It's crazy that seven years have gone by since that horrible morning none of us will ever forget. Lucy will only see images of the people running covered in dust and never get to gaze at the twin towers on her first trip to NYC. I was working at Ketchum's DC offices, blocks from the White House. We all thought the first plane going in was a fluke, but when the second hit, there was no denying something awful was happening. I was back at my desk, when an IM popped in from Judi saying a plane hit the Pentagon, and my roommate Meghan and I ran out of our office and scurried back to the "safety" of our Glover Park apartment. People wandered around the neighborhood aimlessly, walking their dogs, talking to people we passed on the street the day before without a word, staring at the TV. No one quite knew what to do. The next morning, I was terrified to get on the bus. Who knew if there was a suicide bomber sitting next to me? It was eerily silent as people hid behind their Posts and listened to their Ipods, maybe hoping it was all a bad dream. I got off in downtown DC to the sight of a tank and military guys with machine guns. Was this America or some foreign country? All anyone could do for the next few days/weeks was check in with friends from near and far to ensure them you were ok, and to find out if they were. Jud was one of the people I called after 9-11 and it was the most important call I made! We celebrated our 3rd anniversary yesterday and it was low-key....we are looking to a fun weekend Lucy-free in NY and then off to Newport, RI next week. Comment on where you were on 9-11 and what you remember. I'm going to print this page for the one day when Lucy's ready to learn about history from those who lived through it. God bless America!!
6 comments:
I was a senior in college at JMU and was in English class when the events started unfolding. We were dismissed from class and walked outside to find everyone on their cell phones calling friends and family. As horrific as the events were, my roomates and I spent many hours sadly watching news coverage showing the plane hit the towers, and the people running down the smoke filled streets of NYC.
I was in my office in downtown Philly. It was my first grown up job after college at ClearChannel and I remember I was checking my email and probably procrastinating work. I remember getting an email from my dad about the first tower and, like you, thinking it was just a fluke. The entire office gathered in front of a TV someone happened to have. When the second plane hit everyone cleared out. I remember going home on the train that day and it was packed -- people were sitting on each other's laps and standing in the aisles desperate to get out of the city. The entire train ride was eery as people tried to make cell calls that didn't go through, stared blankly into space, or cried.
You mention calling Jud after 9/11, which reminded me of how I called Grey after losing touch. We reconnected after that and the rest is history.
I was working at the ABC affiliate in Harrisburg producing the morning news. We finished the 5-7am show and were waiting for the local cut-ins during GMA. I watched as Diane and Charlie tried to make sense of the insensible. I don't remember what I did at work for the next few days when there were no local newscasts. The months that followed were difficult as we mostly covered funerals, newly released 911 calls, etc. I lasted another year but ultimately left to teach innocent, smiling 5-year-olds ;)
I was a Junior in college at UMW in Fredericksburg. I was in my PJ's, talking to my best friend on the phone, eating oatmeal, when I wandered back into my dorm room. My roommate Kate had the TV on and told me a plane hit the towers while I was still talking on the phone. I didn't think about it much. I hung up, changed clothes, and went to class, only to find out what was really going on later.
My aunt was in the building and watched people trapped on other floors jump out. She was able to get down from the 12th floor through the stair wells and she won't talk about it much anymore. I lost my friend's father who was an NJ police officer. My Mom said you could see the smoke across the water from NJ.
Makes you thankful for every single day.
i was in college studying for a nursing exam with a couple of other girls in a study room. someone came in and told us a plane hit the world trade center. we were like huh, and continued on stressing about our test. not until after we walked out of our exam and saw everyone crowded around tvs did we understand what was going on. we went home and watched the news coverage and called everyone we loved. i remember being astounded by how many people i went to school with had family members directly affected by the events of 9-11.
We were in Hilton Head with Bryan's parents. Zach and Hannah were 7 and 4. It was the first time that they watched SpongeBob because we only had PBS at home. All of the grownups wanted to watch the TV coverage so we kept sending the kids back into the bedroom to watch MORE TV. They thought they were in Heaven! I remember being out on the beach and it was so weird because I felt so removed from what was going on, very eery. I flew back to Chicago with the kids on the first day that they opening up the airports again and that was very weird too. Everyone was very on edge. When we got back to Chicago and drove home to Oak Park, almost every house had an American flag flying. It made me very proud to be an American.
Post a Comment