What astonishes me right now is that on this day of remeberence, not a single person on my list of links has written about the events five years ago. It leaves me speechless. But not speechless enough to not write about that Tuesday.
where were you? i was sitting in my third period class when the announcement to "stay calm" was presented over the intercom. Mr. Benson made some comments that made no real sense to us at the time, something about phones and staying in school is all i remember. The bell was about to ring in ghetto history and we were about to make our normal b-line for our fifth period classes. not knowing what his statements meant, we all headed towards our impending classes not really knowing what to expect. I walked briskly to AP English and the moment i entered the class i was greeted by a television screen filled with smoke and destruction. i had no idea what was going on. i remember sitting there just staring blankly at the screen, trying to produce some reaction to the horror that was unfolding. i didn't watch the second plane crash into the second tower, but we did watch the towers collapse.
word had already been out that the pentagon had been hit. living in northern virginia means that half the students' parents in any given school work for the government in some capacity, be it federal, military, contractor, etc. Even my mom works for SSA. Phone lines were down and very few calls were coming in or out. Friends and mates were panicking left and right. We weren't released from school because of the level of pandimonium that had already broken out. As we sat in that class watching the t.v., a friend kept insisting this was a terrorist attack. I don't remember everything that went through my head that afternoon. The whole school rushed to their final class of the day. Few teachers actually taught that day. I remember kids being angry about not being able to see what was going on, to know, to just know what was happening.
i never cried. i never shed a tear until this past Saturday. a dear friend was even affected by the attacks, and i couldn't produce emotions appropriate enough. my friend Traci lost her husband of 10 years. he died in the Pentagon. he was a civilian accountant. Eddie left behind Traci and his two daughters Ashley and Katie. Ashley was 7 and Katie was 3. Katie doesn't remember her dad. They're really special girls, and i used to watch them and i saw them grow up after 9/11. Traci decided to move the girls about two years ago. we're not sure why. i think most of it had to do with the memories of Eddie in our area. and she didn't want pity or to be known as "the one who lost her husband". that was a sad goodbye. i can't tell you why i haven't cried until now. but i can tell you that i will never forget, and they will never leave my thoughts and prayers. this is how i remember September 11th.
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I was doing laundry in Memorial. I remember sitting there reading for a class (probably Civ), and someone ran down the stairs and told me that something was going on with the World Trade Center. That was an understatement, of course.
I remember that we had an inpromptu hall meeting to decide what to do. A lot of people didn't want to leave the building, a lot of people didn't want to stay in any building. We weren't sure what was going to happen, because the plane had already crashed outside of Pittsburgh. If Pittsburgh were a target for something worse, would we be affected? I eventually went to class (theory with Dr. Browne, who DID teach that day).
My other memory, related to that day, is of the chapel prayer service that was held. No one really knew what was going on yet, so it was somewhat unorganized, but the sheer number of people in chapel, voluntarily, was amazing. After the formal service, we were encouraged to get together in small groups and pray outside. I remember being extremely sick, and having Touring Choir that night, so I wasn't able to stay for long. But the number of people, in small circles, covered the entire quad and chapel garden. THAT was breathtaking.
Great post. Much needed post.
We had just finished 2nd period AP English. I was the class treasurer, and since I wasn't in the right homeroom, I would always have to meet with the class advisor before I went to 3rd period AP Spanish. I was always late to 3rd period.
I was walking down the hallway. My 3rd period classroom was situated in such a way that its hallway made a "T" with the hallway I was walking through. I could see into the classroom before I got there.
This day was different. As I looked into the room from about 30 yards away, my teacher and I made eye contact, and he had that look that you get when you've just heard horrible news...the look of disbelief/confused/don't-know-what-to-do.
I walked into the classroom and saw the towers, only one hit at this point. None of us knew how to process it. It seemed like a movie. For one moment we all looked away, only to look back at the television and see that the second tower had been hit.
No one taught that day. Being one of the morning anouncers, I was called to the office to make scripted announcement written by the principal...an attempt to offer some words of comfort. An appeal to common religious beliefs acknowledging mortality and homan goodness.
Despite my disbelief, I read the address without faltering. After the address, Erich Lascek (yes, who helps with the GCC marching band and teaches where I went to HS) sang God Bless America over the PA system. Unaccompanied. Unembelished. Pure. And moving.
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My organ lessons here at Notre Dame are on Mondays. So this past Monday, my professor Dr. Craig Cramer asked me where I was. He told me where he was and then proceeded to describe for me very vividly what happened on campus on that day.
Then president, Fr. Edward Malloy, cancelled all classes upon receiving the news of the attacks. He scheduled a Mass to be celebrated on the main quad of campus at 3:30 that afternoon.
For this Mass, the basilica staff moved all of the sacred vessels for Communion , all of the priests' vestments, and a movable altar outside. Over 70 priests from the campus came to concelebrate Mass for the campus. All of the choirs, the band, and the orchestra were assembled to offer liturgical music for the Mass.
Over 7,000 people came to the quad, students and faculty alike, and sat on the ground in silence. The provost made an announcement over the loud speaker indicating that the Communion ministers would need to use the sidewalks for the distribution of Communion, and that those sitting on the sidewalks would need to move. And very quietly and quickly, some stood up, moved, and sat back down, immediately clearing the sidewalks.
Over 7,000 people came to this Mass, a celebration that you would have thought was planned for months in advance.
My prof asked if I have seen pictures. I don't think I need to.
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