September 11, 2001. 9/11 Remember We Swore We Would Never Forget. I have not forgotten, how could any one? How could any American forget. We all have our story. I remember what I was doing that day...... Me too. I remember the bluest sky and beautiful weather. A morning like every other morning. I bet so many of you say that too. I know 2,977 people who can never say that. They died that catastrophic evil day.
I remember just like every other day I was at work early, around 7 a.m. drinking my fourth cup of coffee and entering information on my computer when a co-worker came in and said "something is happening, something is happening in NYC a plane just flew into the World Trade Center" I have to get back to my patients, I wanted to be sure you knew. I was the Office Manager with an office filled with patients, 22 employees and a husband working in NYC. Not far from the World Trade Center. I quickly turned on the news and saw the first plane already wedged into the WTC. The flames. The horror. The smoke, the sea of humanity, fear and confusion. News anchors weighing in and I thought to myself a commercial airliner at that height in NYC, I don't know. I don't think this is an accident. Could be my years and years of firefighter experience and terrorist alert training but I was on high alert inside. I called my husband but the phones weren't going through. I managed to find him online. AOL chat in those days. He knew, could see it in the distance and while we were "chatting" the second plane hit. We both typed at the same time "terrorist attack". He had the same training I did. But he was there. Blocks away. I told him leave the city now, head home. He said don't worry, you know me I'll make it home.
My daughters were in college and frantic to get in touch with me, to make sure their Dad was OK. Did I speak to him? We couldn't get through to each other though, phone lines everywhere were busy or down. Families calling each other. Lines down. Communications were a mess. I had terrified, fearful patients in my medical office. 22 employees who were worried about loved ones and torn between their jobs and watching the News. Tears. Fears. Horror. Another plane. Another terrorist attempt, how many more would there be. Where would they land.
Somehow we all kept it together. Some employees and patients had family and friends that worked in the World Trade Center. It was no use, you couldn't get through to anyone by phone. You could only try to help them fight the waves of panic. We finished treating the patients that needed immediate treatment. Staff members called to patients that were scheduled through the day to re-schedule them. They were glad. No one wanted to leave home. Many had loved ones to track down if they could. A job interview for that day was re-scheduled, but the applicant it turned out, lost her brother that day. She told us that a month later when we interviewed and hired her.
I made sure everyone had someone to go home with. I made sure the patients were treated. Prescriptions called in. Sutures removed. The doctor I worked for had agreed, we needed to close the office for the rest of the day and let our employees and patients get through this horrible day.
It was late afternoon by the time I got home. Some time earlier I had spoken to each daughter finally and told them I would meet them at home. Schools closed. Businesses were closing. Hours and hours later, I still had never heard from my husband again. I had no way to reach him. Manhattan was only about 50 miles from my house, but today it was a million miles away. Bridges to the city were closed. Tunnels were closed. Subways were shut down. Buses were stopped. One of my patient's husband was on the plane that crashed in the field in Pennsylvania. He never got to see his pretty wife and two beautiful children again. My neighbor across the street, young promising woman never made it to her first wedding anniversary.
It got darker and darker as the night went on. My daughters and I stayed glued to the TV for every bit of news. Every look at the devastation beyond comprehension just a few miles away. And fighting to not be overwhelmed by the fear. Where was my husband.
Finally, 14 hours after I had spoken to him. 12 hours after he left New York City and started to make his way home, we heard his key in the door. We were a lucky family and had our loved one return to us that day. We wept openly. Well we girls did. My husband said, it's really really bad and I have to be back in the city by 5 AM - we need to set up communications so the city can keep on working, antennas are down, everything is down. I felt the fear rise, but he was determined he would help get the city back to being able to communicate. And he did.
I promised my girls I would never volunteer to go help as a firefighter in Manhattan while their Dad was also there. Their fear of losing both of us was even a zillion times worse for them to think of than even losing one of us. The evil intrusion into our lives, into the lives of thousands of innocent, innocent people that died. And even more thousands of innocent lives that were left to mourn the loss of those they loved, and worked with and were friends with.
My story lives inside of me and all of us, all of us that were affected. Every. Single. American. Was Affected. Whether you lost a loved one, lived through the fear of not knowing if you lost a loved one, or watched it on TV hundreds of miles away.
I remember 9/11/01 as if it was yesterday. The fear of looking up overhead for weeks after, the insane fear that you would see a plane in the clear blue sky on a beautiful day..........
