Five Years . . .

It’s hard to believe it has been five years since the events of 9/11. I can remember that day so vividly in my mind. In some ways, I feel uncomfortable discussing what my day was like. I lost no friends or family. I was also in Nashville, Tennessee, many miles away from the tragedy. I hope people who did live through the horror of losing loved ones that day, those in the buildings, the emergency workers, and citizens of New York City and Washington D.C. will not think I am in any way belittling their experience by discussing mine.

I was driving to work that morning, listening to morning radio, and heard a report that a small plane had hit one of the WTC Towers. I called my then boyfriend, who was a news reporter for a small-town newspaper in one of the Nashville suburbs. I woke him up when I called, told him what I’d heard, and asked him to turn on the television. At this point, the second plane had not yet hit the WTC Tower. He was describing the scene for me, when the second plane hit. His reaction gave me chills, and I can still hear his voice very clearly.

Once I arrived at work, a small Nashville law firm, three paralegals were there (we had two attorneys and 6 paralegals). They were crowded around one paralegal’s computer which had internet access. We were trying to find out any information we could, but there were only small amounts of information coming in. One paralegal’s daughter was at the WTC for a meeting. Of course, she was unreachable all day long. She was able to contact her mother the next day and had made it out of the building before either collapsed.

Once our boss arrived, we went to our individual offices. At that time, I shared an office with another paralegal. We turned the radio in our office to National Public Radio. That is what we listened to the entire day, hearing of the collapse, the Pentagon, and finally Flight 93. It was scary to create my own images of the things taking place. Our office was very slow, the phones aside from our families calling, were fairly silent. I wonder now what my reactions would have been were I able to visually see what was taking place. In most situations, the visions you create in your mind from descriptions are usually worse than what actually occurs. However, in this instance, I think that’s impossible. I don’t think any of use could have fathomed what was actually taking place.

At lunch, after I had finished eating, I walked across the street to a brewery that I knew would have television coverage. It was so crowded that I could barely get to the bar to see the televisions. I was so shocked at what I saw. It was the first time that I saw the smoke, the second plane hitting the WTC, and finally the collapse of the two towers. I was immediately in tears, and there were many people in the bar (men and women) who were openly crying also. At home, I watched the coverage until I went to bed that night. I had been to New York City about two years prior, and had stood at the base of the WTC. It was so hard for me, even with the images I had seen, to imagine those wondrous buildings collapsing.

Several evenings later, my then boyfriend and I watched the 9/11 documentary by filmmakers Jules and Gedeon Naudet. It was unbelievable, and so emotional, to see what happened through the lens of their cameras. I can remember crying and jumping every time I heard the sounds of people falling. That sound, and the sound of the firefighter distress whistles are the ones that I will remember most.

Today, since I am at home working, I have been watching CNN’s Real Time Coverage. I’ve cried off and on throughout the footage. To me, because I was unable to see things unfold, it was very powerful. Although, I imagine those scenes will always be powerful to our generation, just as the images of Pearl Harbor and Oklahoma City were to other generations. I can remember feeling empowered afterwards because the entire country seemed to rally around each other. The partisan politics, which were constant, seemed to go by the wayside for a while. Now, partisan politics are rampant, and our country seems so divided.

I think I’ll close this one out. I’m still ruminating all of this, especially since there is coverage all over today. My thoughts and prayers are with those who lost their lives, lost loved ones, and our nation as a whole.

*The picture I’ve posted is one that I think is beautiful, despite what occurred. It was taken by photographer Thomas Franklin of The Record.