9 11 01
I remember that morning. I was 6 months pregnant. Our family had just flown back the week before from a family reunion at the Rockin R Ranch in Antimony, Utah. That particular morning I was excited to go to a birthday brunch at a friend's home with lots of other friends and their kids. We lived in Franklin, MA... a suburb of Boston.
I was busy getting 3 little kids and myself ready to go. I was bringing a dish to share. If the TV was on that morning it was playing a Disney Video or was on PBS. I remember John calling from work... "A plane flew into the World Trade Center!" We thought it was pilot error. I remember picturing a small plane......
When the 2nd plane hit we knew this was no accident.On the drive to my friend's house I had the news playing on the radio. The reporter was interviewing a woman on the ground near the Twin Towers. Suddenly there was a loud noise and yelling and crying... and screaming.... The interviewer started yelling "They're coming down!! They're coming down!!" I remember almost pulling over... I was completely overcome with emotion and fear. How could this be happening!! All of those people...
I pulled up to my friend's house moments later.... it was 10am. When my friend answered the door she was visibly shaken. I just looked at her and said "The towers came down... they came down!!" I was struggling to keep my tears in. She didn't know. My friends were all circled around the TV but it must not have been live. At first they didn't believe me but I knew what I heard. The South Tower had fallen.
The rest of the day is a blur. We all gathered around the TV trying to decipher what it all meant. We watched as the North tower crumbled.
We each frantically called our husbands... all of whom worked in Boston. Maybe our city was next. Both of the planes that crashed into the towers had originated from Boston... from OUR airport. The airport MY husband flew in and out of multiple times a month. It could have been his plane.
I was lucky....I did not lose a loved one that day. But I do remember how vividly it changed my life. I no longer felt SAFE. My country, my home was a TARGET.
I, for one, never want to forget September 11th 2001. I never want to forget the lives lost, the sacrifices made. A time when the country stood united against a common enemy.
WE were all AMERICANS... nothing more, nothing less.
3 comments:
Thank you for the beautiful tribute. It was a tough day yesterday for me too! My best friend lives in NY and was just blocks away when it all happened, her boyfriend, a firefighter was luckily not on duty that morning but he lost many of his friends. I was in Charlotte with Caleb and pregnant and Tom was actually scheduled to fly out that morning to meet us. I saw the second plane hit the tower on live TV and saw the towers fall down, it made me want to throw up. Getting a hold of my friend took way to long. I will never forget and I hope my children learn from what happened to us that day.
Cheri, great post. I'm so glad you thought to post your feelings and memories of that day. We lived in Southern Oregon at the time. We didn't hear about it at first either (like you PBS, probably Sesame Street). John's sister called to tell us before John left for work. We couldn't believe it. It was the strangest feeling to feel vulnerable and scared for the first time in my safe country. I remember in the following days and weeks after 9-11 feeling buoyed up by togetherness of our fellow Americans... I will never forget how everyone came together and you could tangibly feel the love and support we had for one another. I wish that feeling could've lasted forever.
I totally agree-those images always give me chills. My brother lived right outside NYC-so scary.
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