I always used to wonder what it must have been like for my parents and the generations before to live through such world changing events such as World Wars, The Depression, Vietnam, Stockmarket Crash, assassinations of presidents and the birth of inventions; such as the car, electricity and television.
Now that I’m 30 years old, I can easily look back at the things that have been created and changed the world during my lifetime; monumental presidential elections, explosion of incurable diseases, 2 wars, household use of computers, cell phones and finally the internet. To be honest, I didn’t realize the true world impact of any of those things until years later. That can be said for everything except for what happened on Sept. 11, 2001.
I knew I was apart of something that was a first not only for my generation, but a lifetime of Americans. The thought of us being attacked on our own soil to the degree that it was carried out was unfathomable! I remember as a child worrying about my uncle Greg, who flew all over the country for his job. Watching tv and seeing planes held by hostages in other countries and asking my mom if that could happen here; “Of course not,” she said. She believed it in her heart and so did I.
So, at that moment on Sept. 11, 2001 as I sat in my office in downtown Atlanta and heard my co-worker say, “Isreal (her boyfriend) just called and said that the World Trade Center has just been hit by a plane.” I felt my heart fall out of my chest. Immediately, I got on the internet and it was sooo slow b/c everyone in the world was hitting the same sites at the same time. I couldn’t find anything that would tell me anymore, so I picked up the phone and called home. My dad answered and I could tell from his voice, he was worried. I told him what Pia’s boyfriend had just said happened and he confirmed. Not two minutes later he said, “It just happened again. I think it’s terrorists.” WHAT??
This is New York, not Tel-A-Viv. That can’t be it!
Now the calls are coming into my office that the Capital Building has blown up in Washington, D.C., the Pentagon has exploded, and us in Atlanta better watch out b/c CNN is next. (Yes, that is true. We weren’t located too far from CNN and we were being told it was a prime target for terrorists. ha) My dad is giving me a play by play and I’m relaying those messages to the people sitting around me. Then, his voice drops and I hear a quiver, “One of the buildings just collapsed. JoDe, you need to get away from downtown and stay away from there for awhile.”
Believe me – I was ready to run out of there, hop in my 4-Runner and fly home to Athens, AL! The thought even came to me, “Is Athens safe? There is a huge nuclear plant down the road from your house…oh God”. At that point I got off of the phone and fell to my knees at my desk. “God, I’m scared! What is going on?” Next thing I know my boss is calling us telling us to stay off of the internet and get back to work. That’s the best thing to do right now to take our minds off of what is happening. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? So, I sat at my desk for the next 7 hours sick at my stomach and trying to do budget work. Longest 7 hours of my life.
I couldn’t even think of going home to that empty apt, so I called my friend Amanda to see if she was home and she told me to come over. I went over there and we sat in her apt until midnight, glued to the tv. At that point I went home. Living 1/2 mile from an AFB doesn’t ease your mind when helicopters and planes are flying overhead 24/7. You keep thinking, at any minute a bomb could easily just slip out of one of these suckers or it is hijacked by another terrorist. Everything, at that point, could be manned by a terrorist.
I honestly can’t imagine what it is like to live in a terrorist country and deal with that threat every day of my life and I hope I never do. While yes, things have changed and I think of that more often, it’s still nothing like it is in the Middle East.
Another thing I remember about that day is how blue the sky was and how beautiful the sunset was. I will never forget the crispness in the air b/c it was unusual to be “nippy” that early in Sept. I don’t even know if it was actually cold b/c of the weather or b/c I was so terrified that my blood ran cold. Oh and that sunset; it was priceless. Kind of like another rainbow and promise for the future.
I hope I get to tell my children that story and the others that happened as a result from that day. I hope I get to tell them about visiting the World Trade Center years after 9/11 and the feeling I felt when I first saw that magnificent hole in the middle of Manhatten.
So, where were you when the world changed?
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