9/11/01 : What were you doing.....?

            

         This Sunday will mark TEN YEARS since the attacks on American soil. Two large structures, and over 3000 lives all fell that day. Heroes showed their metal (both the honored and the unsung), and the American spirit poured out for days after. EVERYONE alive on 9/11/2001 remember nearly 80% of every detail of that morning. This was me:

            I was almost 19 years old. I was living in a 3 bedroom trailer with my mother, her two room mates, and my boyfriend (now husband). I worked at a local Albertson's Grocery store as a cashier and bagger. I remember calling out that day because I didn't get that much sleep the night before. Robin, one of the room mates, was watching the news while they were reporting that the first plane hit tower 1 of the WTC (World Trade Center). I was just getting on the computer when she told about what was happening. I remember thinking that maybe it was just a little 4 passenger plane and those are HUGE buildings. It had to be some sort of mistake on the pilots part. Maybe it was a malfunction. After a while, I got corious and I went into her room where the news was running. I saw the big hole in the side of the building. I hoped that was all it was and that the people were getting out safely. I had no idea what I was about to witness. I was watching right as the second plane hit the other tower. "Wow.." that was all I remember thinking and saying. It was marked in my mind as horrific and spectacular all at the same time. How can human beings to these things? Especially since these were just every day people going to work.

          I went to the computer to see if there was any buzz there. I use to frequent a lot of chat rooms and online communities. I was curious if anyone I knew was close to ground zero. Then I remember Robin coming back out to the living room and saying, "We are under attack. They just hit the Pentagon.".
"Your not suppose to be able to do that..", that is when I got offline and sat in front of the TV with Robin as we watched it all unfold from there ...... talking about a forth plane heading for the capital. I remember thinking about McDilll Air force base not to far from here. That is where Central Command was located. If they had balls to strike the PENTAGON, what was to stop them from going after that?! My now-husband worked nights at K-mart at that point, and he awoke from a nap. He saw us glued to the T.V. and we had to tell him what was happening.

        I think the most striking thing to me was the toll of human life that I SAW! It is one thing to watch a burning building, and watching people being carried out all dusty and bloody...... it is another to watch them standing in the windows, waving whatever they could to be rescued, jumping with intention of saving themselves from a death by fire or smoke. That human element. Oklahoma City was the only thing similar I had in my memory to compare it to. The next day, I went to work.... EVERYONE was a buzz about it what happened. They all were wearing their flag pins, buying little car decals, and even telling their stories as to where THEY WERE that previous day.

It was indeed the Pearl Harbor of the 21st Century.......

I still have one of those flag pins. I will be wearing it all weekend at work... as I have since I bought it.

So where were you?
My challenge to you leave a comment or Blog about where you were!
Link your blog in the comments too! 

This picture AMAZES me. This is an image from the Internation Space Station.
That is the plum of smoke from the WTC...... WOW.