10 years ago today the world stood still. 10 years ago today disbelief and fear ran rapid through the hearts of people coast to coast. And this morning, as I woke up on Sept 11, 2011 I remembered every moment from when I turned on my TV until the end of that fateful day.
I was living in South Texas in 2001 and doing my normal morning routines, which included watching Live with Regis & Kathy Lee before heading to UTPA (where I was the Assistant VB Coach). When I turned on the TV there was a clip of a plane (which ended up being the first plane to hit the trade center) hitting the WTC & my first thought was "what movie is this". About 2 minutes after I started watching the TV I realized this was for real. My first thoughts were "OMG a plane hit a building out of JFK?" And for those who know me, they know how much I HATE flying. And it was moments after I that I saw the 2nd plane go into the 2nd tower LIVE. I know the TV camera crew was not expecting the shot they got either because we all had the same horrific screams coming out as it went into the building. That was when I knew someone was attacking us. At that moment I tried calling my mom in California BUT realized she was in Oakland with my Stepdad at a Firefighter Conference and had NO CELL PHONE. Of course I had no way of getting in touch with her because I did not know what hotel they were staying at. SO after that I called my sister who was in school at Pepperdine. I remember her being annoyed with me since it was still just before 7A Pacific time, but once she realized this was call was for real she managed to get her apartment up to watch the news. THEN the 1st tower to fall crumbled right before our eyes on national TV. That moment was the most HELPLESS I have ever felt in my entire life. I don't remember which event came next because to be honest it was such a blur...the hit on the Pentagon or the 2nd Tower crumbling. So many INNOCENT lives perished within 2 hours of the whole event...and this was before I heard about Flight 93. I remember getting into my car after the pentagon attack and the 2nd tower went down. I turned on the radio and then came the announcement that another plane was now missing and most likely heading for DC. By the time I made it to UTPA the Flight 93 crash site had been found in PA. It was too much to take...and I was in South Texas (10 states away). We did have a home game scheduled that night against our Local Rival TAMUK, but I told my boss (the head coach) that I could not coach...and that we should cancel the match. He was in agreement and we postponed that match.
Flash forward almost 9 months and I was in my HS best friend's wedding. She had once told me about her friend who lost her fiance on 9/11...and that friend was attending her wedding. I will never forget meeting this woman at my friend's wedding. It was so sobering to meet someone who lost so much but yet came to support my friend at her wedding...amazing spirit.
10 years ago today the world stood still. NEVER EVER FORGET WHAT HAPPENED, WHAT WE LOST, OR WHAT OUR MILITARY FIGHT FOR EVERDAY. XOXOXO...
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