I have a secret.
On the Tuesday morning of September 11th in 2001, I was studying in my college dorm for a quiz about a book I was supposed to be reading. (that isn’t the secret)
A girl who lived on my hall ran in and told me that a plane had hit the World Trade Center.
“What’s the World Trade Center?” I asked.
I thought that maybe it was kind of like a mall.
Where trading took place.
An international mall of traders. Sortof like Trader Joes…maybe.
I didn’t know.
I didn’t really know why people were crying either. Some people in my dorm lobby were watching a tv….some were over in the corner crying. I glanced over at the screen without any knowledge of what was going on….Why the heck were these girls bawling over a collapsed building?!?! I know…I was just a ball of compassion. So full of mercy. and intelligence. Somehow I totally missed the fact that people were still inside the Twin Towers.
I didn’t get it.
I didn’t comprehend the loss.
I didn’t understand the enormity of that tragedy until one year later.
I’m a slow learner, I guess. Also it didn’t help that I didn’t have my parents or an adult around to ask questions or time to watch a tv with cable.
On September 11, 2002, I was at my parents house and saw the reunion of the women who were pregnant while their husbands perished inside the collapsed buildings. It was only the widows. And they were holding the babies that never met their daddies.
The camera scanned the sea of women swaying back and forth as they comforted their children. It looked like an entire country of bodies. And that is when I finally realized what had happened. I cried. The very thought of their loss had my upper lip getting hot and my chin quivering. I broke down at the magnitude of heartbreak in a single space. It was overwhelming.
So that is my dirty little 9/11 secret. That’s what I was doing. That’s how long it took me to realize the reality of our world. That is why I pray for those babies everytime I go to the mall.
What were you doing when you heard about the attacks? And for goodness sake, please somebody tell me that you didn’t know what they did at the World Trade Center either. I feel like such a moron sometimes.
Today I will be making this snack to give to my local hotties. I hope that they eat moron food.
Katie, I said the same exact thing! I was in college too. My boyfriend (that im married to now!) called me when I was walking to my political science class and told me that and I said what is the world trade center? I was thinking it had something to do with the UN or something like that. 20 minutes later they cancelled all classes and started talking about how the CDC (not to far from where I was) could be a target and that is when I got scared. But it really wasnt till a while later that I understood the enormity of the situation.
I was teaching 2nd grade. And the music teacher walked in and whispered in my ear that the World Trade Center had been hit by a plane. And I had NO IDEA what the World Trade Center was. I asked her. And she said, “The Twin Towers.” And I had NO IDEA what the Twin Towers were.
She said New York and that was no help at all. I didn’t realize the magnitude until I got home that evening and turned on the news. Then I cried for days and finally had to stop watching coverage.
But I am with you … I had never heard of the World Trade Center or the Twin Towers. Or if I did, I sure did not pay any attention. Obviously, I have never been to NY.
Umm, so I just confessed that same secret to my fiance last night. I had no idea what it was, or what it looked like. You’re totally not alone in that. 🙂
Katie- First of all, I don’t (at all) think that you are a moron…
It is still so hard to understand.
I was 8 months pregnant with our first child and my husband and I were waiting in the doctors office for my check up. I kept looking at my watch wondering what was going on because the doctors were always very prompt. When the doctor came in the room, he apologized for making us wait and told us he hadn’t been able to walk away from the TV. He went on to tell us that a plane had just crashed in to the World Trade Center. I did not understand terrorism and could not figure out what was going on. I remembered being in the top of that building looking out over NY just years earlier.
As we drove home and listened to the radio my husband tried to explain what he thought was happening. Then we both sat silently. I’ll never forget looking over and seeing my strong, precious husband crying. At that point I got scared. I couldn’t believe that we were bringing a child in to this world at that point in time.
I spent the rest of that day on the couch incredibly scared and weeping.
Actually, I also made a rather crazy comment that day. I was also at college then, and they were doing a lot of construction on the campus and people were constantly complaining about the inconvenience of it. (Let me mention now that I never watch the news because it freaks me out.) So that morning I got on the elevator with a janitor and he said to me “So it sure is bad out there”. Thinking he meant the construction I replied in exasperation “its really not all that bad!”. He just stared at me in shock until I got off the elevator. It wasn’t until I walked past a TV that I realized what he was talking about. When he talks about that day he probably refers to the jerk he rode the elevator with….
