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.
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I think most folk all over the world remember the moment and what they were doing or where they were when that news broke. Lovely moving post…
An amazing and heartfelt account of an horrific event.
Even over this side of the Atlantic, I will never forget where I was – it was my day off work, and I was doing the ironing. I turned the telly on and remember thinking “stange time of day to have a Bruce Willis film on”. Then I realised it was real.
Like you, I had the telly on watching it over and over, not quite believing that such a thing could be happening.
I’ll certainly be taking a few minutes to remember all the people who died in that awful attack.
Excellent post, Karin. I was at work when this happened and for some reason, missed the start of it until the young lad that worked for me said something like “oh they’re saying a plane has hit the second tower now”, and I stopped in my tracks. One of the departments had a television but the internet was really hard to access.
I remember going home and putting on the television and just watched in horror at the rolling coverage which showed what they could over and over and over again.
My oldest friend was in the US, in Baltimore at the time and was due to come home the day after. It took her about 6 days to get home but she was safe, that’s all we cared about.
I felt pretty much as you did that day on 7th July 2005. 9/11 was horrible but it was at a remove. London wasn’t and I just sat there watching the television feeling utterly sick. Monkey was 4 months old at the time. Did I really want him growing up in a world like this?
Nice post. I’d agree too. I was just finishing work and had popped into the staffroom. As we all came in no-one moved as we watched rooted to the spot.
Phones were ringing off the hook as we had American children in the school and parents were stuck on base or just wanted to connect with their children.
I remember trying to contact my husband and not being able to connect. I think it’s the first and only time I’d witnessed a network overload.
It radically changed the way things were as we knew it in our part of the world being so close to the local US military bases.
It was an overwhelming feeling of loss and despair.
I was driving to work when the DJ’s first commented on it. It didn’t make sense. When I arrived at work, the lunchroom was packed, everyone surrounding the small tv. We were all just stunned – no one could walk away. The lunchroom was packed for days. I was working for a business newspaper, so work had to get done as we were always on deadline. After a week, the publisher made the difficult decision of taking away the remote and going as far as removing the “on” button from the TV. We had to get back to work.
I can clearly remember the numb feeling I had for days. I was 6 months pregnant with my first and couldn’t believe how, in an instant, the world I thought I was bringing my son into, had drastically changed.
Excellent post Karin.
I remember I was temping at Edinburgh University that day and when they first said that a plane had flown into the World Trade Centre everyone thought that it must have been a terrible accident, a plane out of control, because how could anyone plan something so horrific.
We now live in a world where we know that people plan attacks like this…some successfully like the London bombings of 2005…others not so successful.
It’s so sad when change leads to us having to be vigilant against such things and sadly I can’t see it changing again in our lifetime.
Great post Karin – what I remember was watching my Bloomberg screen and seeing stories saying a ‘light aircraft’ had crashed into the WTC and thinking how awful
Hours later coming out of a meeting and discovering the world had changed, Mr had been evacuated from his offices, we were in lock down and these horrific images were on all the television screens
Our New York office looked out over the Twin Towers and colleagues had seen it all happen. We knew people who worked at in those offices. We knew people who had incredibly lucky escapes from being there when it happened.
It seems both close and a long time away – I hope that the world is a better place than it was then, but I have to say I’m not sure
I worked for HSBC. You could tell which computers had internet access – there was a small crowd gathered around each one. One of my graduate trainees was dual nationality and absolutely in pieces trying to raise american family.
I just remember wanting to run away with my daughter but I couldn’t think of anywhere safe to go
I’m proud of you and this post, my dear. What a day and one that desperately needs never to be forgotten. Your child needs to know at the appropriate time. The children in middle school were only three and four years old when this happened…..they need teachers to tell the story.
I recently bought a pin that was specially made for 911. All proceeds are going to the memorial being built in Shanksville, PA. Last week over $50,000 was raised just by selling these lovely ten dollar pins! My heart still aches when I think about that day. It was a day when we were glued to the news and frightened as to what might be next. My flag will be flying on Saturday….
Thanks for your remembrances about that tragic day.
I like the phrase generational moment. My first time hearing it. I’ll keep it now!
It went right by me. I live in India. Heard about it the next day.
It was certainly a definitive moment in history. I appreciate your sharing it…
The world changed for all of us that day. I was working in my office, upstairs in our house in London. I didn’t have a radio on, and wasn’t beetling between web pages like I might be today. The phone went, and a work contact called to see if I knew what was going on. I didn’t, rushed downstairs to the TV, then watched in horror as the second tower tumbled into ashes. London’s airspace, just like in the US, then went quiet. The world had changed, millions watched it change, and now billions live by the ramifications of that change. I can’t imagine a pre-9/11 world, and my children won’t be able to live in one.
I was working as a chef at the time.Me and my colleagues were prepping lunch for the next day, pasties.We were listening to the Chris Moyles show on Radio 1 when we heard about the first two planes hitting the towers.We thought it was a joke.When I got home, my now husband and another house mate were watching the news.They were a bit confused, and they both thought it was movie promo.I told them what we heard at work.I still remembering seeing those first images.I felt so vulnerable.Would there be more? Was this start of a war? I didn’t know it at the time but I was pregnant with Kieran.When he watched the footage the other from the news about 9/11 he didn’t believe it was real either.I guess no one could imagine people going to such lengths to hurt a nation.
Wow, what a post. Such a scary day. I remember being atwork hearing about it on the radio and my colleagues were not effected at all and I just kept saying this is a day that will change all our lives.
Mich x
What a great post.
Like many people I was at work when we heard the news on the radio. Was a scary time for us as my brother in law was living in New York at the time and it was something like 6 or 7 hours later before we knew he was safe.
Thank you Mammys Kitchen- How horrible for you to have family there at that time. I can’t imagine. Some of my student’s dads were in New York that day but thankfully were not affected directly. Amazing how it affects each person.
I’d like to thank everyone for commenting on my September 11th Memories. It was a very difficult and important day for all of us in so many different ways. I appreciate everyone sharing their individual experiences and respectfully direct the comment to you all as opposed to commenting individually. Thank you all for sharing.
Karin