lc_story10.xml

lc_story10.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2003-02-14

Late for work, I walked into my office to find the squawk of a samll radio, trying desparately to fill the room with it's small speaker. Like walking into a time warp, I continued toward my desk peering around at fellow employees who were unusually quiet, and somber, milling around in a centralized area, concentrating on something. Once at my desk, I see it's my radio blaring. After what feels like a very long time, a full minute at best, I plead to a colleague "What's going on?" Someone quickly replies "haven't you heard, [they] got the World Trade Center!", another seemlessly chimes "And the Pentagon, [they] got the Pentagon!" My minds starts to wind up and picutres of horror started flooding my mind, I turn around and announce I'm going home. My wife was working from home that day and all I could think about was going home.

It's so difficult to pick one, there are so many competing memories. To choose one, would be watching on live TV, the second World Trade Tower being pummeled by an airplane, it's still such a surreal horror, unimaginable. I want to add that what was so strange was how spectacular the day was, a quintessential September day, with exceptionally clear blue skies and with no wind that I can remember there was this calm; a very strange irony to these events.

It has put an enormous amount of perspective on the volitility of the world. Personally, it has made me very grateful for the time of peace we have had until these events and is a reminder not to take anything for granted. As for the country, it has been a massive wake-up call, and I believe people are much more conscious of our relationship with the world.