I was a freshman in college. I always turned on the weather channel to see what to wear etc (because you never know what is going to happen in September in Indiana). I left to go take my shower, and literally, walked back in as the 2nd plane was hitting tower 2. It was surreal, I literally sat down in the middle of the floor and watched. The weather channel also shows flight delays & airport cancellations (at least it used to) and it was showing every major airport being closed. I was like "what kind of weather is closing every airport?" At that moment, my roomate walked in and asked what movie I was watching..I told her I didn't know, as the 1st tower started to fall. I think it was in that moment that we realized, this was live. This was happening here, in America. I remember getting my clothes on, and just sinking on to my bed. And we cried, and we talked, for the next 10 hours. I don't remember leaving the room. I don't remember eating. I do remember talking to my mom, that she wanted me to come home, and I remember telling her "they'll bomb Indy before they bomb Terre Haute." My dad was on emergency alert, preparing to leave for NYC if he had to (he was/is a police officer, and there were rumors that they would need extra in NYC). I don't know that there are words for our feelings that day, and the weeks that followed. There were bomb threats everywhere, everyone was scared, classes were cancelled for 2 days...but everyone was together. It was like seeing what America was made of.
I distinctly remember seeing my grandpa the weekend after it had happened, my mom was taking him to a WWII reunion and we were talking at dinner, and my grandpa said "if I was more able bodied, I'd join the troops, and head overseas." He was 84 years old. My grandpa said he didn't think he'd live to see anything else like what he had seen in WWII. But he knew that America was strong, and we would make it through this. He died 1 month later. I miss him everyday. Would he be proud to see what we've become? I wonder sometimes.
I also have to say, that listening to people's stories, and remembering when this happened, and seeing the news coverage, is a completely different experience now that I'm pregnant. I know I'm over-emotional, but just thinking about having to explain this to my child, when I don't understand it myself, is daunting. And it won't just be this. I fear there will be more terror attacks, in my lifetime, in my child's lifetime. But at the same time, explaining the attacks, means explaining the heros that go after the attackers, and that's a job I'd take any day of the week .
09-11-01: Always Remember, Never Forget
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