Where were you when the world stopped turning?

I still get choked up when I hear that song.
Somedays is seems like it was so long ago (b/c not much has changed) and other times it seems like it was yesterday (b/c the memories are still fresh and so much has changed).

I was at my desk and on the radio I heard that a plane had hit a building in NY. I kept thinking what a tragic accident it was and how it must have been a flight controller error or a pilot who had a heartattack. It never entered my mind that it was a deliberate act. Even when the second plan hit. To me, it was so close in time that I really thought it was someone who messed up flight paths. Also, by hearing it on the radio when you hear "hit" you think grazed. Not hit dead on.

I came out of my office and I told a couple of my coworkers. They were shocked but like myself, they didn't realize it was deliberate. When we got news of the Pentagon we knew it was deliberate. Almost all work stopped and we kept checking news websites for pictures and information. Ironically, the one website that was the easiest to get into and was providing the most information was BBC.com in England. That is where we saw our first pictures. It still wasn't dawning on all of us what it really meant.

Our boss came by after a while and said that we could all go home if we wanted to. Most of us were thinking, "Why? I have a lot of work to do." Then there were the people who were reminding us that we were in a 10 floor building (one of the larger ones in the area) and that we worked for the most recognizable Universities in the WORLD....Harvard. I called my mom and asked her if she knew and I told her I was ok. I called Shawn and had the same conversation. Then our boss told us it wasn't an option anymore. We HAD to go home.

When I got to my car at the train station I noticed that a lot of car were also leaving and it was still early afternoon. The toll collectors were waving us through and not charging us. When I got to my neighborhood everyone was outside talking to each other. This was rare. I found out that Matt Sullivan from next door worked in the Twin Towers and his family hadn't heard from him yet. (he was later found safe and sound. All the communications towers were jammed)

The rest of the day was spent watching TV and hearing about the other 2 crashes. At first I was reassured in the fact that I didn't know anyone who worked at the Twin Towers or in the Pentagon. Then I heard about Matt, then Ginny told me that Dawn had been bidding for a catering job at the Pentagon that morning, then later my mom and I ran into a high school friend of hers who's son worked in NY. They went and got him and drove him back to MA. He had the suit he was wearing that day with him. He cried looking at it. My mom's friend kept telling him that they would have it cleaned and it would be ok. He looked at her and said, "It's not just dust....it's people!!!" They decided to bury the suit.

A lot of things have changed. (airport security, personal security awareness, etc) But there are more things that changed for a little while but then reverted back (people's self absorption, greed, sense of entitlement, etc). Immediately afterward, everything was "God Bless America". But then a few months later people were back to their "political correctness" and wanted to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance. That makes me the most sad when I look back. I wish we had all leaned more from this.

We will never forget!

Ciao!