story4026.xml

story4026.xml

born-digital

story

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2002-09-11

I had traveled two hours that morning to Portland from my home in Hermon, Maine to visit my mother who was a resident at The Barron Center Alzheimer's Unit. Arriving around 10:00 am without listening to the radio in the car, I went directly to my mother's room to visit with her, staying with her until around 11:45am. As I left the building to get lunch, I noticed a television in another unit with an image of dark smoke. I walked into the unit and saw a replay of the WTC on fire and asked the nurse there what was happening. She couldn't believe that I hadn't heard about this already and told me that the WTC had been hit by suicide planes and that the Pentagon had also been hit. I'll never forget my reply: "Well, they didn't get the Pentagon." And, of course, she said they had.
I immediately went out to my car and turned on the radio to find out more as I traveled to the Maine Mall to get my lunch. I kept hearing about suicide planes and envisioned the WWII kamakaze type attack until the announcer finally said something about airliners. Of course the towers had already collapsed and I didn't really hear about that either until later. Even now I know that I do not comprehend (even after seeing hours of coverage on television) the extent of the damage done that day.
As I was eating my lunch at the Mall, I heard lots of sirens going in the direction of the Portland Airport. It was then that I believed I needed to get away from the Mall and the Airport. I returned to my mother seeking shelter with her, both physical and emotional. It was not until later that evening that I actually saw the television images of the disaster.
Today, on September 11, 2002, I am processing the grief of losing my mother earlier this year and I am remembering her tenderness and love and the sense of security I felt being with her on that day one year ago despite the illness that took her from us. Watching the memorial ceremonies today and hearing the words of kindness and support from the families who lost so much that day, has been extremely helpful to me as I process my own grief. May God bless and keep us all.