Remembering
On September 11, 2001 I was woken up early in the morning by a phone call--I want to say it was a little before 6:30 am. At the time I was a "single" mom of a 4 1/2 year old and 2 year old, my husband was still playing baseball. The team de jour was The Kansas City Royals.
As I've mentioned before, I'm not an early riser :) I remember thinking "who in the heck is calling me this early?" I let it ring, rolled over, and tried to go back to sleep. But something bugged me. What if it was my husband calling with an emergency? He was in KC that day, the Royals were playing the Indians.
Half-asleep I listened to the voicemail. It was my mom--obviously upset. I just remember her saying something along the lines of, "Don't worry, I'm okay. I'm at Logan airport and they're turning us around. The airport's shut down."
Wondering what she was talking about, I tried to go back to sleep. But then the phone rang again. This time it was my sister in a panic. She was up early to return to work after maternity leave and was watching the news, knowing our mom was flying out of Logan that morning. I quickly connected the dots and told her mom had left a message, and she was okay. Together we watched in horror as the events unfolded. The images are jumbled in my mind by all that I've seen subsequently, but I'll never forget watching the first tower come down. Later I would discover that it had been hit by a plane my mom might have been on.
My mom was at Boston Logan airport that morning to fly home after visiting my aunt and was turned around by airport authorities when word of what was happening spread. But had my sister not found a babysitter, she would have been on an earlier flight--UA flight 175.
My sister and her husband are both doctors. As I mentioned, she was returning to work after maternity leave with a 4 1/2 year old and 3 month old. There was a childcare snafu, and my mom was going to take an earlier flight out of Boston and connect through LA to SFO. But at the last minute, my sister found someone and my mom kept her original flight for later that morning.
That's how things seemed to happen that day, isn't it? One person stays home or goes in late for a doctors appointment or sick child and escapes death, another person doesn't. No rhyme or reason, just a quirk of fate.
That to me was one of the hardest things about that day. Trying to find an answer for why. We like to think of reasons why something happened, but what that day made clear for me in such a hideously massive scale is that there weren't any reasons. That was the true horror and unfairness. The randomness of it all. The utter injustice. My family way lucky, so many others were not.
There were so many stories that came out of that day. Some of heroism. Some of tragedy. Some of survival. Some of heartbreak. And many of hope. The people who fought back on Flight 93--it still gives me chills. I'm sure we were all remember where we were on 9-11, as the previous generation remembered the death's of JFK and MLK. It's a day that will live on in our collective consciousness. We are all connected in some way to the tragedy of that day. But my heart goes out to those who lost loved ones in the two towers, the Pentagon, and on a field in Pennsylvania. We honor you today. I hope that ten years has brought a measure of peace.
And in case I don't say it enough, I love you mom.
How did the events of that day change you? What were you doing when you heard what had happened? Ironically, my mom was one of the last people to know what had happened as she spent the day in travel chaos trying to get back to my aunt's house.
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I was driving across the San Mateo bridge to my jobsite in Burlingame. I had just approached the toll booth area when news of the first plane and started to come through. It was slow going on the bridge because that's the time they were widening the bridge. I remember thinking "What a horrible accident!".
By the time I got to my jobsite, the other plane and hit and just as i pulled into my parking spot, the plane had hit the Pentagon. Our jobsite was the Crowne Plaza just south of SFO. Planes were landing, but no take offs. The company I worked for at the time closed all jobsites and made us all go home. Since they didn't know who/what else was targeted. I remember crying the whole way home. I sat in front of my TV riveted. I remember just being terrified.
While the terrified feeling as gone away, I admit that whenever I fly I scan the fellow passengers. I look for suspicious behavior.
My husband and I got married less than a month later in Capitola and were planning to go to Italy for 2 weeks, but our families freaked out because the day we got married is the day the US started bombing Afghanistan. So we postponed our trip for 6 months and went deep sea fishing in Monterey, drove down PCH and went to Disneyland for 3 days.
It was the least crowded I have EVER seen Disneyland. You could walk in some of the back areas and not see another person. It was eerie.
9/11 makes me proud to be an American. The resilience of the American spirit was displayed front and center. It's only when the politicians get involved that it becomes a muddied mess.
We were waking up on the top floor of the Excalibur hotel in Vegas on our way to Disneyland with our kids. I'd turned on the Today Show and couldn't believe what I was seeing. My husband and I hurried and got the kids up and dressed, not sure what we were going to do, but definitely knowing we didn't want to be on the top floor of any building, and headed out.
We started for the desert, listening to the radio the entire way. They announced that Disneyland was closed, but after an hour or so, we managed to get hold of someone there who told us to come anyway.
