9-11-01

Where were you?

I still remember exactly where I was.

I was still selling cars at the time, and was walking upstairs from our daily salesmeeting. A couple of ladies from the office were standing in front of the television in the showroom.

They said a plane had hit the World Trade Center, and at that exact moment, I turned towards the TV, and saw the second plane hit.

For most of that entire day, no one could move. Hell, even the owner of the dealership was sitting down with us. Nobody gave a damn about selling a car that day.

My wife called me, and was pretty shaken up, so I went home to be with her for a bit. First song I hear when I get back in the car was a choked-up DJ introducing "Born In The USA".

 

i was sitting in my front room hoping george bush could find an excuse to become dictator of the united states.

 

I was out of the business at the time and managing a bowling center. That Tuesday was my first day off in 12 because of getting the fall leagues on the floor. I don't know why, but I woke up earlier than expected and it was shortly after everything had happened. My roomie told me to get up and come see what was on TV... I don't think I quit watching all day, except to go into work because my staff wanted me there (mostly so they could go home).

 

just starting a very short career as a high school journalism teacher and all that most of the kids were interested in was would they get to get out of school for the day.

 

Asleep for the first one, on the phone with my brother for the second one watching it hit the tower. I remember saying it had to be a replay...

 

Driving to work when I first heard about it. Only one school canceled anything. Gas was up from $1.20 to nearly $2 (doesn't that sound nice now?) by the time I was driving to cover the soccer game that they decided to go ahead and play. When I was driving back, the gas panic had subsided and it was back down to $1.50. One of the stations (and only one) was nailed for price gouging and fined so much, it had to close down.

 

We were in our first period government class our senior year of high school when the assistant principal came over the intercom and said something about the WTC getting bombed.

Then we went to our second period AP calculus class, had a substitute - Mrs. McAllister - and watched CNN the entire period. We were watching it live when the second plane hit the tower.

The next few days we saw a lot of military planes flying over our small town because Barksdale air force base is only about 45 minutes away. Pretty freaky times. Thought our football game that Friday night might get cancelled, but it didn't. That was one of our biggest fears of the week.

 

I was helping my mother-in-law take my grandma to surgery. I was on the porch waiting for them to get ready. I'll never forget my MIL coming out and telling me, "I was watching the news story about a plane that had hit one of the twin towers in New York. And while I was watching another plane hit the other building." "Mama, seriously, there is no way that happened. Come on, we've got to get Grandma to the hospital." I really did think my MIL had spiked her coffee that morning. Then my cell phone rings and hubby is calling telling me to get to a television.

My grandma ended up having to have her leg amputated during the surgery (something none of us saw coming at all) so it was quite a trying time. I spent the next two weeks getting my news about what had happened off the televisions in the ICU waiting room.

I'll never forget my grandma bitching to no end about "the damned doctors paying attention to the television and not paying attention to me as I begin my surgery." She never did leave the drug-induced state they put her in after her amputation and I truly believe she left this life (she did not survive the surgery and passed away two weeks later) not really knowing what happened to her country.

 

I was sleeping.

My brother called me and told me to turn on the TV (this is after the second plane hit). When I saw what was happening, I flipped out and started talking a lot of nonsense. I went to work shortly thereafter.

Lots of weird shit happened at work, but I've forgotten a lot of it (or don't want to remember). I do remember driving home that night and seeing some fighter jets buzz real close to the country road I was on.

 

I was in bed, asleep, ahead of my second day of call-center training. Not much got done when we got into work at 1 p.m.

I ended up taking calls and donations later that week during the NYC concert, and convicing one caller I was Hugh Grant.

 

Living in DC. Had graduated from college that summer. Working as a "research coordinator" for a political think tank. Watched the first plane hit the World Trade Center in my apartment in Foggy Bottom. Heard about the second plane in the cab ride to my job on The Hill. Had the cab driver turn around-knew this was as bad as it got. Bought a pack of cigarettes and orange juice from the convenience store around the corner. Watched the coverage. Went up to the roof of my apartment building when the Pentagon was on fire and watched the smoke drift across the city. Will never forget.

 

I remember what was really eerie over the next week. No planes. Not with the transportation gridlock aspect, but the sound and sight of empty skies...