Here is what I blogged on the morning of 11 September 2001 on the now-defunct bluchair.net:
11 September 2001: Bloody Tuesday
I can’t believe I am supposed to think about public relations and recognition, or even good grammar at this point. I am going through the motions absent-mindedly—and I am 2,000 miles away from the epicenter.
The events of this morning warrant their own journal entry. At about 7:45am MT [almost 10am in NYC], my little brother Michael called from California asking if we had Matthew’s (our missionary brother who is serving in NYC) phone number. We said no and asked why, and Michael told us to turn on the TV. The Today show was on and it showed a live shot of the World Trade Center towers burning, through a haze of smoke and ash.
It wa shocking. It was like a scene from Independence Day. When the newscasters said that TWO hijacked planes had hit the towers, I started crying and said, “I can’t believe it!” Richard and I just sat on the bed watching in horror. Later I noticed that there was only one tower—the first had just collapsed, and the second would soon follow, When I saw the footage from that and realized how many people must have died, I muttered, “Osama bin Laden.” The rest of the world is not “jumping to conclusions,” but I felt pretty certain from the first minute that it was a jihad attack sponsored by bin Laden.
Then, of course, we learned about the Pentagon disaster and another hijacked plane headed toward Washington D.C., which crashed in Pennsylvania (all of these things within one hour of each other), and we wondered what the extent of the damage would be. Would they attack the west coast, too? And what will the effect of no air traffic be?
We got hold of Matt’s mission office and they said that all of the missionaries were accounted for and that Matt was in the Bronx, north and safe from the frenzy in lower Manhattan. So I got dressed and headed down south for work. I felt all numb and a little scared as I drove—I just wanted to stay safe in my house. The interstate commute was eerie. We live beneath the flight path for SLC International Airport and there was NOTHING in the sky, few cars on the highway…yikes. But I got here and I am kind of working. I have talked to Jill, Dana, and the kids at home in California, as well as the grandparents in Arizona and my mom and Mark, who are now stuck in Ohio (they were to fly home to California tomorrow). Now we are listening to the radio and it’s horrible.
I feel pretty confident in our leadership, though. The prophet AND the president seem composed and strong, and that’s just what we need right now. Ugh! I have my first childbirth class tonight. I used to be excited; but now I just can’t help but think our baby girl might not want to come into a world that just got uglier. But we will get her here and we will keep her safe.
“I can’t believe the news today
I can’t close my eyes and make it go away.”
I can’t believe I am supposed to think about public relations and recognition, or even good grammar at this point. I am going through the motions absent-mindedly—and I am 2,000 miles away from the epicenter.
The events of this morning warrant their own journal entry. At about 7:45am MT [almost 10am in NYC], my little brother Michael called from California asking if we had Matthew’s (our missionary brother who is serving in NYC) phone number. We said no and asked why, and Michael told us to turn on the TV. The Today show was on and it showed a live shot of the World Trade Center towers burning, through a haze of smoke and ash.
It wa shocking. It was like a scene from Independence Day. When the newscasters said that TWO hijacked planes had hit the towers, I started crying and said, “I can’t believe it!” Richard and I just sat on the bed watching in horror. Later I noticed that there was only one tower—the first had just collapsed, and the second would soon follow, When I saw the footage from that and realized how many people must have died, I muttered, “Osama bin Laden.” The rest of the world is not “jumping to conclusions,” but I felt pretty certain from the first minute that it was a jihad attack sponsored by bin Laden.
Then, of course, we learned about the Pentagon disaster and another hijacked plane headed toward Washington D.C., which crashed in Pennsylvania (all of these things within one hour of each other), and we wondered what the extent of the damage would be. Would they attack the west coast, too? And what will the effect of no air traffic be?
We got hold of Matt’s mission office and they said that all of the missionaries were accounted for and that Matt was in the Bronx, north and safe from the frenzy in lower Manhattan. So I got dressed and headed down south for work. I felt all numb and a little scared as I drove—I just wanted to stay safe in my house. The interstate commute was eerie. We live beneath the flight path for SLC International Airport and there was NOTHING in the sky, few cars on the highway…yikes. But I got here and I am kind of working. I have talked to Jill, Dana, and the kids at home in California, as well as the grandparents in Arizona and my mom and Mark, who are now stuck in Ohio (they were to fly home to California tomorrow). Now we are listening to the radio and it’s horrible.
I feel pretty confident in our leadership, though. The prophet AND the president seem composed and strong, and that’s just what we need right now. Ugh! I have my first childbirth class tonight. I used to be excited; but now I just can’t help but think our baby girl might not want to come into a world that just got uglier. But we will get her here and we will keep her safe.
“I can’t believe the news today
I can’t close my eyes and make it go away.”
3 comments:
on 9-11-01, I was 38 weeks pregnant, and had my daughter 3 days later. horrible day.
We all know where we were and what we were doing that day. It is one of those defining moments of this country.
My heart hurt so bad yesterday that I couldn't write anything. I was going to post on my blog, But I just couldn't do it. 9-11-01 was Gabes first day of second grade. It was also the day that mom and dad Layton got married, the day that Gabe and I got married, WOW it's just a crappy day after all.
Post a Comment