We were staying at the Disneyland Hotel, and Disney was truly amazing that day. We walked into the lobby and were greeted by so many characters, we couldn't count them. Mickey and Minnie played with the kids and then led them off to one of the conference rooms where they had Cinderella hosting a party with free cookies, lemonade and Disney movies. They had another room set up for the adults with refreshments and banks of televisions turned to the news.
All of the arcades were free for the kids, they had special events at the pool and the ESPN Zone had free sodas and games. It was so amazing, because they totally took care of our kids while we parents were able to watch what was going on and express our sorrow and grief without frightening our young kiddos.
The park opened the next day and we continued our vacation. My husband and I felt that by going home we would be giving the terrorists yet one more victory, no matter how small, and we didn't want to do that.
I will always be grateful to Disney for the amazing way they responded so quickly and perfectly to the tragic events of that day, thinking of the best way they could help the families deal with the horror, while still protecting innocent children from some of the harsh realities of the world we live in.
So very glad your mother was spared in the terror of that morning, Monica.
And so very grateful to those firefighters and police officers who rushed straight into danger in NYC to help others while pushing aside concern for their own lives and safety. They are heroes.
I was frantic because the whole family lives in NYC and all the phone lines were jammed. Two of my coworkers had to cross the Brooklyn Bridge to get home. I didn't know we were all safe until we saw each other at home.
Thanks, guys for sharing your stories. It's like I mentioned in the blog, that collective consciousness connects us, and hearing the memories reminds us of that.
Tiffani, NBC news had a piece on last night where they talked about 9-11 being not our loss of innocence, but out loss of security. I completely agree. I doubt I'll ever fly again without thinking about it. I love what you had to say about resilience and patriotism, I remember that well. I've never seen so may American Flags in my neighborhood, even on the fourth of july.
Diane, Wow, I'd never heard that before. I'm very impressed by how Disney handled that. You are right, it must have been a very difficult balance to strike between protecting the children (in the happiest place on earth) while acknowledging the tragedy going on and one of our saddest days. I'm very grateful to the heroes of 9-11 also. The first responders like the fire departments and police--can you imagine rushing into that? Amazing bravery.
Jane, that must have been horrible. I can't imagine what it must have been like to be in the center of all that chaos. So glad you were all safe.
I was at work and had just come out of an early morning meetings. I saw some of my co-workders gathered around a TV in the marketing departmeent and I new something was up. I was shocked what I saw on the set. I though I was looking at some kind of movie.. But then it was real. I saw the second plane crash into the building and it i knew I gasped out a strangled cry.. It was just unreal...
I was at home playing with my 1 yr old. My sister and her husband lived and worked in NYC. I had the Today show on in the background with the sound turned down very low. I was into playing an never even glanced at the t.v.. My best friend calls and asks me how I am and if I heard the news. well she told me I looked at the T.V. I felt like I was going to be sick..I hung up the phone with my friend and called my sister... I couldnt get through I tried and tried... Her husband worked next to the twin towers. anyway after an hour or so my mom finally heard from her and they were both fine. My sister woke up that morning very sick and stayed home from work and her husband decided to stay home with her.... That day changed us all and I also remember suddenly seeing flags on everyones houses, everone was trying to help in their own way. The patriotism was wonderful and something I was begining to think was lost to us! As well as communities helping each other. It just showed me how we really can all come together for support. I still can't think of that day and all who lost their lives without tearing up. My sister was not able to even look at a plane in the sky without hiding for a year. They left NYC and moved back to her husbands home(in Canada) shortly after the attacks. I can't beleive its been 10 years....
Oh no, I just read that Andy Whitfield passed away from cancer. It's so sad.
Kathleen, I felt exactly the same way. Even watching the TV shows tonight (really good one on CBS), it's seems so unreal.
Kim, that must have been so scary waiting to hear that they were okay. I'm so glad they were safe, again by one of those quirks of fate--someone getting sick. Crazy, isn't it? The patriotism really was amazing, something our country probably hadn't seen since WW2. I can't believe it's been 10 years either.
OMG, Jane, I hadn't heard until I read your post. Just found a NY Times article. So unbelievably sad on an already sad night. RIP, Andy. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/12/arts/television/andy-whitfield-star-of-spartacus-series-dies-at-39.html
I was on my way to Walmart for groceries when I heard on the radio that a plane had crashed into the WTC. My first thought was 'Oh damn'. My second thought was 'Stupid pilot.' Because the news report didn't say what kind of plane or what kind of damage, I assumed it was some numbnuts in a single-engine pleasure craft who ditched into the side of the building accidentally.
