story9776.xml

story9776.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2003-09-11

Wrinkles. On the morning of September 11, 2001, I was worried about wrinkles. I was late for class and my shirt needed ironing. I set up the ironing board in my living room and turnded on CNN, as I usually do. A plane had hit the World Trade Center. It was an accident. I put on my shirt, patted the dog on the head, and headed downtown for class.

As I pulled out of my driveway an announcer on my radio cut in and said that a second Tower had been hit. Another wrinkle. And I thought like everyone else right then. They are doing this on purpose.

Heading into downtown on the Shoreway, a lakeside highway in Cleveland, I saw a low plane approaching from the lake. It was headed towards downtown. And my fingers turned white on the steering wheel as I watched it speed towards me on the highway. Oh my God...Stay Up...Stay Up...Not here, not to me.

Of course, it flew over downtown and became one of the many grounded planes to land at Cleveland Hopkins Airport that morning.

When I got to class I told my class what had happened, in case they hadn't heard, and then turned to go back to my car to listen to the news. As I turned another student said, "The Trade Center just blew up." I said, "I know, a plane hit it." And she replied, "No. I mean, it's not there anymore. Their saying that it just collapsed." No words.

After being evacuated from downtown, I spent the rest of the day like most Americans. With friends, with family, with fear, with anger, and with myself in a world I could no longer understand.

Nine months later my son was born. Evan Michael Wheeler. Thank you God, for sparing beauty.