Remembering 911

Remembering 911

It really doesn't seem like 8 years have passed already, but it has. I still remember exactly what I was doing on that day and how everything went down. Back in 2001, I was at work when I got a call from my wife. She said an airplane had hit the world trade center. At that point, I had thought that it was a small single-engine prop plane and was not a big deal - just a small accident with minimal loss of life.

Equivalent to traffic accidents that happen every day in our country. A bit later, another call. Another plane had hit. I knew then that this was not a small accident. Something was happening. I was still working when another call came in from my wife, now clearly distressed, that one of the towers had collapsed. I was numb. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I kept my composure and calmed my wife. I kept working. But thoughts were racing through my head.

I was imagining what had happened. What was going on. Then yet another phone call. The other tower fell. In tears, I packed up my equipment, and put it away, the job not yet done. I went home. Everyone went home. All my neighbors had to leave work and went back to their families. I was glued to the tv and the internet for the rest of that day. But I was restless. I wanted to do something. But there wasn't much any of us could do. The internet page for CNN had only one headline and no stories "UNDER ATTACK!"