story6912.xml

story6912.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-09-12

I had the day off from work and was on my way to an eye doctor's appointment. Howard Stern was on the radio talking about Pamela Anderson when he broke off to tell about a plane flying into the World Trade Center. I had a friend who is a pilot, so I attempted to contact him to be sure he was alright. I spoke with a roommate who was audibly shaken up. He told me that, as far as he knew, the planes were American Airlines and/or United.

I went into the doctor's office and there, on a huge screen TV, was... Comedy Central. I told the receptionist that I thought they ought to turn to CNN. The receptionist gave me an odd look and ignored me.

As I sat down in the waiting area, I informed the woman next to me that two planes had hit the WTC, and it was believed to be a terrorist attack. She was curious, but the gravity of the situation did not appear to hit at that point. Someone came and changed the channel after about 10 minutes. I was called into the examination room and upon emerging, the 3rd plane had struck the Pentagon and the towers were on the verge of collapse, or had collapsed. I was in shock and tears. The entire office was in a state of panic and chaos. Driving around the city was odd... no "road rage", blank faces at the gas station. It was eerie, even 750 miles away.