Ten years.....so hard to believe. Seems like just yesterday and also like a million years ago.
Everyone has a 9-11 story. It's an event that will forever be etched in our memories. Where we were...what we were doing....who we were with. At least we are here to remember.....so many are not. Ones that were in the towers that day or in the Pentagon or on Flight 93. And of course, the countless numbers of military men and women who weren't in any of those places....but willingly gave their lives to bring justice to our country.
We had just returned from a wonderful weekend at the Jersey Shore with my family. I was taking my oldest to school that day.....a normal day.....just like any other. I was just pulling into the garage with Jr. Edition who was only 7 months old and heard that the first tower was hit. I walked into my house with plans of putting Jr. down for a nap and turning on the news to see what this was all about. Like so many of you, I'm sure, I didn't understand the impact of what was about to happen.
As I walked in the house....my phone started ringing...WHERE IS YOUR SISTER?????? IS SHE OK?????? WHAT IS GOING ON????? Call after call came in......because my sister worked in New York City. I tried to get a grasp on things......I didn't know where my sister was.......I didn't know if she was ok. Of course, cell phones were tied and we couldn't get through to her. For days, we had no idea if she was ok. She lived in Jersey and worked in the city, so we knew she was in there somewhere- because the city was locked down and there was no way she could go home. I fielded phone calls for hours and tried to keep it together, but most of that day, I sat in front of my TV and cried. Cried because I couldn't find her and cried for those countless people who were going about their day as usual......just like me and would never be seen again.....I cried for our country.....that was changed forever in a matter of minutes and for our world which would never be the same.
We did finally hear from my sister and she was just fine. Probably better than those of us in PA who lost about 10 years from our lives. I asked her if she would be my guest blogger today. She was in the city. She was not downtown and thankfully, she was not physically affected......but as all of us....it was mentally and emotionally draining. Her story does have a happy ending......and I wanted to make sure that we also share those good stories too. The Dairy Farmer and I have commented that Farmin' in the Ville has become sort of an online journal for our kids. We've just invited all of you to share in our farm life. We do like to share about our farm....but we like to share about what affects us too.
Here is my sister, Boo's momma, to share her story:
9.11.01
A day that changed my life in more ways than one.I had just spent a long weekend at the NJ shore with my family, and was headed back to work on Tuesday. It was a gorgeous day and I was looking forward to having lunch with a friend. I got off the train at Penn Station and took my usual route to my office on Park Ave. and 27th St. During my walk, if I had looked to my right, towards downtown, I would have seen something strange going on at the WTC. But I’m not a morning person, (I’m sure my family will agree) I had a mission, get out of my way and give me some coffee… a thought that I’m pretty sure most New Yorkers have in the morning.
When I got to my office my coworker had turned on my radio at my desk and was listening to the news. He turned to me and said “A plane hit the WTC.” Again, not being much of a morning person, I didn’t feel like chatting that early and I didn’t think much of it, guess it was a small plane? must have been an accident? Then it quickly went to a bigger plane, maybe a 747?
Wow, how the hell could that happen? At the time our office wasn’t really equipped with super hi-speed internet, it wasn’t something we used that much, sounds weird to say that, right? So we didn’t have a lot of information streaming in very quickly. One of my coworkers was able to stream live video of what was going on but it was very low quality and very slow.Then news came in about the Pentagon and that a second plane had hit…
My thoughts went immediately to my boss, she hadn’t arrived to work yet. She lived in Brooklyn and took the bus in through the Brooklyn battery tunnel, which is at the tip of Manhattan, and I knew the first stop the bus made was at WTC. I also knew that she would have been in that area at the time the second attack happened. I tried calling her but couldn’t get through.
We opened up the office windows and stuck our heads out to see if we could see anything, but all we could see was black smoke coming from downtown, the streets were filled with people walking uptown. Then people in the office started to yell about the first tower collapsing, All I could imagine were those huge towers falling to the side and the hundreds of people that would be in its path.And then again to my boss, she and I were very good friends as well as colleagues. I was hoping she was one of those people that started walking uptown and was safe. Maybe she was late and stuck on the bus in the tunnel? Then the second tower fell. I was praying she was ok.
My phone rang, it was my lunch date, he was trying to get into the city from Queens but the trains were shut down. I told him what was going on, the city was shut down. He said “Ok, I’ll figure out a way, call you later.”I wasn’t sure what he meant, but I waited to hear from him. We all weren’t sure what to do, I couldn’t really call anyone, the phones were tied up and it was hard getting through to anyone. So there wasn’t much for us to do other than sit and wait. The head of our department called us together as a group and I’ll never forget what she said: “Our lives will be changed forever.”
We could hear the fighter planes flying overhead and saw cars driving on the street that were covered in dust. We tried to get some lunch, but no one was really hungry. I had heard that my boss was ok, a huge sigh of relief. Then my phone rang again, it was my lunch date, he was uptown, by the 59th St. Bridge, he was on his way to my office. As everyone was trying to escape the city by bridge, he snuck past the policeman and walked against the crowds. I couldn’t believe it.
Since I lived in NJ, I was stuck in the city. There were no bridges I could walk across to get home as the people who lived in the other boroughs could do. All transportation was shut down. So my lunch date came to my rescue and we decided to walk around. The sea of yellow cabs were gone, people were walking in the streets and the sounds of sirens were never ending. We went to a bar for a beer, the Lakeside Lounge, we played Ms. Pacman, the one that looks like a table, where you sit on either side. They also had a photo booth, so we took some pictures.
By around 8 o’clock we heard the NYC subway had re-opened and were able to head to Brooklyn. I was able to get a hold of my boss later that night. She told me her bus stopped at the WTC, the bus drive told them to get off. They were all confused but did as they were told and as soon as she looked up to see what everyone was talking about, the second plane hit. She said she ran, she didn’t even know where she was going, all she remembered was hiding under a park bench next to a woman somewhere near the water. Then as the towers began to collapse she and a few other people ran into a store. She said the smoke and dust was so thick she couldn’t see in front on her face. She ended up walking over the Brooklyn bridge and was able to get a ride home. I was glad to hear she was ok.
On Wednesday I had to head home, the smoke was still rising from the WTC site, the city was eerily quiet, I felt like I had dust in my mouth, as I passed people on the street we all knew what the other person was thinking. I could feel my anxiety level rising, I just wanted to run and get home as fast as I could. On my daily walk to the train I always passed a firehouse. There was a fire truck parked in front that must have been by the site, it wasn’t fire engine red anymore, it was completely white.And in the white were hopeful words people wrote using their finger. Days following there were hundreds of “Missing” signs put up everywhere in the city. It still makes my heart ache to think of all those faces, knowing they weren’t coming back.
I know there are many stories from that day, some that are/were much more tragic and my heart goes out to all those people and their families. I’m thankful to say my story had a happy ending, my lunch date is now my husband (I mean really, walking over the 59th St. bridge to come and get me? I knew he was a keeper :) And now we have a beautiful little girl, some of you may know her as Boo. We will be sure to tell her our story…
Tragedy affected us all that day. In our sermon this morning, our pastor talked about 9-11 changing us from "me" to "we." It's true.....we watched our entire country come together in unity. We gave of our time and our money and some of us....our lives. We prayed.....for those who died, for the families left behind and for God to have mercy and we loved..... we loved our spouses a little more that day and hugged our kids a little tighter that night and generally, treated each other with a lot more respect. Here we are, ten years later.....still standing strong.
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
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