Where Were You?

Photo from: Dennis Leung, Flickr; https://flic.kr/p/8A9Vtx

Today, we remember. This post will be a little bit different than the normal catchup post. Today is September 11, and on September 11, 2001 our nation was attacked. The following is my own recollection of the day. I wanted a record of it for future reference.

I was sitting in a Michigan History class at Delta College when a plane struck the first Tower. Someone in my class came back from break to tell us her husband had called, and the tower had been hit by an airplane. We all thought it was a freak accident. Then people started getting phone messages that another plane had hit. I left class in shock, and called my mom right away to find out what was going on. I heard that all flights were grounded and that the Pentagon had been hit too. Like it or not, we were going to war.

After class, I had to drive to work, where I was a transition aid in a Montessori classroom. On the way back, I listened to the radio, my main source of news for the day. I will never forget the live footage or the sound of people screaming as they jumped to their deaths from the buildings, nor the sound of the reporters in shock and going to a commercial because the moments were so emotional.

When I got to work, we were on lock down because of the days events and because the town we were in had a large business that was a possible next target. As teachers, we had to try to hold it together for the children, and keep going even if we felt like breaking down. We had parents calling all day long, and some parents wanted to come get their children right away. It was a rough day, and that evening I had to go to class. The college had not cancelled classes for the evening, holding to the idea that cancelling classes would be giving in to the terrorists that had attacked us.

What I really wanted to do was go home, but I really need to be at class, so I went anyways. I hadn’t seen the news yet, had only heard bits and pieces from people, so I turned on the radio again, and it was recap after recap of what had already happened. It wasn’t until much later on that I was able to see what had actually happened with TV recaps. It is a day I will never forget. 

Two videos that stand out to me from that time is the Skillet “9/11 Tribute” video, and Alan Jackson’s “Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning.”

Sometimes life throws us curves, and on that day, many people’s lives changed forever. We watched, we listened in horror as people’s lives were lost and our nation was thrown into a battle. 9/11 started like any other day, but it ended up being a day those who lived to tell about it will never forget.

Where were you when the world stopped turning?

Until next time,

Cindy