I was at work that morning. Working as an assistant manager in one of the busiest stores of a major retailer. I went up to the manager's office. The moment in time that is frozen in my mind is the manager on his Blackberry. I can see it very clearly. Where everyone was standing, what pose everyone was in. He told me that a plane crashed into a building in New York.
I imagined it as a small Cessna hitting a skyscraper and I thought, "Well, that's stupid". It never entered my mind of what was actually happening. Within five minutes of hearing that first bit of news my phone rang. It was Cari. She was at home watching the events on TV. Now a second plane crashed. I believe that's when I realized what was actually starting to happen. It was insane.
In the store, everyone was getting calls from home and customers were starting to hear what was happening. We didn't have a television in the store, so we were getting reports over the phone and from customers. Everyone was whispering across the store the reports that they had heard.
The store started to empty out as time ticked on. People were going home to get the news.
After a few hours, an employee that was scheduled later in the day came in. He brought a small TV and a VCR. He had recorded the news all morning and wanted to give us a chance to see for ourselves. That was my first view of the planes and the burning buildings.
We went back out to the sales floor and there wasn't a customer in the store. I looked outside to the empty parking lot and the busy highway in front of our store. The highway was empty. It was a ghost town.
I remember driving home on empty roads, but I don't remember if I left work early or not that day. We spent the rest of the evening watching the news at home.
It wasn't long after September 11 that I picked up the Bible that had been sitting in lost and found and started reading it.
Not many events get etched into memory like that day. This is one that all Americans share as a common memory and it's interesting to hear how we all lived those same moments. If you would take five minutes of your time, I'd like to hear your story of that morning. Add your story to the comments.
1 comment:
I haven't really recounted my experience on that day. But your blog post makes me want to share, please indulge me a moment...
I had the much the same initial reaction, then upon seeing what was happening online, I knew this was anything but average. As word of the second plane hit, more people stopped working and started gathering around the one TV our building had in small break room. The room was so crowded, but not a word was spoken. Under any other conditions everyone would have complained how cramped they were. Utter silence and then horror as we watched the towers go down. One woman nearly passed out, her brother, a firefighter, had been recalled from vacation to head to scene. She had no clue if he had arrived yet or if he was in the tower, but it was all too much for her to take in (his crew was unit was held back, not sent to WTC, thankfully - though most of they still don't see that as a good thing).
Shortly before noon I remember the governor sending us home. Everyone was relieved that we were sent home from work, not because we were afraid of being attacked, but everyone wanted to be with their family and friends.
I remember not being able to get in touch with home, cell phones were not reliable, systems were overloaded. It was the most clear drive I've ever had in my 45 minute commute, but it seemed like the longest trip to get home. Time stood still and dragged on. It seemed like that day lasted 3 or 4 days.
Then on 9/12, it was back to work, back to school but so surreal. As colleagues came into work they greeted each other with hugs - typically we don't even shake hands and we were hugging as if at a wake and running into someone we haven't seen in ages. We'd all been through something much bigger than ourselves together.
A place I had been in, had fond memories of, was attacked, destroyed even. Someone, just like me, was there exploring, having an amazing time with a friend or their family and probably never got to get back home. So unfair. That made it all that much more personal for me.
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