I wrote about 9/11 today too. I was 21 and it scared the living bujeses out of me. I cry about it every single year. Don’t feel bad about not knowing what the trade center was–I barely knew myself.
I have a Mr. Linky up on that post if you want to connect to it :o)
You guys are really making me feel better about my ignorance of NYC buildings. It is so interesting to hear about where and what you were doing when the terrorists struck. Kinda like a uniting moment in time that we all remember…a horrible uniting moment.
XO – Katie
Hi Katie,
I love your blog. I was in college, on my way to a journalism class. I heard people starting to chatter about something going on, the word spread up and down the halls. I went to class, but our professor let us go shortly after so we could go to the “commons” area and watch the television coverage. I had never been on a college campus where everyone, from so from so many diverse backgrounds just stood in silence as we all took in what had happened. I went to a christian college and pretty soon over the silence people began gathering in large circles on the floor to pray. I joined them. I don’t know how long we stayed there praying. People came and went. Tears were wept for strangers and a feeling of being so united and such pride in our country. There was so much unknown that day. I was so young and was largely unaware of the larger world outside my little bubble. But that day, we all knew something had happened that would change our country and our world forever. I admit that I did not experience any loss first hand that day. I didn’t know anyone personally that was affected first hand, but the profound feelings are there as I empathize with the magnitude of loss we, as a country, experienced that day. The stories are so inspiring and there are so many. May we never forget 9/11.
Don’t feel bad. Here’s my story. I didn’t admit that I didn’t know what they were though. But I will to you!
http://designa-peele.blogspot.com/2009/09/remember-september-11-2001.html
I was in my car with my brother on the way to school, senior year. I don’t think I really understood, but I was scared.
Take comfort in the fact that I, too, am very sheltered. Mind you, I’m all the way up in Canada and was a high school student with no knowledge of the World Trade Centre when the tragedy struck…but I was able to acknowledge that, yes, it was a big deal. Though, I couldn’t fathom why all of my friends were bawling about their parents possibly having to go to war (my hometown was right beside a military base, so many kids in my school were ‘army brats’). I mean, I figured, “It’s not OUR problem! What’s all this war talk about??” Boy, was I naive.
I was a newly wed still in college and for the first time EVER (really I never watched tv) I turned on the morning news show. I actually saw the first plane hit in the background of the show, and then the second. I called my hubby to see if he knew. And I skipped spanish.
And I was glued to the TV. It was crazy. At the time there were some girls from our church being held by the Taliban in Afghanistan so we were concerned about that as well…it was a crazy sad time. ANd every year the sinking feeling in my gut I got when I watched the news that morning comes back.
While I knew what the towers were, we had just moved to Colorado just weeks before, so we had no TV, no internet, no radio. Imagine my ignorance as I slept in that morning and woke up all grumpy to Mr. FC calling me to tell me what I happened (he found out via the radio in halted rush hour traffic and so many commuters were crying in their cars). I had a job interview that day at the Denver equivalent of the Towers, and of course everything shut down.
So I didn’t see the horrific images throughout that day and felt quite disconnected. It wasn’t until a few days later when we finally got a TV that I realized the magnitude of it all. And my heart just broke to pieces.
Thank goodness, I thought I was the only one who didn’t know! My brother came into my room and said that our country was under attack. He had recently begun going to a new church and I thought he was talking some spiritual mumbo jumbo warfare. I was like, “Yeah, I know.” and went back to sleep.
I didn’t know either, but I was in seventh grade. I don’t know if that makes you feel better or worse! It was really hard for me to feel what all the adults felt until after it happened when I watched documentaries on it and really let it all soak in. Now I feel almost as if everyone has forgotten. I think all that matter is that you realized it eventually.
I was on the west coast (one year out of college) so I (we, husband was “boyfriend” at the time) was asleep when it happened and my future brother in law called us to wake us up.
