story10176.xml

story10176.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2003-10-30

I was in my office, sometime after 9:15, but before 9:30, working on my computer, when a colleague came down the hall announcing to one and all that his wife had just called him to tell him that two planes had just hit the WTC. At 9:30, the normal morning break time, I went into the office of another colleague who had a radio on. We were talking about the attacks when it was announced that a plane had hit the Pentagon, and shortly afterwards that a plane had gone down in Pennsylvania. I was in such shock that I really didn't feel much of anything then. Shortly afterwards I told my boss that I was taking vacation time (I had a LOT of time accrued) and going home to watch the news. The company didn't shut down as a lot of end of the quarter projects were bearing down toward shipment stage.

As I was driving home, I heard the report that the South Tower had fallen. After getting home I turned on the TV and was watching when the North Tower fell. Fortunately, I had no friends or relatives that were anywhere near N.Y. that day. All day, I watched the reports in numbness, and really felt no emotion until a number of members of Congress gathered on the steps of the Capitol that night near dusk and sang, I believe it was, God Bless America, truly one of the more moving experiences of my life.