story5.xml
Title
story5.xml
Source
born-digital
Media Type
story
Date Entered
2002-01-22
911DA Story: Story
September 11 was a picture perfect day here in Manassas, Virginia. My original plan was to take my two sons, ages 4 and 2 on a ride on the Virginia Railway Express train from Manassas to Old Town Alexandria for the morning...and then come home for lunch. But, because the weather was so perfect, I decided to take them for a hike along Bull Run instead.
We packed up some snacks and went on our merry way. During the hike we found turtles, saw a hawk, skipped rocks in the water, and ate our snacks at an old picnic table in the woods. I remember that as I sat there with my sons that I was so happy we had moved back to the DC area (where I grew up), because being able to so easily spend time in nature like this was something I had missed when we lived in hot, dry and dusty West Texas. It was one of the best mornings I'd had since we moved back and I was really happy.
Because I had to get to the office after lunch, we packed up our stuff and headed home. A message was waiting on our answering machine. It was from my sister-in-law in Dallas who said simply that "her prayers were with us and that she hoped everything was o.k." My wife was out at exercise class and my first thought was that maybe she had had an accident and had somehow gotten in touch with her family...hence Gail's call. So, I called Gail back and asked her what her messag meant. She said, simply, "turn on the t.v."
I turned on the television just in time to watch the second tower collapse. At first I couldn't understand what I was seeing, because the reports were so confusing. When I actually understood, that was even worse. I had stayed in the hotel in the Trade Center many times and could not wrap my mind around that massive structure actually collapsing.
Over the next few hours, Susan and I tried as hard as we could to shield our children from the events that were rolling over us like a wave. Should we take the boys and leave? Should we stay put? In the end, we did nothing. It wasn't until two or three nights later that I was finally able to let my fear and sadness free...I spent close to an hour crying in a combination of despair over the tragedy anxiety over my need to protect the boys. After that I was able to begin to move forward again. But I'll never forget that day that went from perfect to completely awful.
We packed up some snacks and went on our merry way. During the hike we found turtles, saw a hawk, skipped rocks in the water, and ate our snacks at an old picnic table in the woods. I remember that as I sat there with my sons that I was so happy we had moved back to the DC area (where I grew up), because being able to so easily spend time in nature like this was something I had missed when we lived in hot, dry and dusty West Texas. It was one of the best mornings I'd had since we moved back and I was really happy.
Because I had to get to the office after lunch, we packed up our stuff and headed home. A message was waiting on our answering machine. It was from my sister-in-law in Dallas who said simply that "her prayers were with us and that she hoped everything was o.k." My wife was out at exercise class and my first thought was that maybe she had had an accident and had somehow gotten in touch with her family...hence Gail's call. So, I called Gail back and asked her what her messag meant. She said, simply, "turn on the t.v."
I turned on the television just in time to watch the second tower collapse. At first I couldn't understand what I was seeing, because the reports were so confusing. When I actually understood, that was even worse. I had stayed in the hotel in the Trade Center many times and could not wrap my mind around that massive structure actually collapsing.
Over the next few hours, Susan and I tried as hard as we could to shield our children from the events that were rolling over us like a wave. Should we take the boys and leave? Should we stay put? In the end, we did nothing. It wasn't until two or three nights later that I was finally able to let my fear and sadness free...I spent close to an hour crying in a combination of despair over the tragedy anxiety over my need to protect the boys. After that I was able to begin to move forward again. But I'll never forget that day that went from perfect to completely awful.
Collection
Citation
“story5.xml,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed January 9, 2025, https://911digitalarchive.org/items/show/8272.