Where We Were - September 11, 2001

This morning the news was showing footage from September 11, 2001.  I (Julie) saw again footage of the planes flying into the World Trade Center and the towers collapsing, the explosion at the Pentagon, and the plane crash in Pennsylvania.  They then cut to today's memorial.  Every year, the family members of the victims gather and read aloud the names of everyone lost in the attacks.  Even today, 16 years after the event, the reading of the names is emotional and poignant.

I asked everyone working today to write a brief paragraph about where they were when they heard about the attacks. (Lisa is out of town, so her story is not included.)

Julie:  I was a 21 year old newlywed, living in Commerce.  I had gone to the laundromat to do laundry and as I was getting out of my car, someone else was sitting in their car listening to the radio and I heard bits and pieces of what was happening.  After I started my laundry, I too sat in my car and listened to the reports.  Later, watching the coverage on TV, I felt great grief for the families of the victims and for our country.  It felt like the world was shifting around me.  I knew that the United States would never be the same.

Christian:  When I heard the news, I was on my way home from work, planning to change clothes and go to class.  As I was flipping through radio stations, I heard the news about the 1st plane.  I was floored.  When I got home, I told my parents what happened, and we immediately turned on the television.  At that point the 2nd plane had crashed into the Twin Towers.  I remember feeling shock, confusion, and overwhelming sadness.

Chance:  I was in intermediate school.  I remember that the bell rang for class to start, but the teacher wasn't in the classroom.  All the teachers were in the hallway murmuring about something.  Everyone in the classroom started to murmur too.  After a little bit, our teacher came into the classroom, and we could all sense that something was wrong.  What had we done?  Our teacher then said, "You probably don't know what this means, but the World Trade Center has been attacked."  She was right, I had no idea what that meant.  It didn't take too long after that when everyone's parents started coming to the school to pick us up early.  The news was on when I got home, and I got to see just exactly what was going on.  I was confused, and terrified, and I learned what a terrorist was that day.