Twin Towers & the Statue of Liberty from the Empire State Building 1999
I remember growing up and hearing adults talk about where they were when they found out Kennedy had been shot or even when they heard Pearl Harbor had been bombed. Honestly, I don't think it ever occurred to me I would live through an event of that magnitude.
The whole world changed that day . . . my world changed that day.
I had just started my sophomore year at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. My first class was an 8am tennis class (don't faint that I was being semi-athletic). I was playing with my friend Jessica when we noticed all the construction workers working on a nearby on-campus apartment complex (Boling Apts) had stopped and were gathered around the truck listening to the radio. One of my classmates asked them what was going on and the rumor quickly spread that a plane had hit the World Trade Center.
I'm pretty sure my initial reaction was laughter in disbelief. I actually remember stating, "That is ridiculous!!! How do you miss (seeing) the tallest building in New York!?!?" Obviously it had to be some crazy accident with some tiny plane. We left the courts a little early to run to the nearby gym to see the news on tv. Dozens of students crowded around the little tvs in the gym . . . all staring with our mouths gaping wide open in utter disbelief at what we were seeing. The second plane hit the other tower . . .
That is about the time I lost it. I was suddenly horrified that my mother and grandmother and several of my friends were all there stuck in the city while this was happening. I literally ran (and I don't run) across campus to my apartment, pausing only to exchange information from my frantic classmates and friends who were also trying to figure out what was going on or locate family and friends in the city.
Luckily, I'm just crazy. My mom and grandmother were NOT in New York but were safely back in Tennessee. They had returned home several days before -- I really have no idea if I was in shock, if I really had not talked to my mom in a few days, or if I really don't pay attention to things (my husband would claim the latter), but I was soooo insanely relieved to hear my mom's voice on the phone and that they were out of the city that I started crying. The rest of the day is a blur of tears and shock . . . eyes glued to the television; I couldn't move. A third plane hit the Pentagon. A fourth plane crashed into a field (which I remember wondering if we had shot it down). When was it going to stop!?!?
That night, I finally left my living room with my roomies to go to the Pres House like we did every Tuesday night. The large room was filled with zombie-like students . . . all still in shock. Instead of having our usual Bible study, we watched President Bush address the nation on the projector. We cried and hugged some more. Actually, that is what I remember most about that whole week . . . the shock, the crying, and the hugging!!! I grew up in a hug-friendly environment, but suddenly everyone was hugging . . . reaching out.
Wednesday, I managed to go to one class. I think the university's offical announcement was that we were not going to let these terrorists affect our daily lives . . . as if that were possible. We all met together at Patton Chapel on campus and stood outside with our little American flags as we sang patriotic songs (more hugging) and listened to various messages from our Chancellor and various clergy.
Tuesday morning I woke up in a world where we were invincible!!! No one in more than half a century had attacked the USA . . . was that even possible!?!? I'm guessing just being in your late teens, starting your adult life, and even college all make you feel a bit like nothing bad could possibly happen anyway, but in a way our whole nation was like that.
Wednesday morning, the world was different. All of the sudden our neighborhoods, buildings, and cities became unsafe. Getting on a plane became scary. We even willingly started forfeiting our rights in fear. And we all wondered how this could happen here. We heard the voices of men and women on the phones as they said their final farewells to their loved ones on the ground before crashing a plane into a field to save lives. We saw our fellow Americans act heroically under severe pressure, putting their own health and lives on the line to do rescue and recovery. We saw people volunteer to go out there and fight the terrorist organization (and its supporters) who did this. We saw ourselves and those around us lay aside our petty disagreements and drama of all the things we blow out of proportion because we realized what really mattered.
This morning I was talking with my sweet niece, who pointed out that she was only 4 years old when the attacks happened. I realized she had never really known a pre-9/11 world. There is a whole generation of people who . . . when they see a man in a turban, they don't picture "Punjab" from "Annie" or "Aladdin" . . . they see a potential terrorist (or maybe Jafar -- seriously, I think he was bin Ladin's hero with the twisty beard) . . . and when they hear that our terrorist threat level is orange, they think nothing of it -- isn't it always orange??
I had just been in NYC about 3 1/2 months before in May 2001 and returned to the city 3 months later in December 2001. It was surreal. Men with sniper rifles lined the rooftops. The city had changed. The people had changed. As I saw the lights and smoke rising from Ground Zero (as it was already called at that point), I cried. We walked down and saw the beautiful American Flag hanging over the site . . . a cross made from the metal remains of the rubble stood straight up. I'm trying to remember, but I don't think I've been back (to Ground Zero; maybe once shortly after this to take some other friends). It was too hard. I will be going back this month to see the memorial.
My story isn't crazy or amazing. I wasn't directly involved. I have several friends (who I've met since then) who were suppose to be there at the Towers that day and due to some crazy random situation were taken off course, saving their lives!!! I am so thankful!!! Yes, it has been a decade and yes, we are back to being pretty cynical, but I think we will forever be changed in how we perceive the world.
Sooo . . . where were you that Tuesday 10 years ago??
1 comment:
NIcole, As I read your article , it brought it back as though it was yesterday. I remember taking the family there in december,only 3 months after the attack on Nyc.It is impossible to describe and even seeing it on TV doesnt compare to seeing the devastation that we experienced 1st hand and that was 3 months after the attack. But my pride in our country at that time, the way we, as Americans pulled together. We became a little more patient waiting in lines at the grocery store, more patient at red lights or people going slow on a 2 lane road. More courteous and kind to everyone we met. Funny how as time heals, we sometimes become again more immune to our surroundings and again become part of the hustle and bustle of our lives. Loved the story and love you!!
Post a Comment