story154.xml

story154.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-03-06

I was not here at Arlington House the day of the September 11th attack. I was in my apartment watching CNN when the Twin Towers were hit. I immediately called my friend and the Historian at Arlington House, Karen Byrne to inform her of what was happening. The nearest phone was located in my kitchen. I grabbed it and made the call while keeping an eye on the TV.
I asked Karen if she knew what had happened. She told me, ?No.? Then I proceeded to tell her about the tragedy in New York. I was thinking that it was a Timothy McVeigh type of situation; an American who hated the United States. Karen and I were both asking the question, ?What?s wrong with these people?? She turned on the radio to see if she could pick up the news.
At around 9:30, Karen said, ?Wait a minute, I see Joy running.? She put me on hold and then she said that she had to go. I looked at the TV screen. The reporter stated that a plane crashed into the Pentagon; the section closest to Arlington National Cemetery. I tried to call Karen again, but no one answered the phone. I was very worried.
Things did not get better once I realized that an old housemate of man actually worked in the Pentagon. Even though we were not the best of friends, I needed to know that he was okay. He was fortunate enough to be away on busy at the time of the attacks. Then CNN reported that the Capitol was the main target. A new set of worries overtook me. I had lots of friend who worked on the Hill as well.
My roommate is the defense reporter for Congressional Quarterly. He was on the Hill that day. He came to the house at around 10:30 with loads of other reporters. Our apartment became a regular newsroom. They were filing stories and calling their families to tell them that they were okay. We watched more of the news, then went to the grocery store for provisions. Safeway looked like a hurricane was about to hit with people stocking up on bread and water. I even saw Congress members getting cereal and eggs. And of course, everybody needed to buy alcohol. The stores were picked clean.
I called my family and friends to tell them what happened. I had not yet felt the full brunt of what just occurred. I was running on vapors to keep me going. CNN was reporting that the Mall was on fire and I panicked. We all did. My apartment is a ten-minute walk away from the Mall. We calmed ourselves down and looked out back. No fire. No fire at all. The networks had begun to report any little rumor that came their way. We decided to turn off the TV.
I had to go to work the next day. I saw grown men weeping behind their newspapers. No one said a word. Everything was fine until later on in the day. The smoke from the Pentagon was visible. And from our hill, you can see all of Washington DC and the Pentagon. I avoided looking in that direction. I had to drive that way while running an errand for my supervisor. I looked to my left and I saw the destruction. I almost lost control of the van. I couldn?t stop shaking. When I got back to work, I broke down. Karen and I went for a walk and talked about things. My life changed.
Since then, I have noticed a difference in my attitude. I still have my wicked sense of humor, but my tolerance level has dropped. I tolerate all people from all backgrounds, but I cannot tolerate people who waste my time. Money I can get back, but I can?t get back my precious time. I want to spend it enjoying my life and the people in it. I have been the queen of communication now. I am sure my family is tired of hearing from me.