Where Were You...

September 11, 2001
Where were you that dreadful day? It's the same question that everyone asks about when JFK was shot, when the Challenger exploded and now when the World Trade Center was hit. It's crazy to be a part of such history. This was the day that literally changed the world and life as we knew it. It's hard to say that my life in particular has changed all that much as a result of this day, but the world around me that indeed has an effect on my life certianly has changed.

Where was I? In bed actually. Eric and I had been married for one month. I was still in nursing school and this was one of my late days for class, so I was in bed asleep. Eric got up and went to work as usual. On his way to work he was listening to NPR and heard that a bomb had hit the World Trade Center in New York. He called me as soon as he got to work and I jumped out of bed and was glued to the TV the rest of the morning with the phone in one hand giving Eric updates.

What I remember about that day... first of all, there's an eerie feeling for Eric and I cause just one month prior we had flown into Logan airport in Boston for our honeymoon, the same airport that the terrorist hijacked planes from. Something about the proximity of time makes us count our blessings. Other things I remember are how unsure everyone was about what was going on. Was it a bomb? Was it a plane? Was it 2 planes? Are there more? It just felt like everything was falling apart! I remember watching Fox News all day and seeing the second tower fall... live, in real time. The journalist reporting live did not know what hit him. He and everyone else just ran as the smoke rose up behind them. Being that I was working toward becoming a nurse, I took a particular interest in the healthcare scene so I remember hearing that the hospitals were gearing up for thousands of injuries and fatalities. As I recall there were far fewer injuries and many more deaths than anyone could anticipate.

Watching the commemoration today causes one to think about that day for sure. I loved hearing what Bill Krystal (Fox News) said when he talked about how those on Flight 93 that crashed in PA were the ones who epitomize the resolve of America to defeat terrorism. USA!!!

Other things I remember:
- Meeting Eric at the church we were married in for a prayer service on his lunch hour.
- Toby Keith's "Angry American" song
- "Let's Roll"- the words from a passenger leading the effort on flight 93 to take the plane back
- The repeated footage on every news station. One would have thought we got attacked a million more times than we did.
- All planes grounded. Would every major city in American be attacked this very day?
- Who is Osama Bin Laden? What is the Taliban?
- Proud to be an American and proud to be a Bush supporter... and I still am!!!