Miss Bossy pants (that's me in case you didn't know...) decided to have an impromptu blog off about our memories of September 11th, 2001.
Just like those before us have their days of infamy, for our generation, September 11th, 2001 is that day. (Along with Princess Diana being killed...who can forget that?! {August 31, 1997...})
I was 25 years old. The company I was working for in Louisville had announced it was 'shutting down' by Dec 31, 2001. They had let everyone else go with generous severance packages but myself & my boss were the 2 lucky ducks left to handle odds & ends that came up. Because there was basically nothing for us to all day everyday, my boss let me work from home a couple of days a week. (Heaven...)
Tuesdays were my days home. B-rad was working 2nd shift at the time, so he would get home around 11pm, stay up until all hours of the night & then go to sleep. I liked to be up by 9am to watch "Regis & Kelly" because I liked the banter between them in the beginning. I woke up a little late that morning & when I turned on the tv, there was no "Regis & Kelly"... There was only live news break-ins showing the 2 towers in New York had been hit by planes. On every.single.channel. I was NOT happy...
(some things never change, huh?!)
You know I'm a JFK buff, & I had just watched the movie "Thirteen Days." It's a movie about the Cuban Missile Crisis & the one thing I remembered from that movie was how the government knew every.single.thing that was happening but didn't tell the American citizens because they didn't want to create panic. UHM...ok?! I called mom to be sure her & dad were watching tv. I told her all about my "Thirteen Days" JFK movie theory & I told her very adamantly (& tearfully), "They KNOW what's happening. They KNOW what's going to happen next. They are just not telling us!!!!" And since she's the mom & is required to be all 'mom' & all...she tried to calm me down. "No one is going to attack us here in the middle of the country." "We don't have anything they want here." "They're not going to bother us." Mmmmm hmmmm, mom - whatever you say...
B-rad's dad called around 10ish. He asked if B-rad was watching tv & I said, "No, he's sleeping." He said, "You need to get him up. History is being made right now." Psssssh, ok - whatever... I did get B-rad up out of bed. We watched as the first tower fell. I had no clue what was going on. As I saw the smoke & papers flying I asked him what that was & he said, "The building is falling!!"
Everything after that all kind of blends together. B-rad went to work. He heard rumors of $5-$10 gas (uhm, foreshadowing?!) & told me to take the vehicles & fill them with gas. Back in those days you rented movies from actual stores so I took a movie we had back & waited in line for HOURS to get gas in the truck. It was awful. People were parked everywhere waiting to get gas... As I waited, I heard on the radio that the building next to the towers had fallen. Mom & Jer had just been to New York maybe a week of so before that. The hotel they stayed in was in the last building that fell...
I remember doing a LOT of puzzles on the dining room table during that 7-10 day period when the tv was "all 9/11 - all the time". It was the only thing on. Even on cable channels... Then it was like all of a sudden, the sun came out one day after the storm & the world went back to 'normal'. Whatever 'normal' was then... All the tv channels just stopped broadcasting the footage...
I watched 2 programs over the weekend on National Geographic that were REALLY good. One was 'Giuliani's 9/11' & the other was George W. Bush's first interview about 9/11. It was those men taking you through their day as the event unfolded, how they felt, what they heard, etc. And whether you like Bush or not...it's a good watch...I promise... He talks why he didn't jump up & react to the news when he was in a classroom full of small children (he was criticized for that...). He tells you WHY he didn't go back to Washington right after the attacks (he was criticized for that too.. heck the poor guy couldn't catch a break...) Very interesting...if you're old like me...
4 comments:
I'm pretty sure Bush wanted to go back to Washingtong but they wouldn't let him. Also, what did they want him to do in a room full of 7 year olds? You should read Laura Bush's book, it gives her account of that day. She was in Washington. I too think the govenement knows a lot more, but I don't think they should tell us. It does no good putting people in a panic and taking things in their own hands.
Trust me! We knew enough about the Cuban Missle crisis to scare the tar out of us. The Cold War scarred all of us who lived thru it.
I for one, am a George W fan, and thought it was ridiculous how they criticized him for everything. He was in room full of children!! ANYWAYS, I remember when Saturday Night Live came back on, I think it had been a couple weeks, and Mayor Gulliani, helped host it. He said what everyone was feeling, "Is it okay to laugh?" and with that we started to get back to normal, in a way.
BTW, good idea for a blog off.
JLL-Yes, W wanted to go back...but secret service would not let him. He tried to tell them at several different times during the day he wanted to go but they said no.
I am also a fan of George W. He says in the interview that he couldn't just jump up & run out of a room full of children. He didn't want to scare them.
I may have to check out Laura Bush's book...on my fancy Kindle... ;)
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