story2190.xml
Title
story2190.xml
Source
born-digital
Media Type
story
Date Entered
2002-09-11
911DA Story: Story
My wife and I are from Anahuac, Texas. We were taking a driving vaction in September of 2001. After spending a few days with my mother-in-law in Olney, Illinois, we headed east toward Virginia. We were in a rental car and when Patricia (my wife) was changing music CD's in the radio we heard the horrible news.
I stopped at the first gas station (a large truck stop) that we can to and called our parents to let them know we were safe - shaken but safe. It was about two hours after the first attacks on the Trade Center, but the horrible reality of the event came through to me in that truck stop. As I was calling my parents back in Texas to let them know we were safe, a truck driver on the phone next to me was sobbing and almost in hysterics. I found out that his father and brother worked in a building directly across from the trade center. I have no idea if they were found safe or if their names are on the list of dead and missing.
Patricia and I had a difficult time deciding if we should continue our road trip or head on home. After praying for the families of the dead and reflecting on the situation, we elected to continue our vacation. Some say that was a cold hearted thing to do, but our reasoning was this. If we had gone home in panic with our tails tucked between our legs, the terrorists would have won. That was not an acceptable option.
We wound up about 35 miles from the site of the plane crash in Philidelphia. We had planeed on going to DC, but we stayed out of that area. The last thing those folks needed was tourists in the way while they dealt with a national tragedy.
We headed south. We visited a few Civil War battle sites and other historical landmarks. We saw where G. Washington defeated Cornwallis. But the thing I will never forget was our visit to Colonial Williamsburg.
We were there the day President Bush asked the nation to spend some time in prayer at noon for our country and for those who had suffered such tragic loss. We gathered with two or three hundred other folks as Old Glory was brought out on the old courthouse steps between drummers and fifers. We listened to ministers of different faiths speak of love, perserverance and determination to do the right thing. As the last prayer was said, a beautiful thing happened. Men, women and children began to reach out to the person next to them and take them by the hand. No one prompted us to do so. As hands were being grasped, hundreds of voices began singing God Bless America. There was not a dry eye to be found.
Where was I on September 11, 2001? I was visiting my country and learning how deeply in love I am with it.
I stopped at the first gas station (a large truck stop) that we can to and called our parents to let them know we were safe - shaken but safe. It was about two hours after the first attacks on the Trade Center, but the horrible reality of the event came through to me in that truck stop. As I was calling my parents back in Texas to let them know we were safe, a truck driver on the phone next to me was sobbing and almost in hysterics. I found out that his father and brother worked in a building directly across from the trade center. I have no idea if they were found safe or if their names are on the list of dead and missing.
Patricia and I had a difficult time deciding if we should continue our road trip or head on home. After praying for the families of the dead and reflecting on the situation, we elected to continue our vacation. Some say that was a cold hearted thing to do, but our reasoning was this. If we had gone home in panic with our tails tucked between our legs, the terrorists would have won. That was not an acceptable option.
We wound up about 35 miles from the site of the plane crash in Philidelphia. We had planeed on going to DC, but we stayed out of that area. The last thing those folks needed was tourists in the way while they dealt with a national tragedy.
We headed south. We visited a few Civil War battle sites and other historical landmarks. We saw where G. Washington defeated Cornwallis. But the thing I will never forget was our visit to Colonial Williamsburg.
We were there the day President Bush asked the nation to spend some time in prayer at noon for our country and for those who had suffered such tragic loss. We gathered with two or three hundred other folks as Old Glory was brought out on the old courthouse steps between drummers and fifers. We listened to ministers of different faiths speak of love, perserverance and determination to do the right thing. As the last prayer was said, a beautiful thing happened. Men, women and children began to reach out to the person next to them and take them by the hand. No one prompted us to do so. As hands were being grasped, hundreds of voices began singing God Bless America. There was not a dry eye to be found.
Where was I on September 11, 2001? I was visiting my country and learning how deeply in love I am with it.
Collection
Citation
“story2190.xml,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed January 10, 2025, https://911digitalarchive.org/items/show/7093.