nmah6422.xml

nmah6422.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2004-01-29

In July of 2001 I graduated from Carson- Newman College, a small baptist college outside of Knoxville, TN. For my graduation, my mother and I decided to take a cross country trip to California, driving. We left on the morning of August 24, 2001 and spent a little less than a week driving out to California. While there we spent time visiting my Mom's brother and his family. A little over 2 weeks from the start of our trip it was time to start back home. Our last big stop was going to be a night in Las Vegas, this night was September 10, 2001. We had not made any previous reservations, thinking we would just decide when we got there. As soon as we pulled onto the strip we knew the place we wanted to stay would be New York, New York. So, we got a room on the 17th floor and headed out for a night of fun in Vegas. Little did we know, this would be our last night of fun, with no worries, on this trip. The next morning we got up around 6 am. I was in the shower when my Mother came into the bathroom and began reporting the events that she was seeing on the news. I quickly finished in the shower and went to the TV to see the footage for myself, I can't remember the footage that was being shown at that exact moment. I was more distracted by the artwork that decorated our room. There were 2 beautiful pictures of the New York City skyline. Then I walked to the window and realized the airport was at a complete standstill. We had a perfect view of the runways at the airport and planes were just sitting on the runway. I never realized how creepy silence could be until that moment. We decided to go ahead and check out of the hotel. When we got down to the lobby, slot machines were empty, card tables had no one around them, but the TV's were surrounded by what seemed like hundreds of people, straining to hear what reporters were saying. All I could think was that I wanted to be home. As we got in the car and began our thousand mile journey home, we discovered that Hoover Dam was closed. On September 10th, Hoover Dam and The Grand Canyon were 2 important stops. On September 11th, the only important stop was home. We were some of the drivers experiencing the gas gouging, but for us the prices weren't a problem, we didn't care what the price was to get us home.
In January of 2002 I volunteered for the Salvation Army and went to New York City for a week. I helped with food service at Ground Zero working the 11pm to 7am shift. The first time I walked into the Ground Zero tent I was struck by the massiveness of everything. Seeing it on TV took away how large everything was. I had never been to New York, so I didn't have a mental image of what used to be there. But thanks to the wonderful firemen and police officers, I began to see through their words what the area, now called Ground Zero, used to be. They shared with me the spirit of the City and told me the stories of that day for them. I didn't talk, I let them, it seemed cathartic for them, so I listened. I still remember their stories and their names. I pray for them daily, as well as for their families. I don't know if any of them ever read any of these, but if you do and you worked Ground Zero from 11pm to 7am during January, I probably picked up your plates when you were done eating, or poured you coffee, and now I just want you to know you are in my daily prayers.