9/11: Where were you?
I was substitute teaching high school, but I got called off that day at the last second. That's the only reason why I was both home and wide awake. I watched the whole thing live as it happened on the Today show. Everyone else was at work, and I remember feeling so isolated, that I had no one to call and say, "Are you seeing this?!" We were planning our wedding, and one of our groomsmen lived & worked in Manhattan along w/ several other college buds - we were so anxious until we heard from them. I was glued to the TV from that morning through the next two weeks, nonstop. I craved information; I remember not ever wanting to turn it off, in case I missed the next development. My friend, Julie, & I actually took JB & her husband to a candlelight vigil in a school park the next night. I don't remember any details, but we all felt numb and like it was all we could do...
9/11 made me feel even more strongly that it is imperative to *WANT* to be an informed world citizen. Living in your own little life bubble in this information age seems like such an ignorant waste. How are we supposed to be good stewards of the world that God has given us, if we don't care what's going on in it? 9/11 is the defining "shared experience" moment of my generation. My sociology student/connection-obsessed-self so values hearing everyone's stories & experiences: where were you?
9/11 made me feel even more strongly that it is imperative to *WANT* to be an informed world citizen. Living in your own little life bubble in this information age seems like such an ignorant waste. How are we supposed to be good stewards of the world that God has given us, if we don't care what's going on in it? 9/11 is the defining "shared experience" moment of my generation. My sociology student/connection-obsessed-self so values hearing everyone's stories & experiences: where were you?
at work. it was kenny's second day at his new job in the same building where i worked, and he was stuck in a meeting. finally at 9:45 i barged into his meeting with his brand new boss and burst into tears telling them everything. the building closed down for the day, we hitched a ride as all the buses were shut down (because of the plane that crashed about 45 minutes outside of pittsburgh) and we were glued to the tv the rest of the day. i remember dreaming that night that soldiers poured into our streets the next day and i woke feeling the country was a different place.
ReplyDeleteI was in the middle of my afternoon with a group from the states working with street youth and I got a call from the leader saying get everyone back here now... something has happened. So with no further explanation I put the youth in taxis then I headed home to turn on the news.... I got there a few minutes before the second airplane hit the tower.
ReplyDeleteI remember being shocked, but feeling in some way that it was a dream, not really happening. And I don't connect like other people do to the day. That happens when you are not among the emotion that is taking place... I "remember" but to me it's just another event. I know that sounds bad, but if you have ever heard of major events happening in other countries I am sure you can understand how I feel. To you they don't mean as much because you don't "get" it.
I remember being at work. I also remember the fear of the unknown and Mike's building being on a sort of "lock down" because he worked at a State office in downtown Raleigh. I was afraid. I also remember watching the news over the next few days and weeks and really thinking about having children. We were living through something that my future kids would only read about in history books.
ReplyDeletei was heading to an in his steps ministry event and when i arrived, the director of IHS told me what had happened and sent us all home. i didn't go home, i went straight to my sisters and called her - she worked at the jimmy carter museum and library, and they were on lock down. she came home as soon as she could. the memory of that day is hazy, but i felt like it must all be a prank - it just couldn't be true. i finally saw the footage that night at a study session for an exam scheduled the next day. i remember sitting there stunned - watching them replay it over and over again. i didn't want to believe it was real.
ReplyDeletei remember thinking that this country doesn't know what it feels like to be threatened on its own soil - I DON'T KNOW WHAT ITS LIKE, nor do i want to. i remember fearing that only having a cell phone would be a problem - that it could be one of the first things to go and then i'd have no way of contacting my parents.
i remember wondering if world war 3 was beginning...
i will always remember and will never forget.
I was in grad school, in my second class of the morning. My prof said, "An airplane flew into one of the world trade center towers then a few minutes later another one flew into the other building, but right now we're going to learn E&M." And he started teaching class, so it didn't hit me AT ALL what was going on. After class I got back to the lab and everyone was sitting around listening to the radio and then it sunk in. I called my parents to make sure my brother (lives in Manhattan) was okay. I remember trying to get the latest news on the internet and cnn.com took FOREVER to load because everybody was trying to find out what was going on. We had planned on going to homecoming at Davidson that was either that weekend or the one after and we cancelled our plans because nobody was travelling.
ReplyDeleteThank you all SO MUCH for sharing your stories! What is it about this simple sharing that is so cathartic? I value you, your open hearts, & these stories so much.
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