I actually worked across the street from the WTC summer of ’99, and I have a few pieces of clothing I will forever keep that I bought at the Gap and JCrew in the basement of WTC. Had lunch in the fountains with my coworkers more times that I can remember. Had my drug test and fingerprinting for my job somewhere in the building. My good friends mom worked in one of the towers, but for whatever reason was in the courtyard area rather than in he building when it happened. Luckily.
I went to Columbia, so we had 2 people from our class die in the towers. I knew one of the guys the year above me that died. To think I used to drink beer with the dude and now he’s gone. It’s weird. It sucks. But it is what it is.
I’m sorry, but I am shocked by your ignorance. In your “cheesey story” page, you say that you are from New Jersey. I can see a young child from the mid-west not knowing the WTC, but a college student from New Jersey? A huge percentage of the state’s economy is tied to New York City. How could have been so ignorant?
My father (and half the parents in my NJ town and all the surrounding counties) took the train into the WTC station every morning. How could anyone from New Jersey not know someone affected by the events of 9/11?
I am from NY. I was at work out on long island on 9-11. My boyfriend (who is now my husband) worked on Wall Street (blocks away from the world trade center. He called me and said “a plane just hit one of the towers of the world trade center” He didn’t know that it was as serious as it was at the time. My friend and I sat there listening to the radio all day. I got another call from Anthony saying that a second plane had hit and that it was definetely terrorism. I didn’t understand what that really meant. After the towers fell was the last time I spoke to him the rest of the day. All the cell towers were on top of that building so he had no reception. I was so scared for him. I had no idea if he was safe. He was not allowed to leave work because of the danger of the situation and the quality of the air. You couldn’t even see two feet in front of you. He was let out early afternoon and walked across the brooklyn bridge with his coworkers to catch the only running trains in the city back to Long Island. I didn’t see him till 8:00 that night at a prayer service at our church. Thank God he was safe. But I will never forget, and he will certainly never forget. What a devastating situation, I pray that our children will never have to go through something so horrible. To see such lives lost and families broken. I pray this war ends soon. Because until it’s over, 9-11 continues for so many every day.
I was a sophomore in high school sitting in my 2nd period Language Arts class. Just like you, I didn’t realize what was going on until MUCH later. Even after coming home that night and my parents doing their best to explain what had happened my naive mind just didn’t understand.
Btw…the snack looks GOOD!
I was on the west coast, interning at my senator’s local office that summer (my college started late in the fall). My mom woke me up at about 6:15 that morning after the first plane hit the tower, and I watched the news as the second one hit. Our Senator closed the office for two days, and when we got back to work, the interns and phone-answering team became pseudo-therapists to so many angry people…the fist caller of the day told me he wanted to “ban Muslims” and ship “all the g-ddamned back to Saudi Arabia where they belong.” It only really got worse from there. I wanted to say, “Yes sir, I’ll put you down for shredding the first amendment…” America, indivisible. Or not.
The hatred those hateful acts uncovered in us had been buried there all along – and I still see it.
I was a 1st grade teacher walking my class from the gym to our room first thing in the morning when a teacher ran through the halls in a panic saying the world was coming to an end. I had to call my best friend at home to find out what was going on. Pretty soon after that, parents started pulling their kids out of school. It was 4:00 before I got home & saw the footage and heard more details. I’ll never forget the feeling, nor what I was wearing.
I was a senior in high school and I turned on the TV to watch while I ate breakfast. My Dad always left it on channel 5 (NBC) when he left for work so I would just watch what he did. I turned it on and looked at it for a second and thought, “Why are they playing a movie so early in the morning. Isn’t the news supposed to be on?” I was watching the first building smoke and as I was standing there wondering what was going on I saw something hit the second building. That’s when I realized this was the news.
I remember the newscasters being as confused as me and asking, “What just happened?” and replaying the clip again. By this time I had to leave for school.
When I got to class (which happened to be a blow off class), we turned the TV and all sat and watched for a good thirty minutes. Then our principal came on and told all our teachers to turn off their TVs. I couldn’t believe it. We didn’t listen and watched until the second tower fell. It was terrifying.
And the only reason I knew what the World Trade Center was was because of Friends.
