at the gate. Now they had all these huge barricades in the way where you had to zig zag to get up to the gate instead of driving right up to it. It drove it home how dangerous the times had become.
I remember going to the naval base and being greeted with six rifles pointed at the car and two young kids in the car. I had to go for an event and they even searched the car. No fun at all but understandable.
RYC Thanks it was no fun at all.
Yep I painted all the ceramics by hand. When I finish all my projects I do decorate my home very elaborately. I love the holidays. I just wish my house was finished enough to show you all the stuff I do.
I was teaching a class. I heard some of the students say something about a plane when they came in, but I didn’t pay any attention. Almost at the end of the class, my boss at the time came into the classroom via the back door and stood there. I wondered what was up, but finished my presentation. When I did he said, I just wanted to let y’all know what has happened while you were in class…and he told us. The Tower had just come down and the news of the Pentagon hit was new too. I immediately went to CNN to see what was happening…Nothing there. It was bizarre the way the Internet news failed us that day. There was a TV on in a back area of the Library and we watched grainy black and white images, desperate for information. Watching those pictures I just knew thousands and thousands were killed. It was a miracle there were not 10,000 deaths that day.
I remember where I was when I heard JFK had been killed. I was a child and didn’t understand. I was an adult on 9/11 and I still didn’t understand…it is just too much.
I was alseep, dh woke me up after the first plane hit the tower, like you I’ll never forget the silence that followed that day.
I was in the car on my way to work. It was a Tuesday, just like today, so it was supposed to be my busy day. I had almost reached Target, when I happened to catch something unbelievable on the radio. I jumped out and watched with unbelieving horror the scene played out on all the TVs against the back wall. Several other employees stood there, too, and as we watched the second tower was hit. The store was emptied of people except for the employees, who continued to watch the TV whenever they could. That’s all anyone could talk about, when they talked at all. The anguish of loss was in everyone’s face, that day and for many days to come, and people were gentle to each other.
I was working in Southern New York at the time, I remember driving to work with the radio a bit low but admiring what a beautiful morning it was. I was on the corner of Airmont Rd and Route 59 waiting to make a left when I heard screams out of the radio, I turned up the volume and the radio station I was listening to had front row seats to everything that was going on. I raced the last mile to work and ran in to see that no one had any idea what was going on and I had to be the bearer of bad news. Sherry, the receptionist immediately started crying and all we could do was listen to the radio while the IT guys hopelessly tried to get a feed over the internet. Our boss made us go back to work because he said there was nothing we could do so no point in dwelling over it. I don’t think he understood the scope of the tragedy. He made us work the entire day, the other offices in the park went home. I left work promptly at 5, it felt…incredibly silent when I finally gathered the courage to walk out the front door. For the first and only time in my life did I see Interstate 87/287 completely empty except for me and another car driving close together as to not be alone even on the road at a time like this, since all traffic that usually comes down from NYC had ceased that day. I remember getting home and just huddling in front of the T.V. with my mom and my sister.
RYC: I took my father and his wife to see Ground Zero on 2005, I waited outside. I felt this pressure in my chest that I just couldn’t go through with it. We took the path train that comes out from under where the buildings stood and it was…claustrophobic. They were in Puerto Rico at the time but my father worked close by before he moved and I could just see how hard it was to finally see how it all changed. We chose a different way to get back home. I couldn’t go back under there to take the path train back.
I remember my mom calling me from florida and telling me to turn on the tv that a plane had hit the building.i was like what?I was just stunned.At first i thought it was a accident but then when the second one hit it was just as terrible and all i remember is my mom and i on the phone just gasping at the horror on tv.I then hung up the phone to call Ken they didnt have a tv or radio in there office. He rushed home to watch it on tv. And you are right our world will never be the same.
I live in California, so I had just got up…hadn’t even turned on the t.v. yet, when my mother-in-law called me and told me to turn on the t.v. It was insane, I remember being so transfixed to the news that day, and bawling my head off. I had just started back to college and I had a class that night (they didn’t cancel, to which I was amazed), it was a Political Science class and the teacher was former CIA, so that was definitely an interesting discussion.
I was busy cleaning house. Kids were at school and hubby already at work.
He called telling me to turn on the news.