Shannon asked if anyone would be willing to write about how they spent September 11, 2001. I am. I want to tell you what I did on September 11, 2001. I want to write it for me and for my family.
Please visit again on Monday when I’ll be participating in the 2996 Project by writing a post in honor of a victim of the September 11 attacks .
(NOTE: As I wrote my thoughts out I noticed how choppy they were. Instead of
cleaning them up, I left them. I think it gives you the feeling of how
my day really was.)
Gah! It’s morning already?! And why is the phone ringing? No one I know would dream of calling me this early. Crap, I still have to get the kids ready.
"Hello?"
"Chili?"
"Hey, Sharon. Are you OK? You sound a little freaked."
"A plane just crashed into the World Trade Center."
"Wow."
"What do you think that means?"
"Um. I don’t know. Maybe the plane was off course?"
"Haven’t you watched the news?"
"No. I just got out of bed. I have to get Max dressed to go to Mother’s Day out and Wild Thing is going to Jann’s."
"Oh. Turn on your TV. I’ll talk to you later."
Hanging up the phone I wander up the stairs (without turning on the TV) and think, "My god. I know Sharon hates to fly, but really. Planes are going to crash once in a while. It’s tragic, but I don’t have all the answers. She really needs to get out more."
Hey buddy! Time to get dressed! We get to go to school today! What should we wear? (sloppy kisses)
Mornin’ punkin! Goin’ to see Granma today! Let’s get dressed! (hugs and kisses and diapers changed)
breakfast
As I’m pulling out of the driveway, Sharon comes running across the lawn. I roll down my window. "Hey!"
"They did it again!"
"What?"
"They crashed another plane into the World Trade Center!"
"What?"
"I think it’s on purpose!"
"No way. Who would do that?"
"I don’t know. They say we are under attack. I’m really scared."
"Calm down. I promise everything will be fine. I have to take Max to MDO and I’ll call you later. Try to relax. Have you talked to Jay yet? Call him and see if you can talk to him. I’ll call you later."
This is so weird. What the hell is happening? Where’s my phone?
"K?"
"Have you been watching the news?"
"No. Don’t need to, I have Sharon next door."
"They crashed two planes into the World Trade Center."
"That’s what she said."
"What are you doing today?"
"MDO and Jann’s."
"Call me later and we’ll talk."
"Yeah, watch and let me know what you find out."
My brother is a Marine. Max’s teacher’s son is a Marine. Still don’t know anything. It can’t be an attack. Can it? Doesn’t make sense.
I hold Max’s hand and carry Wild Thing as we walk into the building. When we enter Max’s classroom one of the teachers has the radio on and very seriously asks, "Can you believe this?" I look right at her and laugh and say, "It’s crazy." Just like that. As if it’s all a sick joke and we’ll find out it’s Orson Welles. She looks at me like I’m the crazy one. She’s probably right. I haven’t quite wrapped my head around the enormity of the situation. I can’t quite fathom that the United States of America is being attacked by terrorists on its own soil. I slink out of the building with my baby.
I drive to Jann’s house. She has all three TVs going. I tell her that Husband is in Houston. It finally begins to dawn on me that he may be in danger. He certainly won’t be able to come home that night as planned. They are beginning to shut down the airports.
Jann takes Wild Thing and offers to have me stay there or to go home, whichever I want. I can’t decide and I end up spending the whole day at her house watching the news as it unfolds. I call my cousin who lives in Houston and arrange for Husband to spend the night with her family. She graciously takes him in.
I hear that a plane crashes in a field. Jann wonders why. I suggest the passengers helped to crash it in the field instead of into its mark. I hear of a crash at the Pentagon. I see footage of people running away from the World Trade Center as if they are fleeing a giant grasshopper in a 1950s horror film. Everything is so surreal.
Wild Thing is in the back bedroom with Jann. I check on them. They are fine. I try to call Husband. He is fine and trying to find a rental car to drive home. It will be a few days before I actually see him but I do not know this yet.
