story6627.xml

story6627.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-09-12

I was visiting my youngest son in Louisville KY and was getting ready to head back to NY that morning. I was watching the Today Show at his apartment, and he wanted to change it to ESPN to show me Ed McCaffrey's leg break in the Bronco game the night before. I decided it was time to say good bye and head out on the road back to New York State. I cried when I said good bye, around 8:15 that morning, and my mom who was with me said dry your tears before we hit the highway. As I was driving I said to her, "I know, he is only in Kentucky, it could be worse", meaning he could be overseas as he is in the Army Reserves. About 40 mins into the drive, I pulled in for gas listening to an Oldies station on the radio. When I got back in the car and turned it on, Matt Lauer and Katie Courick were talking about a plane hitting the World Trade Tower. I figured it was a horrible freak accident and then they started talking about a highjacked plane from Boston. I figured that was why it crashed because of a struggle. Then they stated another plane hit it, and I thought how awful and weired, but not really thinking of terroism. As we drove along listening they were talking to a gentleman at the Pentagon, and listening live he described a sudden boom that shook his windows and smoke coming from by the helipad. He didnt know what happened but thought maybe a bomb went off. Then we listened in absolute horror that a plane had hit it. It was then that I began to panic. We were heading over the Ohio River into Cincinnati when they talked of possible more planes being hijacked and the FAA grounded all flights. I still had a 9 hour drive ahead of me not knowing what was going to happen. I thought dear God we are under attack. What if the planes start falling out of the sky. Then in disbelief they talked of the plane crash in Pennsylvania. My horror hit me then, because I thought oh no, we will probably retaliate and my son may have to go to war. Every mothers fear. And my worst fear is that I wouldnt be there to see him off. My other fear was when they said the plane hit somewhere south east of Pittsburg. My other son goes to college in PA and I knew he was east of Pitt. I felt so out of control being away from my children. They talked on the radio as the WTC building crashed to the ground. I thought oh dear Lord, all those people. People on the local radio stations started praying and we watched cities in Ohio send home their workers and we had a long way to go. We listened all the way home, not even stopping to eat. We just sat in silence listening. When I arrived home I called both my children. I choose to get grief counseling as all I could do was cry all week watching these poor families going through what they did, and worrying that my son would go to war. I pray every night for him, and I thank God everynight for them. I also pray for everyone affected by Sept. 11th. It had to be the most devastating thing to anyone.