I Remember

It was 7:55 am Central and I was driving down McNeil Drive in Austin, Texas on my half-hour, two mile commute to work. The usually comical group of morning drive-timers were saying, "CNN is reporting that a plane -- possibly a small commuter plane -- has hit the World Trade Center." They immediately went back to their schtick and play list and one stoplight later - at about 8:05, they came back on to say that a second plane has hit the second tower, to which I think, "that's a really tasteless joke - it's just not funny."

Over the next minutes, it became apparent to me that they were not kidding and my stomach dropped. By the time I reached the office, several of my colleagues were in the conference room watching CNN - there was video footage of the second plane hitting that's playing over and over as everyone tried to come to grips with what was happening. We all gasped in horror -- our country was under attack and our company's vice president was on a flight out of DC that morning! Of course, he was unreachable and we were all just sickened to think that we might lose this wonderful man!

At 8:59 when the South Tower collapsed, our owner and the management team decided that enough was enough and sent us all to our desks. Even though the Pentagon was hit at 8:37 central, I don't remember hearing about it until I was sitting at my desk later that morning. That was the most frightening part to me -- especially since most of the news agencies were reporting that there were still numerous planes in the air -- some unaccounted for.

I remained at work for several hours, finally hearing from the VP -- his flight had been diverted to Louisiana, where it appeared, he was going to be stranded for some time. We even worried briefly about our office in Austin, as one of GW's brothers worked in the building next door to ours.

I checked out of the office around noon - having been unable to reach my family on the east coast -- my brother in particular, who was a first responder, a member of the military reserve and a HazMat specialist. I spent the next 24 hours glued to my television -- searching for answers to how something so horrible could have happened in this country I love so much. I still don't know the answer to that, but I do know that life changed for me that day. I suddenly felt vulnerable -- fearing for my own safety in a way I had never known before.

I remember September 11, 2001 and I will never forget the families who lost loved ones and the brave first responders who lost their lives trying to save others. I pray for a world where we no longer feel the need to hurt and destroy one another -- a world of peace. Naive? Perhaps... but it's so much better than the alternative.