story6371.xml

story6371.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-09-12

I was driving to the office in Princeton, NJ when I began flipping around the radio for a good song. I put on my favorite radio station to hear the djs talking about a plane crashing into the World Trade center. The djs sounded so shocked and disoriented that I began to think that it was a practical joke. I did not think it was a very funny one, but began remembering the story of a famous radio hoax that made people think we were under attack by aliens. Many people, not realizing that the show was a story, really thought that aliens were landing and got scared and freaked out. I kept waiting for the usually comic djs to say "just kidding", but they didn't. I found myself stuck, just listening as they announced in horror that "another plane has just struck the other tower"! I couldn't believe what I was hearing and the car seemed to go on autopilot to the office. I remember the other djs not believing the one who announced the second plane crash. She was convincing them that it had just happened on the TV they were watching. All I remember was listening to the radio with my youngest baby sleeping in the back of our van. I called my husband on my cell phone. He was working from home that morning. I asked him if he was watching TV and he thought I was nuts and said, "No, why?" I told him what I had heard on the radio and he turned on the TV. He confirmed what I was hearing was true. By now I was almost at the office, where I just had to pick up and drop off a few things. My husband told me to hurry and to please, just come straight home. I don't remember anything particular about the office, just that it was weird how calm they were in the office and that maybe they hadn't heard the news yet. I don't know if I ever told them, or even what conversations we had, just that I had to get back into the car and hear the radio and get home as quickly as possible. Again autopilot drove me home. I pulled in our drive way having listened to the falling of the World Trade center buildings told by Peter Jennings. The radio had long since gone to ABC live to describe what was happening. The front door of my house was open. I came in in a rush. I called for my husband. No answer. I walked hurried through the down stairs. Still no answer. Then I ran upstairs, and still no one appeared. I was working into a panic, you see no one knew what was going to happen next. I was coming down the stairs, calming myself, telling myself that my husband couldn't be far and there was a reasonable explaination why the front door was wide open (something he never did). That's when I looked out the front door and saw him and our oldest daughter walking up the drive way. Anna had been at school, two blocks away, in her kindergarten class. He brought her in and said, "Now I'm going to go get Natasha." He lifted his keys off the holder by the door and kissed my check as he turned to leave. Natasha was our middle daughter and she was over at a local day care center for a few mornings a week. He didn't give me time to ask him any questions, and I didn't even try. I could see the look on his face. He wanted to get his family home, all his girls, in one place.

When he came home he told me that some other parents had been at the public school too, also picking up their children. He told me that the day care had locked their doors and that you could not buzz yourself in like usual, so someone had to come and let you in. Again there were parents there picking up their kids.

For the rest of the day we just watched, glued to the TV, tears streaming down our faces. The girls just coming up and touching us gently, knowing that something awful was happening even though they were only five, three and two years old. Just like at the office, the day kind of passed in a fog. I don't remember eating dinner, or even making any. I don't remember anything, just the TV, the towers and our family being together in our house. It was one of the saddest days in our lives.

On the one year anniversary of September 11th, I was so surprised at my reaction. I had thought that the day would be fine and had planned all the things I would get done. That day I was astounded at how emotional, sad, empty, angry and disoriented I was. I'm glad that anniversary has passed.