nmah79.xml

nmah79.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-07-15

September 11, 2001 started as a very normal day. I got my son up and he got ready for school and left for the bus. I turned on the local WGN news in Chicago as I did every morning. During the broadcast, they interrupted the story to say that a plane crashed into one of the towers at the World Trade Center. I had to wake up my two daughters to get them ready for school by that time. I went into their room and woke them and put on the television. I explained that there was a terrible accident in New York and that we should pray for anyone that was hurt. They looked at the television and asked if it was an accident or on purpose. I thought that was a strange question from a 9 and 7 year old. As I started to explain that it was probably an accident, we watched another jet crash into the next tower. I had to words to say. My kids were asking again if it was on purpose and I could only say that I didn't know. I turned off their television and called my husband at work and told him to find a television and turn on any national channel. Together we watched the replay over and over again.

Our live will never be the same. I was expecting a baby and I was beside myself not knowing what was happening in our country...on our planet! When the jet went down in Pennsylvania and then Washington, D.C. I was so scared.

That evening, in Mokena, Illinois, where we live, there was a loud explosion coming from the sky. My first instinct was to run to the back of my house to look towards Chicago. I expected to see a mushroom cloud rising from the city. It was a beautiful clear day. I could see the Sears Tower from my yard, almost 30 miles away...no mushroom cloud. Neighbors ran out onto their patios and porches asking what it was. I went to the front of the house where other neighbors gathered with my husband and we watched 4 fighter jets fly over our suburban town! The sound that we heard was a sonic boom from the jets. I hope to never have to hear them again.

The questions from my children that followed in the next hours, days, months were very hard to answer. I write this entry on July 15, 2002 and they still ask why and I still cannot answer them. I tell them not to be afraid, that we live in the strongest, best country in the world and that we will be protected. Sometimes I feel like it's a lie.

I fear when we go to public places. We have cancelled trips to the zoo that we have been going to all of our lives because of threats in the news. Traveling by air is totally out of the question. My children would be traumatized. They don't want to fly.

Our president, George W. Bush, is doing a fine job. I believe that he will bring this to a close. I mourn for those lost on that day. I didn't know anyone personally, but as an American, I am personally affected. The days, weeks that followed, watching the people looking for their family and friends was heart wrenching.

I have a friend who is a pilot in the Air Force. He said that they fight to keep the bad guys off of our front porches. God Bless our military. The risks and sacrifices will not go unrecognized or unappreciated.

I love my Country. God Bless America

Antoinette Bria, age 39, Mokena, Illinois