Seven years ago today I had decided to skip my Political Science 201 class and sleep in for the morning. I was a junior in college, and I needed my beauty sleep, or at least as much beauty sleep as you could get in a loud sorority dorm. It was a few minutes before 8 a.m. when my neighbor, Kelly Logan, knocked first then walked right in.
“A plane just hit the World Trade Center,” she said. Well, at the time, a terrorist attack was the furthest thing from everyone’s mind. I just thought it was an accident – a horrible accident, of course, but still an accident. I groggily crawled out of bed and walked next door to her room to see what The Today Show was saying about the crash. About 10 minutes later, we watched in horror as a second plane hit the towers. We knew then it was more than an accident.
I decided I would throw some clothes on and head to class to see what everyone was saying about this. We were in class for about five minutes discussing what had just happened when we got word that classes had been cancelled for the day. This was serious. No one really knew what was happening next. Was the world ending? Was there going to be a nuclear bomb? It was terrifying.
I remember not being able to pull myself away from the TV as the continuous coverage of the rescue attempts at Ground Zero played on. I would just sit on my bed and cry. It wasn’t like I had anyone close to me directly affected by it, but I think it was just the overall empathy I felt as an American. Things would never be the same again.
Several years later I was working at the newspaper and I interviewed someone who was living in NYC during 9/11. She said for a few days following the attack, the traditionally cold nature of native New Yorkers disappeared. She said strangers passed each other on the sidewalks and actually made eye contact. Everyone had experienced the same emotions. Everyone felt vulnerable.
I took the photo of Ground Zero above when Derek and I spent a week in New York in 2005. Almost four years after the attacks, it was still so somber. St. Paul’s Chapel across from the twin towers had been turned into a memorial for 9/11. You could see where the firefighters had scratched all the pews with their equipment as they sought refuge there for a few hours of rest during the rescue efforts. There were photos, cards and letters on display in memory of those who lost their lives that day. It was impossible not to feel a surge of raw emotions as you just took it all in.
As I mentioned in my Hurricane Katrina blog a few weeks ago, there are very few vivid memories we all have of where we were when history was made. This was a biggie. Whether you were 20 years old or 80, you’ll never forget it. I’ll end with a quote that I read this morning from NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
"Today marks the seventh anniversary of the day our world was broken. It lives forever in our hearts and our history, a tragedy that unites us in a common memory and a common story ... the day that began like any other and ended as none ever has."
Ain’t that the truth.
“A plane just hit the World Trade Center,” she said. Well, at the time, a terrorist attack was the furthest thing from everyone’s mind. I just thought it was an accident – a horrible accident, of course, but still an accident. I groggily crawled out of bed and walked next door to her room to see what The Today Show was saying about the crash. About 10 minutes later, we watched in horror as a second plane hit the towers. We knew then it was more than an accident.
I decided I would throw some clothes on and head to class to see what everyone was saying about this. We were in class for about five minutes discussing what had just happened when we got word that classes had been cancelled for the day. This was serious. No one really knew what was happening next. Was the world ending? Was there going to be a nuclear bomb? It was terrifying.
I remember not being able to pull myself away from the TV as the continuous coverage of the rescue attempts at Ground Zero played on. I would just sit on my bed and cry. It wasn’t like I had anyone close to me directly affected by it, but I think it was just the overall empathy I felt as an American. Things would never be the same again.
Several years later I was working at the newspaper and I interviewed someone who was living in NYC during 9/11. She said for a few days following the attack, the traditionally cold nature of native New Yorkers disappeared. She said strangers passed each other on the sidewalks and actually made eye contact. Everyone had experienced the same emotions. Everyone felt vulnerable.
I took the photo of Ground Zero above when Derek and I spent a week in New York in 2005. Almost four years after the attacks, it was still so somber. St. Paul’s Chapel across from the twin towers had been turned into a memorial for 9/11. You could see where the firefighters had scratched all the pews with their equipment as they sought refuge there for a few hours of rest during the rescue efforts. There were photos, cards and letters on display in memory of those who lost their lives that day. It was impossible not to feel a surge of raw emotions as you just took it all in.
As I mentioned in my Hurricane Katrina blog a few weeks ago, there are very few vivid memories we all have of where we were when history was made. This was a biggie. Whether you were 20 years old or 80, you’ll never forget it. I’ll end with a quote that I read this morning from NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
"Today marks the seventh anniversary of the day our world was broken. It lives forever in our hearts and our history, a tragedy that unites us in a common memory and a common story ... the day that began like any other and ended as none ever has."
Ain’t that the truth.
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