Where Were You?

Eight years ago, I was sitting at the drive-up window of the bank where I worked (it opened earlier than the rest if the bank, so I already had customers). My mom called to tell me she was watching Good Morning America and that a plane had crashed into one of the World Trade Center buildings. I thought she meant a small plane, like a Cessna, had flown too close and clipped the building or something minor and couldn’t figure out why she was calling me at work to tell me. I got off the phone and a couple of minutes later, one of my regular customers pulled up and asked if I’d heard about the plane. I called my mom back and she relayed what they were saying on GMA. We were on the phone when the second plane hit as the GMA camera captured it live. I’ll never forget the sound in her voice as she reacted to what she saw. Because the Trade Center had been attacked, we were concerned something would happen to the banks as well. I remembered being grateful for living in a suburb of a minor city because it would hopefully mean we would not be attacked too. I remember praying for my brother and his family who were stationed overseas. Most of all, I remember praying that the worst was over.

It wasn’t. We had a tv in the break room and we kept taking turns going back to watch it. I think there was a radio too, but it was all a blur of confusion and fear. I was on the phone with my mom when the towers fell. As terrifying and heartbreaking as it was, there was something so comforting about experiencing this with her. I remembered I couldn’t wait for the bank to close that afternoon so I could go home and be with my family. Once we were all home, we just sat there all evening moving back and forth between sorrow, outrage and uncertainty.

To this day, I am still in awe of the bravery of those who voluntarily entered those hellish buildings to save lives and sacrificed their own in the process. I am proud that evil did NOT win, that we did NOT stop living and fighting for our lives! May God bless the families and loved ones of those who were lost that day and who died fighting to keep us safe before and after those cowardly attacks. May He also bless those brave individuals who currently serve to protect us. May we never forget the lives lost and lessons learned on September 11, 2001.