nmah203.xml

nmah203.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-08-19

I remember waking up that morning and knowing immediately that something serious was happening.

As a college student in Missouri, my morning ritual consists of hitting my snooze button numerous times until my TV kicks on to let me know it's time to get up. Most often, ESPN SportsCenter is what I wake up to.

But on Sept. 11, there were no highlights from the previous night's games, no box scores or witty commentary. Rather, I woke up to the sight of a wounded tower with billows of smoke rising from it.

This didn't alarm me. Just another unfortunate flight mishap, I figured. A terrible accident.

Then, as I watched live footage of the second plane slamming into the second tower, I knew all hell was about to break loose.

For the remainder of the day, I sat glued to my TV, paying more attention to the news than I ever had to SportsCenter.

I think it will be remembered that the events of Sept. 11 were a rude awakening to anti-American sentiments. It was a bold statement, and has left a mark no one will forget for a long time.

I don't think my feelings about the American flag changed after Sept. 11. I've always held our flag, and the men and women who have died to protect it, in the highest esteem. Admittedly, though, I did display it more prominently after that day.