story7415.xml

story7415.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-09-14

MY HUSBAND AND I WERE HEADING FOR BRANSON, WE LEFT CEDAR RAPIDS IOWA EARLY THAT MORNING, WE TO LEAVE ON MONDAY THE 10TH BUT I CHOOSE TO WORK THAT DAY, THE RADIO WAS ON AND WE WERE LISTENING TO THE BOB AND TOM SHOW,I WAS ONLY HALF THERE DUE TO THE FACT I DO NOT REALLY CARE FOR THEIR PROGRAM, SOMEONE HAD SAID THE FIRST TOWER HAD BEEN HIT, AND KNOWING THE SHOW, THE LISTENERS COULD HAVE THOUGHT 'OH WHAT A JOKE' THEN 'CHIP' CAME ON AND SAID "IT HAPPENED AGAIN" IN A TONE THAT IS VERY HARD TO EXPLAIN HE SAID IT AGAIN AND STARTED TO SAY IT REALLY DID HAPPEN, BY THIS TIME OUR DAUGHTER IN IOWA CALLED MY CELL PHONE AND WAS TEARFULL "MOM ARE LISTENING TO THE RADIO?" I TOLD HER I WAS, AND WE TALKED THEN SHE WAS CRYING AND ASKING ME "ILL YOU HAVE TO GO?", I TOLD HER I DIDN'T KNOW, SHE WAS ASKING BECAUSE I HAD RETIRED FROM THE ARMY RES. IN 1992 AS AN E-7{SFC}, I GOT OFF THE PHONE WITH HER AND CALLED MY SON AND TOLD HIM TO CHECK OUR ANWSERING MACHINE AND TO CALL THE CELL PHONE WHILE WE WERE GONE JUST IN CASE I WAS CALLED BACK TO DUTY, WE WENT TO BRANSON, WE HAD TO GET GAS AND GOT SOME IN LEBANON, AFTER SEARCHING FOR A STATION THAT DIDN'T HAVE A LONG LINE, WE DIDN'T KNOW WHY THE LONG LINES. WE BOUGHT ONLY $25.OO OF GAS @2.65 A GAL, WE FOUND OUT WHY WHEN WE GOT TO OUR HOTEL AND TURNED ON THE T.V. WE ENJOYED OURSELVES, BUT WOULD HAVE HAD A BETTER TIME IF THIS HAD NOT HAPPEN, WHEN I GOT BACK TO WORK THAT WAS THE FIRST QUESTION EVERYBODY HAD FOR ME "ARE HAVING TO GO?" EVERYTIME THE PHONE RANG I HAD HOPEED IT WASN'T A CALL BACK, BUT WE ALL DO THAT, IF I WAS CALLED BACK I WOULD HAVE LEFT MY FAMILY AS I DID ON FEB.1,1991 FOR DESERT STORM. I'M PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN AND WILL SERVE HER AGAIN IF NEEDED SFC PAULA STEENHOEK USAR RET.