Today, as I reflect on the events of 9/11/01, I was working full-time as a Packaging Designer for a corporation in Akron, OH; I was also a part-time Police Officer for the Village of Reminderville, OH. I remember sitting at my desk at my corporate job and overhearing Wendy, one of our freelance designers, say “a plane just flew into one of the Trade Towers in New York.” No one thought much of the comment but a short time later, Wendy made another comment, “Another plane just hit the second World Trade Tower.” Her second comment made everyone get up from his or her chairs and walk over to her desk to take a look at her monitor and what she was looking at. Coworkers were asking questions of Wendy as she was reporting the events as she was reading what was unfolding. Since we did not have access to television or a radio at the office, we all headed back to our desks and tried to log-on to the internet to read/see for ourselves the news that was unfolding. I fondly remember no one being able to gain access to the Internet and the error message that was filling my screen, directing me to “try again later” as “all servers were busy.” I remember wanting to leave work and go to the police station. I had this need to be among my brothers and sisters, to be in the community showing a presence to our residents that things were going to be ok. I no longer felt the need to be a designer in the corporate world, I wanted to put on my police uniform and do something. Before long, news circled the office of another plan hitting the Pentagon, and then one crashing into a field in Pennsylvania. News broke of all air traffic being grounded immediately as it was evident that America was under some form of attack. (Prior to meeting my husband, I was dating a pilot) I tried calling him from my cell phone, only to hear the message, “all circuits are busy try your call again later.” I was able to reach him by landline. He had little information as to what was happening and that he received orders that all flights were grounded until further notice for fear of other airlines having bombs or hijackers. By this time, everyone in the office was walking around talking about the events that were unfolding. People were shocked and stunned. No one could imagine who would do this and why. Eventually, we were allowed to leave work. The drive was a numb one, as all of the radio stations were no longer playing music, just news and people calling in to talk about what was happening. I received a text from the police station indicating that we would get more information as to when we needed to come in and who was going to handle what areas of our community. Until then, I decided to go home. I turned on the TV and for the first time, was able to witness what Wendy was talking about earlier that day. The people running from the area, the terror on their faces, the recap of the planes going into the buildings, then the collapse. It was unfathomable at that time to comprehend what had happened and there I was, watching it over and over. The sadness I was feeling, and feeling so helpless. A lot has happened since that tragic day. For our generation, we will all remember where we were the moment of the first impact. Just as out parents can tell you where they were when Kennedy was shot, or our grandparents – where they were when Pearl Harbor was bombed. For the next generation, we can only hope and pray that there is not a repeat of such events – leaving them to say one day, “I remember where I was when….”
Posted on: Wed, 11 Sep 2013 15:34:22 +0000
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