Later that afternoon, I call K again. I’ve been on the phone with everyone on and off all day. I have to pick up Max now and Husband won’t be home. K knows he’s out of town. Do we want to come and eat breakfast for dinner at her house? Her DH rented a Muppet movie for the kids. "Don’t worry!" I hear him yell in the background. "It’s not The Muppets Take Manhattan!" Levity through tears. This is why I love their family.
I take them up on their offer. It is nice to be with people and not alone. I have been with Jann all day and now we will be with friends for dinner. The kids watch the Muppets; the adults watch the news. We are appalled. Confused. Saddened. Dumbfounded. Angered. All of these things. But we are not defeated.
{ 26 comments… read them below or add one }
What an excellent account of that horrible day. Disjointed, surreal, unbelieving. That’s just like it was for me too.
Kelly
Your conversations sounded similar to mine. I posted too.
Yes, that’s just exactly what it felt like.
Even now my comment is dumbfounded.
Shock and sadness and anger all rolled up in one. I’ll get mine up too.
It is still so hard to think about that day! I will post mine on Monday!
What a clear description of your 9/11. Thanks for sharing…it’s so interesting to hear everyone’s different perspectives.
I also thought it was an accident when I first heard about it.
BTW,we’re doing a 9-11 Blogging Chicks Carnival, you might want to submit this. Email me if you’re interested.
This brought things back for me so clearly! It was such a frightening day. Great Post Chili!
Your writing style for this piece is perfectly evocative of the feelings of that day.
The choppiness of the day was so well captured by yourself in this post!
It certainly was important to be with people.
I’ve been reading so many posts — it’s amazing how much these memories are a part of our lives
Stopping by, reading through the “carnival” (I hate using that word in conjunction with 9/11 memories!) None of us will ever forget that day.
I, too, had a hard time wrapping my mind around the terror of the events of that day. I’m glad to read I wasn’t the only one with an initially and strangely matter-of-fact reaction.
How can we forget? It was so hard to just sit there and watch the destruction and not be able to do anything. I had just missed the first plane, but was horrified at watching the second plane crash. It seemed too hard to believe.
Going thru Blogging Chicks. I “Remembered” and I also did a tribute to a fallen firefighter from the day.
thanks for sharing your memories
Thank you for your post. I was never so thankful as that day that my DH was not out of town or in Europe (which he often was during those days since worked for a European company).
Thank you for sharing your story of what your day was like that day.I posted what I was doing that day a few weeks ago. I set up a mister linky link for anyone else who wanted to link to my post and tell their story too.
“We are appalled. Confused. Saddened. Dumbfounded. Angered. All of these things. But we are not defeated.”
Amen.
My memories are similar to yours–I titled my post “Clueless”! My husband also was flying cross-country that day–and ended up driving a local-only rental car all the way from Tulsa to Chicago to get home.
My memories are similar to yours–I titled my post “Clueless”! My husband also was flying cross-country that day–and ended up driving a local-only rental car all the way from Tulsa to Chicago to get home.
I remember resisting the truth as well…”they couldn’t have MEANT to do that…right?” In a remembrance I wrote this morning, I recall (when going outside) ducking…feeling like the sky was literally falling (although I live in the southeast).
Our countries landscape–literally and figuratively–was changed in a few moments time.
Thanks for yet another poignant post.
Thanks for such a real account of that day. I just keep reading all of the posts about 911 and keep seeing the same thing just said a little differently. Thanks for sharing.
I didn’t hear about the WTC being hit until just before the first one collapsed – so when it happened, it was like a huge slap to my face – immediate.
I wonder how I would have reacted had I heard the news from the very beginning. Thanks for sharing.
There is no way to recount that day in sufficient words; your recounting was beautiful, especially since you had a loved one away from home. We all did.
We are still defeated (strong as a people, but very weak in leadership), 6 years later, because of this and a person who was (not really, just sort of kid of by default) elected to “lead” our country.
Still, I appreciated and respect your reminiscence. God bless us.
Sorry; I meant to say “kind of by default”. I also meant to say “kind of elected.”