9-11-01

Author, Lisa Yee, asked the question on Facebook:
Where were you on 9-11?
You don't even have to give the whole date -- everyone knows what you are talking about.

(except possibly small children. I wonder where the cut-off age is for this? I suppose I'm among a small number of people who also remember exactly where they were and what they were doing when President Kennedy was shot. But I digress...)

I responded that --
I was watching the TODAY show. Slowly getting ready for work. Taking my time because I didn't have to be at work this day until noon. Good, I said. I have time to watch the Today show.

Close to the end of the show, close to 9 am Eastern time, Matt Lauer said, "Something's happened."
In complete silence they replayed the crash of the first plane into one of the Twin Towers in NYC.
Then you heard him say, "Oh... My... G*d!"
And the camera showed the second plane hitting the second tower.
The TV station never went on to the next scheduled show -- It was the Today show for the rest of the day.

We were glued to the TV after that.
I e-mailed my editor, suggesting she leave her office. (her office was somewhat close to the event.) But she had already left.
I e-mailed NYC writer friends. Over the next few hours and days, various NYC writers e-mailed all their internet friends assuring them that they were okay.

We kept the TV on all day at the library in the public area.
Waiting for the other shoe to drop.
As another and then one more attack plane was discovered.

I still wait for the other shoe to drop.
Because of that day, for many years afterwards, I was a news addict.
How about you?
-wo