Jack
09-11-2007, 03:07 AM
Heres my story... September 8th, 2001... my wife was having her bridal shower party for our upcoming nuptials (October 13th). I had spent the 7th with my grandfather in the hospital. He was suffering from esophageal cancer (throat cancer) and had fallen very ill as a result.
I had been carrying in food to her party and helping her aunt get it all set up. I didnt plan on staying... it was her day. My phone rang. It was my dad telling me my grandfather had passed away. I was devastated.
Fast forward 3 days...
The day of the funeral. My alarm was set for 9:15 AM so I could get showered and ready for the funeral. My phone rings at 9:00 AM and its Mary... she tells me to turn on the TV. Any channel. I do and I see a tower burning. 3 Minutes later, here comes the other plane into the south tower. Im numb. If the past few days hadnt been bad enough as it was. My mind couldnt process this. My alarm goes off behind me, I shut it off and get in the shower.
Heres the back story... I live in Baltimore, Maryland. 30 minutes north of Washington DC and the Pentagon. My grandfather was being buried in Northern Virginia... maybe 5 miles from the Pentagon.
I get to Marys house, my head a little more clear than earlier, and I call my dad. I ask if the funeral is still happening. It is. Almost immediately I hear on the local news about the possibility of closing down ALL bridges around Washington DC. Not good. I need to get across the main bridge linking Maryland to Virginia 1 mile south of DC.
We get in the car and head south. As we pass the National Security Agency exit on Rt 295, we see NSA agents lining the exit ramps with machine guns. The roads are almost empty. AS we get to the Potomac river and the bridge, its still open... but we can see the pentagon from where we are... and the smoke is blowing right down the river and across the bridge. Its a sickening smell of death and jet fuel. You never forget a smell like that.
By the time I was graveside after the funeral service in the church, the FAA had grounded ALL airplanes over the continental US. When they lowered my grandfather into the ground... the world stopped. No birds were chirping... no planes flying... no children laughing... no cars on the road. I lost my best friend but I cant be selfish about it... alot more people lost SO MUCH MORE that day.
And thats where I was... I will never forget it... ever.
Where were you?
I had been carrying in food to her party and helping her aunt get it all set up. I didnt plan on staying... it was her day. My phone rang. It was my dad telling me my grandfather had passed away. I was devastated.
Fast forward 3 days...
The day of the funeral. My alarm was set for 9:15 AM so I could get showered and ready for the funeral. My phone rings at 9:00 AM and its Mary... she tells me to turn on the TV. Any channel. I do and I see a tower burning. 3 Minutes later, here comes the other plane into the south tower. Im numb. If the past few days hadnt been bad enough as it was. My mind couldnt process this. My alarm goes off behind me, I shut it off and get in the shower.
Heres the back story... I live in Baltimore, Maryland. 30 minutes north of Washington DC and the Pentagon. My grandfather was being buried in Northern Virginia... maybe 5 miles from the Pentagon.
I get to Marys house, my head a little more clear than earlier, and I call my dad. I ask if the funeral is still happening. It is. Almost immediately I hear on the local news about the possibility of closing down ALL bridges around Washington DC. Not good. I need to get across the main bridge linking Maryland to Virginia 1 mile south of DC.
We get in the car and head south. As we pass the National Security Agency exit on Rt 295, we see NSA agents lining the exit ramps with machine guns. The roads are almost empty. AS we get to the Potomac river and the bridge, its still open... but we can see the pentagon from where we are... and the smoke is blowing right down the river and across the bridge. Its a sickening smell of death and jet fuel. You never forget a smell like that.
By the time I was graveside after the funeral service in the church, the FAA had grounded ALL airplanes over the continental US. When they lowered my grandfather into the ground... the world stopped. No birds were chirping... no planes flying... no children laughing... no cars on the road. I lost my best friend but I cant be selfish about it... alot more people lost SO MUCH MORE that day.
And thats where I was... I will never forget it... ever.
Where were you?