September 11, 2001

This is a reprint of a post written on Friday, September 8, 2011 for my political blog. It is accompanied by photos I took of the televised ceremonies at the newly opened memorial site at Ground Zero in NYC.

On the morning of 9/11/01 I awoke to the clamor of KTAR 620 talk radio at 5:53 am as always. Ned Foster was talking about a plane that had hit one of the World Trade Center buildings in New York City. I turned on our bedroom TV, watched the images, and talked to Dan (who was still dozing) about what kind of an accident this could have been. As I was watching, I saw the second plane hit. I screamed. I immediately knew we were under attack.

My world, as well as THE world changed in that instant.

My first thought was of Jessica. She was a freshman at UofA in Tucson. She was without a car down there. I called her to turn on the TV. I told her that if we had to, we'd be down to get her to bring her back to Phoenix.

Remember, this was all new. I knew we were at war, but with stories of WWII and Vietnam in my brain, I wasn't sure what this war would look like.

My second thought was for my friend's husband. He was an FBI agent and was on an undercover assignment out of state... waaay out of state. I called her next. She was not used to getting early morning calls from me and was not happy. She told me in later days how irritated she was that I called her so early.

In the meantime, I was getting the other three kids up, ready for school. I had every TV in the house tuned to the news. The kids, being kids, wondered if they would have school. Me, being the mom I was (and am) assured them they would be going to school.

 As the day wore on, I watched in utter disbelief as the Pentagon was struck, the South Tower collapsed, the North Tower collapsed, and the story of Flight 93 was revealed. Being a news junkie even in normal times, I stayed glued to the TV for hours for the next few days. Too many hours. The stories of the victims and the heroes were so compelling. I couldn't bear to turn away for fear I'd miss a single story.

The uniting of the country is those days was awesome. It was like nothing I'd experienced in my lifetime. I felt so optimistic, while knowing intellectually that it couldn't last. Staying true to form by being over analytical, I pondered the change in our country. I made predictions about the future. I rearranged my priorities.

As the 10th anniversary of that day approaches, I am once more glued to the TV. I relive the event through documentaries. The scenes are still incredible to me. It's almost like watching a movie. Except I know it really happened. I've heard pundits say that only the people in NYC and Washington DC are interested in 9/11 anniversaries. I beg to differ. I'm interested. I subscribe to the belief that unless we study history we are doomed to repeat it.

Yes, the immediate horror of that day has faded. The details of the hundreds of stories I heard have certainly disappeared. But I still recall the feeling I had the moment I learned of the first plane. The moment I watched the second plane. I will never forget...