.....where I was this morning 6 years ago. I am sure a lot of people today are thinking back to that same moment. I just wanted to share my experience of that day:
I had gotten laid off from my internet start up company the day before (monday, the 10th), and I was at my mom's apartment in Arlington working on my resume. Both Roger and my mom had already left for work, my mom had taken the metro down to the State Department around 8am that morning.
Mark and I were on the computer when his niece called to tell us to turn on the news. That's when we saw what had happened in New York - I think only one of the towers had been hit. The details were somewhat sketchy, but at the time - it was just an airplane crash as far as anyone knew.
We all know what happened - so there's no need for me to recap. But I'll flash forward to the part where I remember looking out of the apartment window, and in the near distance, seeing the smoke rising from the Pentagon. I remember specifically looking down at the street, and seeing cars lined up like a parking lot, but nobody was moving. But nobody was honking - it was so quiet. People were walking - tons of people were walking the street, traveling west out of the city. We hadn't had any luck calling Roger (who was working downtown at the time) or my mom, since all the cell phones were jammed.
About an hour or two later, my mom walked through the front door, tears streaming down her face. She said she had never experienced anything like it. She had gotten on the Metro just like any other day at 8:15- 8:30am. By the time she made it down to her stop on Capitol Hill (roughly 30-40 minute ride) it was like she had gone through a time warp. She stepped off the metro to see the national guard running down the street, fully armed. It was sheer pandemonium (it was probably around this time that the 4th plane had gone missing, and rumored to be heading toward the Capitol). She didn't know what to do, where to go. what was safe or even what was happening. She was terrified.
Shortly thereafter, Roger walked through the front door as well - visibly shaking. He had walked all the way from his office on 12th Street to our apartment in Arlington - the only choice he had at the time.
We all just sat there that day, glued to the tv. I kept going over to the window to see that smoke from the Pentagon, as if I didn't believe it the first time. I don't feel the need to explain the feelings - we all know them too well. What's hard for me to believe is that it was SIX years ago. I think about what's happened in those last 6 years. I think about how - this will probably be (for my generation) one of those epic moments in time that seem to stand still. I still remember what I was wearing. I think about how we were all affected by that day, but some so much more so than others. I think about the stories of all the babies born after 9/11 - and for a woman 9-months pregnant, the thought just absolutely breaks my heart.
I think what also hits me - as bizarre perhaps as it may sound - is how proud I am to be from Washington, D.C. In my humble opinion, it is where things happen - for better or for worse - it's where so much of this country starts. Living on the west coast, I find myself frustrated sometimes when people seem fuzzy about the details of 9/11. Not to be insensitive, I realize everyone handles profound situations like that differently. And I just have to say for the record - that this has NOTHING to do with political affiliation. But I'm shocked when the subject of 9/11 comes up (at work for example), and there is almost an "Oh yeah" feeling. That bothers me - over and over. It's not fair for me to make any blanket generalizations - and I am definitely not saying that all Californians are blasse about the subject. What I am saying though - is that there is a definite, and obvious difference between the two coasts - in my experience - when it comes to this subject. These are simply my observations, based on my experiences.
Anyway, this isn't about comparisons, or one-upmanship. This isn't a political statement either. It's simply my thoughts. I just wanted to say this on today's post, that I DO remember, I'll always remember. And that I am proud to be from our nation's capital.
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