nmah704.xml

nmah704.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-08-31

I am a high school/middle school music teacher in KY. September 11th began like any other day. I was worried about my high school band being ready for our first competition on the coming Saturday and I was glad that it was such a pretty day, because we would be able to practice outside. I remember walking out of my classroom at the end of second period to monitor the halls during the class change. A group of 6th grade boys came rushing down the stairs, talking excitedly. I heard the words "bombed the World Trade Center and the Pentagon" and wondered what on earth they were talking about. There was a strange, nervous energy in the hall. The teacher across the hallway motioned for me to come to her room quickly. She had the television on. "Look," she said. "Can you believe this?" I stared in disbelief at the sight of the twin towers with flames shooting out of them. In the lower corner of the screen was a picture of the smoking Pentagon. "Oh my God," I said. "What happened?" "We aren't sure," she said. I stood there, frozen in front of the TV, listening to the announcer explain that no one was certain what had happened, just that planes had crashed into all three buildings and that no terrorist group had claimed responsibility yet, but that the planes were American. As I stood there watching, my shock turned to horror as we realized that what we thought were just debris falling from the buildings were also human beings. Suddenly, the first tower began to crumble and then was gone in a huge cloud of dust and smoke. The news anchorman seemed to be in shock as he narrated the events we were watching. About this time, the school superintendent appeared in the doorway and asked us to turn off the television. He said that since we didn't know what would happen next, he didn't want the children to become anymore frightened than they already were.

The rest of the day was surreal. When I got home after school, every channel on television was showing the news, even MTV. At band practice that evening many students were missing, some because their parents feared a gas shortage and didn't want to waste gas bringing them to school. During practice, a lone plane flew across the sky and my band kids all screamed and ducked for cover under the bleachers, since they had heard that all planes were grounded. It took several minutes of reassurance from me to convince them that they were safe and we could go on with practice. Parents were worried about our scheduled competition on Saturday, because it was in Richmond, KY, where the Army has a weapons depot that contains nerve gas, among other things. Everything seemed totally up in the air and out of our control.

I went to bed feeling that life would never be the same. I fell asleep praying for the families who had lost loved ones and for the rescuers who were searching for survivors. When my alarm clock went off on September 12, I woke up feeling refreshed and ready to go, but with the vague memory of a bad dream in the back of my mind. As my brain processed the voice of the radio announcer, I realized that it was not a dream, and that life, in fact, would never be the same.

My day to day life has not changed dramatically because of September 11th. I lost no family or friends in the tragedy and my livlihood was not affected. However, I watched the lives of many of my students change. The National Guard unit in our small town was the second one in KY to be put on active duty. Less than a month after September 11th, they were transported to Fort Bragg, NC to participate in Operation Noble Eagle. I watched students play their last football game without their dads to watch, I saw little girls cry at school when their dads stopped by to say goodbye, and I saw seniors graduate from high school without a father in the proud audience. I learned that we should never take life for granted, because even on the most spectacularly beautiful days, things can happen to turn our lives upside down. I now try to give thanks for each day, no matter how humdrum and boring.

The things that I will remember the most about September 11th are the fear and feeling of helplessness that I felt as I watched the towers crumble, followed by the feeling of determination that our country would pull together and overcome this disaster. I hope people will remember the outpourings of love, strength, and generosity that came from all over our country and parts of other countries, as well, as Americans united to help each other recover from the horror of this tragedy.

I was up past midnight of September 11th, watching the news, trying to realize that this wasn't some Tom Clancy novel made into a movie. As I flipped from CNN to CBS, Dan Rather was summarizing events and editorializing his feelings. He said all Americans should fly the US flag with pride to let the terrorists know that we will not be kept down. I always hang a huge flag on my porch on July 4th, along with about 6 smaller flags that I put in my geranium pots on my steps. I immediately took Dan Rather's advice and went to the closet. Although it was dark outside, I went out and hung my flags. They are still out there today, waving cheerfully in the light breeze. I purchased these several years ago, to use on the 4th, and I don't know what company made them, but they have held up extremely well, and are not tattered at all. I plan to leave them outside until they are worn. Then I will replace them with new flags. The American flag will always be a part of my landscape now, to remind everyone who sees it that our country cannot take its way of life for granted.