Where Were You...

When the world stopped turning? That's how the song goes. I well remember that day 7 years ago. I woke up to the radio announcing the news that an airplane had crashed into the world trade center. Being so out of it I thought they said London until it sank in that Manhattan was in New York. I immediately run downstairs to tell me roommates. No one was home so I went back upstairs to listen. About that time the second one hit. I listened upstairs as long as I could because we did not have a television at the time and I had to listen to the radio. I heard one of my roommates come in and ran down to tell her. She told me her sister was in New York and immediately tried to get a hold of her. Several hours later she learned she was okay.

I drove to campus that day (usually I walked) so I could listen to the radio. As I was parking the second tower collapsed. I went to class and it was very hushed. Some people didn't know yet. My one friend went several hours without knowing.

Later that night at work (Wal-Mart) several of us sat in the back and watched the coverage on television. It was a very slow and somber day and the few customers we did have stopped to watch the coverage on the televisions around the store. I was mortified. There are no feelings to describe how I felt and I am sure my grief was only a hundredth of the grief that those felt who had lost a loved one that day. I bought and saved the magazines (Times, People, etc.) that covered that event. We must always remember what brave men and women have and continue to fight and die for; our freedom to stand up, to speak out, to embrace our own morals and values, not ones imposed on us by a dictatorial government that fuels the terrorists. I will never forget and my eyes may never be dry when I see the images of that day.