story3780.xml

story3780.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-09-11

I was driving my son to a doctor's appointment, listening to
the radio, and trying to figure out exactly what was going
on in New York when the news of the attack on the Pentagon
broke. I knew we were at war, something I don't think people
my age had ever felt. Sure, some of us sent brothers to
Vietnam, and we went off to elementary school listening to
reports of carnage in a faraway land, but we'd not been at
war as our parents were. I know I'd never felt apprehensive
about the safety of myself, my family, or my nation in the
way I did that morning. By the time I got home my husband,
who'd been working in a federal building near DC was home.
I didn't know how worried I'd been until I realized how
relieved I was to see him. We watched the news in disbelief.
The only real memory I have of the news coverage, other than
the crashes and collapses which seemed to be rerun every few
minutes, is of a young black man in camo who stood before a
makeshift memorial with a flag draped around his shoulders.
He was crying and saying over and over.."Send me Lord, send
me, please send me". On a day when heroes had died in
quantity, he was willing to step up and be next. I've not
really been frightened since. None of us are in this alone.