story897.xml

story897.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-07-16

I kissed my husband good-bye at 6:30am as he left for work. I was in the habit of listening to the morning news on the television as I began the daily chores. I had just stepped out of the shower a little after 9:00am that morning. The news was still playing in the background, however I wasn?t paying much attention to it. I was nervous that day. Tuesday, September 11th, 2001 was my first day attending a new college. I had just moved to Chicago a few months before, and the big-city-living in a small apartment was still new to me. I remember passing by the TV at some point and seeing Katie Couric reporting about the World Trade Center being hit by a plane. It didn?t even cross my mind that it was an act of terror. I thought a horrible accident had happened, that someone had flown too close to the tower, or something went wrong with the plane. I continued to get dressed, only listening to the television. When I heard that a second plane hit the towers, a distinct wave of realization, mixed with fear, mixed with desperation pulsed through me (no adjectives can really put it into words). I knew our nation was under attack. I also knew we were in a vulnerable position and not prepared to fight back. One of my largest fears had always been seeing a war take place in our country during my lifetime. I felt a tremendous urge to speak to my husband (who was working in a Chicago sky-rise). I tried calling his office. Busy signal. I tried the building?s 800 number, also busy. The phone lines were tied up (I was hoping). I got on-line and tried to e-mail him. No response. I finally got through to him on his alpha pager. He did not know about the attack yet. His department was not allowed to watch the television or leave the building, in fact he was about step into a meeting! I kept him updated via the pager. The Pentagon was hit. We both agreed that I should not leave the apartment. I phoned my school, which is less than 10 blocks from the Sears Tower. They warned me that my attendance would not be excused and they were not going to close the school until there was some kind of military intervention. Well, I thought that my life was a little more important than missing one day of school, so I notified them that I would not be in class that afternoon. Needless to say, they called me at 11:30am to notify me that Mayor Daly had closed the school and that I would not have to come to class. Darn bureaucrats. My Mother called me in a frenzy. She couldn?t get through to me when I was on-line (this was before I got the cable modem). She was planning an escape route out of the city for me?northbound out of Chicago, through Wisconsin, and to my parent?s house in Northern Michigan. The only problem was trying to explain to her that public transportation wouldn?t be able to get me that far. Poor woman. Bless her heart, she still lights candles and prays daily. I stood in my apartment, holding my cat, looking into the sky. The silence was a static eerieness. I have never heard the city so quiet. There was not a plane in the zenith where so many fly over hourly to land at O?hare. I was amazed at how quickly air traffic had stopped. And the el. Did they stop that too? It was so quiet. I looked out the back window and down the alley. I could hear the voices of men working on the electricity lines. Did they know what was happening? I looked out the front window. People were jogging leisurely with headphones on. Did they know yet? I wanted to run out and tell all of these people, but I was afraid. I kept thinking that Chicago was going to be next. I didn?t know what to expect. I envisioned men running down the street with guns, bombs, grenades. I didn?t want to die without my husband. It killed me to be separated. I went to the television again. There were already so many people separated and dead. I broke down and cried ? for them, for me, for our country.