story1816.xml
Title
story1816.xml
Source
born-digital
Media Type
story
Date Entered
2002-09-06
911DA Story: Story
My name is Fred Johnson. I live in Raleigh, North Carolina and the following is a piece I wrote a few weeks after September 11.
WHERE WERE YOU WHEN . . .?
If you remember the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963 then you also remember that the phrase ?Where were you when . . .? soon entered the National lexicon. With the destruction of the World Trade Center, the attack on the Pentagon and the heroic actions of those on United flight 93, Tuesday, September 11, 2001, no doubt the phrase will be resurrected for a generation whose whereabouts will forever be etched in their collective memory.
As the shock of these events diminish and we begin to wrestle with the gravity of what has happened as well as why we will look to our spiritual and political leaders for guidance and resolution. But for now we will seek to place these events into a context so we can begin to emotionally deal with the deaths of thousands and the destruction and damage of symbols representing our financial strength and military power.
Around the country on ?The day of? people?s thoughts went immediately to, ?Who do I know that lives in New York City or Washington D.C.?? In a matter of moments phone calls were made to contact family and friends living in the City and the District in a need to be reassured that everything was truly okay. But the need for reassurance reached well beyond its grasp. A family in Raleigh calling western North Carolina to hear the voices of their children to be reassured that their lives were safe. Dads calling to talk with their children and their children?s children in a far away state to make sure they were okay and safe. Moms calling moms living on the family farm to check on their well-being. The need for reassurance in the midst of distant events is the result of our ever shrinking world.
?It?s a small world? is no longer a figure of speech. ?The day of? showed us how terror can easily leave the boarders of far-away counties and visit our own. Across our Nation the lives of thousands of families were torn apart on ?The day of?. For many the number dialed will go unanswered and the want for reassurance forever unfulfilled.
WHERE WERE YOU WHEN . . .?
If you remember the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963 then you also remember that the phrase ?Where were you when . . .? soon entered the National lexicon. With the destruction of the World Trade Center, the attack on the Pentagon and the heroic actions of those on United flight 93, Tuesday, September 11, 2001, no doubt the phrase will be resurrected for a generation whose whereabouts will forever be etched in their collective memory.
As the shock of these events diminish and we begin to wrestle with the gravity of what has happened as well as why we will look to our spiritual and political leaders for guidance and resolution. But for now we will seek to place these events into a context so we can begin to emotionally deal with the deaths of thousands and the destruction and damage of symbols representing our financial strength and military power.
Around the country on ?The day of? people?s thoughts went immediately to, ?Who do I know that lives in New York City or Washington D.C.?? In a matter of moments phone calls were made to contact family and friends living in the City and the District in a need to be reassured that everything was truly okay. But the need for reassurance reached well beyond its grasp. A family in Raleigh calling western North Carolina to hear the voices of their children to be reassured that their lives were safe. Dads calling to talk with their children and their children?s children in a far away state to make sure they were okay and safe. Moms calling moms living on the family farm to check on their well-being. The need for reassurance in the midst of distant events is the result of our ever shrinking world.
?It?s a small world? is no longer a figure of speech. ?The day of? showed us how terror can easily leave the boarders of far-away counties and visit our own. Across our Nation the lives of thousands of families were torn apart on ?The day of?. For many the number dialed will go unanswered and the want for reassurance forever unfulfilled.
Collection
Citation
“story1816.xml,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed December 16, 2025, https://911digitalarchive.org/items/show/11783.