September 11, 2001. A wise friend of mine said that this was the question of our generation. So many Americans just like me were too far removed from "Where were you when Kennedy was shot?" There was not one huge major event that everyone could relate to- sure, I remember when the Challenger exploded and when we bombed Libya, even when we started the first Iraq war. But this was different, tragic. Everyone has a reply to "Where were you on 9/11?"
Here is my story. I was just pulling into the parking lot at work. I heard a news report that a plane just flew into a building in New York. Then I got out of my car and went into the library. I didn't think too much about it, though I did think it was sad. You see, just a week or two before a small private plane crashed into something- it was a student pilot and very much an accident.
Since I worked in a library, I did not have any more access to the news. We didn't have a tv or radio on- it was a library. Slowly, over the course of the morning, students trickled in and told us some of the scattered and crazy information. Finally, we learned enough to know that we needed to turn on a radio! Do you remember all the chaos that was being reported? Can you remember the confusion you felt?
For those of you who don't know, I will tell you that my Mom is a flight attendant. She has been flying for 40 years. And she was flying that day. Of course, I had no way to contact her. So I called my Dad. He could not contact her and had not heard from her. Shortly after all the attacks, all airplanes were grounded to the nearest airport all over the United States. So, I hoped and prayed that my Mom was somewhere safe and stranded. But I can still remember the fear and panic I felt in the unknown.
Well, as you know, 9/11 was a Tuesday. The college I worked at held chapel every Tuesday at 11 a.m. Everyone on campus gathered in the auditorium to receive the most up to date information and to share concerns. Many students told of family or friends that they were worried about who lived in New York and D.C. or people they knew were flying that day. We all cried and prayed. There was a constant prayer vigil that continued the whole week.
There was not much work going on that day. But we were together listening to the news. We comforted each other and many of the students. By the way, my Dad did get in touch with my Mom late in the afternoon. She was safe but grounded for a while.
Then it was time to go home. There was something crazy going on at a gas station I passed- long, long lines and people shouting. Apparently there was a run on gasoline in case of more attacks. Do you remember those hours and days when we had no idea what could be next? The fear and uncertainty that any minute you might hear of more terrorism?
I got home and finally had an opportunity to see the images of the terrorist attacks. Remember, I worked in a library and without a tv, just radio. Watching those news reports was horrible. I cried so much I got a headache and then prayed and clung to my husband. And that is pretty much my story. I am sure we ate dinner and went to bed. We got up the next morning and things were still terrible, but life had to go on. Time does not stop and everything changes.
We live in a changed world. And I am thankful, but not always happy about, the increased security at airports. My Mom is still flying. In fact, she is flying home tomorrow on September 11, 2009. Hopefully I will pick her up from the airport and take her to lunch then do a little shopping. And I think back and wonder if lots of people were planning to do just that eight years ago . . . Let us hope and pray and remember.
"God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging." Psalm 46:1-3
Here is my story. I was just pulling into the parking lot at work. I heard a news report that a plane just flew into a building in New York. Then I got out of my car and went into the library. I didn't think too much about it, though I did think it was sad. You see, just a week or two before a small private plane crashed into something- it was a student pilot and very much an accident.
Since I worked in a library, I did not have any more access to the news. We didn't have a tv or radio on- it was a library. Slowly, over the course of the morning, students trickled in and told us some of the scattered and crazy information. Finally, we learned enough to know that we needed to turn on a radio! Do you remember all the chaos that was being reported? Can you remember the confusion you felt?
For those of you who don't know, I will tell you that my Mom is a flight attendant. She has been flying for 40 years. And she was flying that day. Of course, I had no way to contact her. So I called my Dad. He could not contact her and had not heard from her. Shortly after all the attacks, all airplanes were grounded to the nearest airport all over the United States. So, I hoped and prayed that my Mom was somewhere safe and stranded. But I can still remember the fear and panic I felt in the unknown.
Well, as you know, 9/11 was a Tuesday. The college I worked at held chapel every Tuesday at 11 a.m. Everyone on campus gathered in the auditorium to receive the most up to date information and to share concerns. Many students told of family or friends that they were worried about who lived in New York and D.C. or people they knew were flying that day. We all cried and prayed. There was a constant prayer vigil that continued the whole week.
There was not much work going on that day. But we were together listening to the news. We comforted each other and many of the students. By the way, my Dad did get in touch with my Mom late in the afternoon. She was safe but grounded for a while.
Then it was time to go home. There was something crazy going on at a gas station I passed- long, long lines and people shouting. Apparently there was a run on gasoline in case of more attacks. Do you remember those hours and days when we had no idea what could be next? The fear and uncertainty that any minute you might hear of more terrorism?
I got home and finally had an opportunity to see the images of the terrorist attacks. Remember, I worked in a library and without a tv, just radio. Watching those news reports was horrible. I cried so much I got a headache and then prayed and clung to my husband. And that is pretty much my story. I am sure we ate dinner and went to bed. We got up the next morning and things were still terrible, but life had to go on. Time does not stop and everything changes.
We live in a changed world. And I am thankful, but not always happy about, the increased security at airports. My Mom is still flying. In fact, she is flying home tomorrow on September 11, 2009. Hopefully I will pick her up from the airport and take her to lunch then do a little shopping. And I think back and wonder if lots of people were planning to do just that eight years ago . . . Let us hope and pray and remember.
"God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging." Psalm 46:1-3
