story879.xml

story879.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-07-10

At the time the first plane hit, I was in class at Kennesaw State University. Totally oblivious to what was happening, I hopped in the truck to go home, expecting to hear the local talk show host who is normally on at that time in the morning. The news of the first plane was just breaking over the air. First reports were coming through that it was apparently a small plane (like a Cessna) and it appeared to be a bad accident. Believe it or not, the station went back to regular programming and said they would keep us posted. I thought nothing of it and put in a CD, listening to music the rest of the 15 minute drive home. When I got there, I flipped on the tv to catch the last hour of the Today Show. Like everybody else in America, I was shocked by what was going on. I called my mom, and best friend who live in a much smaller town then I do. They were both at work and I had no idea what was going on. I let them know that everything in Atlanta was normal, but I would let them know the second that anything changed. At this point, nobody knew if more attacks on large cities were coming, but (looking back) I did something really stupid and went to downtown Atlanta to try and find my boyfriend. I finally found him on the Georgia Tech campus and let him know what was going on. We spent the afternoon glued to CNN, watching in shock as the events unfolded. We went with his roomie to eat at Ruby Tuesday for dinner, but the mood was pretty rotten, and we watched the tv at the bar, as our lives were changed forever by this senseless tradgedy.
The thing that sticks in my head the most that day, was the message on the traffic signs in Atlanta. Usually they give travel times and warnings about wrecks, but today, of course was different. They simply said "National Emergency--ATL Airports Closed." I don't know why I was so moved by these signs, but they brought tears to my eyes to see those words, National Emergency.
My heart goes out to everyone that was affected that day; whether it be those who were lost, those who lost a loved one, or just those like me watching from a distance.
God Bless America