Well yesterday was quite and eventful day. Yesterday marked the 9 year anniversary of 9/11, a day I will never forget.
I remember it was the most beautiful morning, I was driving to EMU to work in the morning and then had afternoon classes, it was the first Tuesday of class in the fall semester of Junior year. I remember literally thinking this could be the most perfect day ever, the sky was blue, there were a few little marshmallow clouds around and the sun was shining so brightly, it was like a picture!!
When I was almost to work the morning show guys that I listened to announced that there was a freak accident in NYC a plane had just crashed into one of the towers of the world trade center. I thought OMG how awful, how could you just run into a building like that? Then just a few minutes later as I was getting ready to turn on to Anne St to park they said a second plane just hit the second tower, and all they could say is this doesn't seem to be an accident!
Then the pentagon and the plane in PA. Once I did get into work I immediately tried to call Greg who was stationed in Japan at the time and just getting ready to go to bed. It took a long time to get through to the base, I think over an hour! Once I did he was just hearing of the attacks!
I remember feeling so scared and so unsafe, you didn't know what or when something else was going to happen. It was the first time in my life I didn't feel safe in America! And now 9 years later I don't think anyone will feel the way they did before 9/11/01, that security is gone.
Kasey and I were both working that day and in the Eateries on the lower level was a big TV so we would go down there every once in a while to see what was new. The one time we went down we had only been watching for a minute or two when we saw the second tower fall live. I remember thinking and saying 'we are going to war'. I was so scared for Greg and for all the men and women in the military.
Classes were cancelled for the day and once our shift was over Kasey and I left campus and went back to her apartment to watch the president speak. My mom was in Grand Rapids on business so I had no one else to be with so Kasey took me in!!
It was the Sunday after 9/11/01 that I got the call from Greg that I had been dreading. I knew that he was stationed with the only forward deployed air craft carrier and they would always be first response, but when I got that call and heard him say "We are going and I can't tell you when or where but we are leaving" those were the scariest and longest seconds of my life! Then came the news that he would not be able to call or write or email while he was gone. I didn't know when I would hear from him again, it could be days or weeks or months. I believe it happened to be about 8 or 9 weeks later that I got an email, all it said was he was alive and ok and that he loved me. I was so excited to get word from him but couldn't figure out why he would be telling me he was alive, he was on an aircraft carrier in the middle of the ocean I thought he was pretty 'safe'. Turns out only a couple of days before this one of his shipmates had gone overboard and drowned. Some how I didn't hear anything about this and all of my wonderful friends and family had but somehow kept it from me, thank god! When I told everyone that I had gotten an email from Greg everyone was so happy and relieved and then they told me what happened!! It wasn't too long after that when Greg got moved to Bahrain and we could talk every once in a while again.
While I am so grateful to have that part of our life over with it is something that I will never forget!
In 2008 we went to NYC and of course went to Ground Zero, it is something you can't even begin to imagine until you see it!! Everything was still 2 enormous holes, there are cranes in these holes where the WTC once stode that just looked like tiny little toys someone threw in there. When we were there you could feel the lost souls all around you. At one point I started crying thinking of the tragedy and all the families who lost people they loved and it felt like someone grabbed and held my hand for a minute but there was no one actually there! I will never understand how people could commit these acts against innocent people and then say it is in the name of their god, I refuse to believe there is any god who would want people to kill others.
On a lighter note, we got to go downtown yesterday and see the only live Spartan game I'll get to see this year. With Little Mister on the way and to right in the middle of the season we decided after many many years to give up our MSU season football tickets. :( But when the opportunity come up to see them play in Detroit a mere 20 minutes away we said ok! It was cool but not the same as being at Spartan Stadium!
2 comments:
That is definitely a day that I will never forget as well. I remember it in much the exact same way you did, except I was already at work. I remember never running up and down the stairs so many times in my life to look at that big screen. I remember standing there watching it fall live. I remember the looks on everyone's faces, and the sheer terror we all felt.
It was not even a question that you would come home with me. I think that day, for all the horrible and unspeakable things that occurred, is one that will always remind me how special our friendship is. We both wanted our mommies or our "other halfs", and we had each other. Going through that experience together makes a bond that no one else can quite understand. I am thankful for you, and still feel bad keeping the secret of that sailor from you. We knew we had to do it - even though we knew it wasn't Greg, I would not take a chance on your reaction to it!
I had Josh sit with me on Saturday and watch the news. They were replaying the telecast from that morning. It was the same news we were watching on 9-11-01. He wasn't born then, and really couldn't understand why I was sitting there crying as I watched it happen again. He just kept saying that "it'll be okay Kasey." I knew he didn't understand, but I thought it was important for him to watch it anyway!
All in all - you look amazing still, but I think my nephew is dropping, or whatever it is that swimming guy is doing. . . you look like he is carrying lower! Not much time left! :)
I am so thankful that you didn't tell me about that sailor I would never have been able to handle it even though I think in my heart I would have known if something was wrong with Greg!
I'm glad you had Josh watch that with you, it's so sweet that he wanted to comfort you! Part of me is kind of glad that the younger generations won't know what it was like that day but at the same time they will never know what the world was like before 9/11 and eventually they will have their major event in their lifetime!!
Thank you, I think I'm doing pretty good for being just about ready to pop!! And yes you are right he is beginning to drop a lot, but then today he was back up a little higher! It's weird!!
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