story2146.xml

story2146.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-09-10

I just came out of a meeting with some of my employees. Another employee came up to me with tears in her eyes and a sense of real urgency to her voice, but I could barely make out what she was telling me. It was that moment of dazed confusion. I had to ask her to repeat what she said. She said, "A plane has struck the World Trade Towers."

As the reality of the situation began to set in, I felt that I needed to learn more about the situation and logged onto msnbc.com to see if there was any information available there.

As I was logging on, the employee came running back into my office crying even more. She said, "Another plane just struck the World Trade Towers. I think we're under attack!"

Suddenly, everyone in the department of 50 people became instantly upset. Some tried to continue to do their work answering an 800 telephone line. Others found it impossible to remain focused and were so devastated that they literally fled the building to go be with their children.

The whole day was so surreal. Callers into our 800 line needed to talk about what was happening. So, besides trying to manage the work of the day, we found ourselves offering support to the customers.

What I remember most is how dazed and stunned everyone looked. Total shock that this nightmare was happening.

I could not wait to get home to my 17 yr old son and my 8 yr old daughter. I hugged them both so hard and kissed their sweet faces. I have always counted my blessings, but Sept. 11, 2001, really emphasizes my blessings even more.

I am so proud to be an American. And, I was so proud of our president, George W. Bush. He was destined to be our president during this horrific event. No one else could have been as strong as he was for us.