At Walmart, people were clustered around the monitors, but I didn't think anything of it. I just got my groceries and went home--listening to a CD all the way.
When I walked in the door at home, my boyfriend had set a chair right in front of the TV and was glued. I had all the groceries in before he noticed I was home, and started to tell me what was going on. I stepped into the living room just in time to see the second plane hit.
The rest was a blur. I think I called the school to check on my daughter and bring her home. I know that living in Tallahassee - a couple miles from Jeb Bush's house - had us terrified they'd take out the president's brother and part of TLH with him.
I spent yesterday hiding from seeing any of the coverage. I don't want to relive the pain, the terror, the depression. And then as I was watching football, stupid Budweiser with it's stupid horses had a commercial honoring the memory. My husband came out of the shower to find me bawling like a baby. I'm hoping that someday down the road I can look at the NYC skyline again, but even ten years later, it's too soon.
I know exactly what you mean, B.E., in some ways one of the most remarkable things about yesterday was how fresh it all seemed, and how ten years hadn't dulled the horror or the incredible sadness of it all.
I mentioned in one of my comments on FB that last night my family all went to a play together and talked about that day for really the first time since it happened. My mom doesn't discuss it (who wants to be the person talking about being "lucky" under such hideous circumstances). Hearing her memories was really interesting. The ironic part is that despite her being the one so close, she really had no idea what was going on because she was in the middle of the travel chaos trying to return to my aunt's house after the airport shut down. She didn't see a TV until 6 pm that night. There were other facts I wasn't aware of either about how close she actually was to being on that flight. So glad I didn't know them at the time.
I was substituting for a third-grade class. I thought it was strange because parents were pulling their kids out all morning, and I didn't know why. Later, around 11ish, I took the kids to their special, gym, I think, so I was in the teachers' room. One of the other third grade teachers told us. She didn't give specifics, so I stupidly thought it was something like a Cessna because there were a couple incidents that year of small planes accidentally crashing into buildings. I didn't realize the planes were passenger jets until I stepped back into the classroom, without the kids, to see the news coverage. I quickly realized how ridiculous my earlier thought was. The school principal banned us from showing the students the images on tv that day--said that their parents had to choose. I remember a lot of awful things that day, but I remember the exact shade of the sky and that it was cloudless. And how eerily silent in the sky was for about a week after, because we lived a few miles from Hopkins International Airport, and I was used to the noise of planes taking off. Hearing nothing where you are used to the ambient noise of the city is terrifying.
I heard about the news of Andy's death. I was praying he would make a recovery. He was such an amazing actor and will be missed.
Also, today I saw a video on espn about the Man in the Red Bandanna. Such a sad story. But it's wonderful to know that there are courageous and heroic Americans like Welles out there.
I was saddened to read about Andy Whitfield's death. My condolences to his family, who lost a husband and father. His talent as an actor will be missed by his friends and fans.
Elizabeth, I so know what you mean about the quiet. I remember that, too. How difficult that must have been to put on a "happy" teacher face with all that was going on. My children were very young at the time, too, and I tried to protect them from it as well.
I know, Lynn, it's so sad, isn't it? I was really hoping he'd pull through as well, but with the no news leaking out, I feared it was bad. I was reading about the man in the red-bandana today in the paper! Did you hear how his father wore a red bandana yesterday to the memorial service. Brought tears to my eyes just reading about it.
Well said, Elizabeth. I completely agree.
I was in ND on vacation (1400 miles) from home on 9/11. I had driven, so I wasn't stranded. It was scary being so far from home when that was happening in this country.
Hey Julie,
I can totally imagine! My husband felt like that, too. Really hard to be away from the kids (and me) when this was all going on.
By the way I just saw the cover for The Saint on Amazon. Love it!!! :)
Thanks for the head's up, Lynn! So glad you like it! Funny thing is that I hadn't even seen the final version yet, LOL. Always the last to know . . .
Just reading your post got me teary eyed all over again. I still remember vividly what and where I was when I first plane crashed into the tower. I was sitting in my cube at work and listening to the radio on my headphones when the DJ on the radio just gasped and gave a play by play of what was happening. I ran out of my cube and told one of my co-workers and we went down to the cafeteria and watched on the news as the second plane crashed into the towers. I remember all the gasps and how everyone just looked at each other in horror. None of us could believe what we were seeing.
After that I was glued to the TV all the time. I think with all the visual overload after 9/11 I couldn't watch the news anymore. It was just too depressing!
I remember that visual/news overload very well, Ing. I think it's the last time I've watched the news like that. There's something about tragedy though that compels me to the visual. Not sure why. I also remember that shared disbelief.
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