The Day My World Changed

image courtesy of www.virginmedia.com

There’s an anniversary coming up this Saturday. The 9th anniversary of the September 11 bombings. 9 years have gone by since the day that my world changed. I had lived 30.5 years never having had a polarising event happen. I remember it vividly. It’s one of those generational moments where you ask, “What were you doing when “X” happened?” Here’s what my day was like on September 11, 2001. 9/11 to most Americans.

I lived in Peoria, Illinois and was working at The Clubs at River City as a Gymnastics Director. I was getting ready for work at about 7:30am and had the television on as ever. I was watching the “Today Show” (the NBC morning breakfast show) and was drying my hair when I noticed something strange on the telly. They were showing the Twin Towers and everyone seemed very confused. I turned off the hairdryer and stood staring at the television, not quite understanding what was happening. There was smoke coming out of one of the towers. It was 7:45. They were trying to get more information. Everyone was a bit frantic but the presenters were trying to remain calm. They had determined that a plane had flown into the Tower but were trying to determine why. And then it was 8:00.

While watching the cameras trained on the Twin Towers, at 8:03am CST (9:03am EST) I watched as a second jet aeroplane curved around the Twin Towers and slammed into the second tower. That impact is what you see in the photo above. I gasped and stood in horror. I didn’t know what to do…what to think. I didn’t know where I was meant to go but I went to work and tried to make sense of everything. I was teaching gymnastics to preschoolers that morning. We had a telly in the gym and I turned it on and in between setting up the obstacle course for the children, I kept one eye trained on the telly. It felt wrong doing anything normal while such a horrific incident was on-going but I didn’t know what else I was meant to do. There were some parents and children who turned up but we didn’t do much in terms of gymnastics that morning.

We learned that at 8:37am (CST), a third plane flew into the Pentagon in Washington D.C. and at 9:03am a fourth plane crashed into a field in the state of Pennsylvania. I was watching our rubbish telly in the gymnastics centre as the Towers crumbled to the ground. I was hearing phone calls being broadcast on the morning shows. I was hearing messages from people in the Twin Towers who were saying goodbye to their friends and loved ones. It was shocking. How could this be happening in our country?

One of the strangest things about that day in September was that the entire of the US airspace was closed down. Not one single plane was allowed to fly after those four planes radically changed the lives of so many. Well, there was one plane allowed to fly. Air Force One, the President’s plane, was in the air and it passed right over us in the heartland of Illinois. After that, silence. Eerily silent.

That day we all were glued to our television sets. We were watching the crashes over and over; watching the residents of New York running in fear, covered in dust; watching the fire fighters walking into certain death. Thankfully, we weren’t allowed to see the people who jumped from the Towers. For once, the media showed restraint with that aspect of the news. I’ve never watched so much television in my life. There were no television shows on for at least a week after September 11th. News, news and more news. Horrible stories and none of them happy.

About the only bright spark was the story that emerged from the flight which crashed in the fields of Pennsylvania. The passengers of United Airlines Flight 93 knew they were being hijacked and they wouldn’t go down without a fight. There are audio recordings from phone conversations from passengers to their family members. They banded together, some of those passengers, and stormed the cockpit. The bravery of those passengers is why that plane landed in a field in Pennsylvania. It was thought that UA Flight 93 was destined for the US Capitol (where Congress meets) or the White House. It never hit its target thanks to those people. Those individuals changed history.

After several days of depressing stories and constant news, I turned off the telly, went into my garden and just sat and looked up at the sky. Everyone in America was dusting off their flags and showing their support of the country. I even managed to put up a flag. It seemed the least that I could do.

No one could have imagined how our lives would change from that point on. Flying and airport security was never the same or as simple. Terrorism became the greatest fear and for a time, George W. Bush was a good man! I will never forget the events of September 11, 2001. It became the day my world changed forever. On September 11, take a moment to remember the thousands of men and women who died in a senseless attack on America. And be forever grateful for the family you have and the lives that you lead. I know I am.

This post was written in support of Josie’s Writing Workshop at Sleep is for the Weak. Her theme this week is CHANGE which stems from her very brave journey to Bangladesh with two other amazing mummy bloggers and Save the Children. You can make a difference and PRESS FOR CHANGE to make the lives of mothers and babies in need.