So, it was 7 years ago and I think most of us can still say absolutely that they remember where they were and what they were doing when the towers were hit.
I know I do.
I was the first one up in the morning in my apartment. I liked to get my shower in before my roomates used up all the hot water. I liked to sing in the shower so I bought myself a shower radio. That morning there was something different though. No music. I flipped it to my favorite channel and found talking instead. "Oh well" I thought and hopped in. It didn't take long before I realized what they were talking about. Something about New York? A bomb? My thoughts went immediately to Oklahoma City. Then they clarified. It was a plane! A passenger plane? So many people. I hurried out of the shower and to my room where I flipped on my tiny television set. I was still convinced that it was a misunderstanding, it couldn't have actually happened. Moments later I was storming through the apartment trying to wake up my roomates. They didn't believe me. Not till they all found themselves huddled around the same television, watching the smoke billow out of the tower. I was still staring at it in shock when the live footage showed a 2nd plane come into the shot and disappear into the 2nd building. I think my heart stopped. I had thought the first one was an accident, a terrible accident. But a 2nd? All of a sudden it was an entirely different situation.
I still had to go to class but most of the classes were spent glued to the TV screens of the various rooms. During a break between classes I paused as I walked by the lounge near the cafeteria. There were probably 30 or more students gathered around a big screen, they were all silent. All seeming to be hypnotized by the smoke and flames. Occasionally something would fall from the area near the blaze. I tried not to think about what, or who, that might be. I tried not to think what might be going through the peoples minds who were trapped. I still kept trying to convince myself that it wasn't really happening. Then, a tower fell. It just fell. It seemed like it was in slow motion. There were two, then one. I got weak in the knees. Shock. I was sick. I had watched it happen. The rest of the day blurred. The other tower fell at some point, but I was still so in shock I harldly registered. I remember being surprised at how smooth they were. How they seemed to just shrink into the ground. The New York skyline would never be the same. People's lives would never be the same.
We lived near a nuclear plant so things in town pretty much shut down. People were afraid that if we were under attack, they might go after a nuclear plant next. Students who were part of the military seemed to just disapear as they raced to be of some aid. Walmart ran out of water jugs. The grocery store ran out of flour as people prepared for the worst. I felt like I glided through the day. Like, I don't remember actually walking to my classes. I felt like someone else was moving me. Like some sort of out of body experience. And I just kept thinking.... the people. Poor people, how frightened had they been. How brave of those who tried to help.
My husband had a different experience. When he found nothing but voices on the radio he turned it off. He spent most of the day in the library and didn't ever pass the TV lounge so he didn't see that large group students standing like zomies as they watched. He didn't know what had happened until after 5:00 that evening. He had no idea. He had gone about his day as though everything was just fine. He still had to take a moment to gather himself when he finally did hear the news.
It's interesting to think that people eveywere were doing the same thing. Maybe we weren't all doing it at the same time, but I'm sure most anyone who heard stopped what they were doing and took a moment. A real moment to do.... whatever it is they needed to do. Pray, think, cry...
Thank you to those who have served. Thank you to those who sacrified. My prayers go to those who have lost. God Bless America!!!
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