P.S. Love the way you tell stories on the blog. I am always laughing out loud.
Dearest Shocked,
Yes it’s true I grew up in Jersey…but southern Jersey near farmlands and only till I was in middle school. I also know very few people that still live in our rural NJ town and nobody that worked in NYC. So yes I was ignorant of the situation…very ignorant. Even though I feel lucky to have lived a sheltered life, this was one time where I felt truly blessed to be in the dark about such hatred. Call me an oversensitive sheltered moron…I think God knew my heart would break into a million pieces if I realized the magnitude.
XO – Katie
I was sitting in Government class as a senior in high school and my teacher turned on the tv after the first plane crashed into the tower. I thought it was just an accident. Then we saw the second plane crash and I thought, “what a coincidence!” Then the Pentagon…I still thought something was wrong with all the planes. I said, “That’s strange that three planes have crashed” and I felt so dumb when the guy behind me said, “Hello, we’re being attacked!”
I was here in NYC at the time – I won’t even try to describe what it was like being here at that time. Only that I was lucky.
I think its very hard for someone who lives here to understand how everyone didn’t experience that day in the same way. Its such a raw emotional trauma that still very tender for people who were effected in many ways. But how could you really?
I always think of the story about the husband who went to work that morning while his wife slept in. He called her after the plane hit but she was sleeping and didn’t pick up the phone. She never got to speak to him again. The idea of that unanswered phone call will haunt me forever.
By the way, I don’t think knowing which buiding it was is important at all. It would have been no less of a horror if those planes had hit any of the hundreds of other lesser known skyscrapers here. Even native New Yorkers only know the names of about 20 major ones.
it scares me that teachers who are responsible for molding young minds are saying they didnt know what the WTC was? how do you go through college and get a degree without that knowledge?
Here’s my story…well, not really my story, but the story of those around me.
At 8:45 AM on that morning, I was at work and heard that something happened. If you remember, they thought it was a small plane at first. I picked up the phone and called my friend who worked at Chase Plaza (one block over from WTC). I got her voicemail and left a silly message like “I’m sure it’s nothing, but they probably locked you down anyway” because Chase’s security was pretty bada$$. I called home and while I was on the phone, the 2nd plane hit. That’s when we knew this was an attack. For the rest of the day, if I got a phone call to actually connect, it was a miracle. We didn’t text message back then (at least I didn’t), so we didn’t use that (by the time Katrina hit in 2005, texting was normal and it worked better than calling someone down there). When shots of smoke at the Pentagon came over the TV, I remember getting mad. Really, really mad. Maybe that’s the result of hours of feeling helpless.
Anyway, now started the waiting. The bridges and tunnels that served Manhattan were shut down, so all the people who worked in the city were basically on their own to get home. By about noon, word came that housewives in my area were driving to the NJ side of the George Washington Bridge and driving home the random strangers who had walked all the way up Manhattan and over the bridge in attempts to get home. There were rumors about bomb threats and more hijacked planes all day long.
At the end of the day, I heard from that friend who worked at Chase. As soon as the first plane hit, she sprinted for Battery Park and got on a ferry boat that took her back to New Jersey.
I was afraid to call one of my neighbors, whose husband worked for Canter Fitzgerald. As you might remember, Canter’s offices were on a few floors at the top of one of the towers and virtually everyone in that office was lost, except a few people who were late to work. Turns out, he was not in the building. He went to his group’s fire drill meet-up spot (I guess many companies have a regroup spot in lower Manhattan) when the first plane hit. He waited and waited, but no one came. As the first tower fell, a guy who worked in a cell phone store pulled him and others into the store and pulled the metal gates down in front the store. They watched rubble and bodies rain down the street from inside the store. From there, he walked to a friend’s office on Wall Street, tried to get a few calls out, then started the trek home.
By the end of the day, rumors started flying around our town about how many people were missing. At times, it was in the hundreds. In the very end, I think there were 50-70 people missing. A high school classmate’s husband, a couple I babysat for…the list went on.
So again, not my story and not very well written. Just the story of the people around me, dashed off in a hurry. I’m sorry that I was angry before about people’s ignorance about the event. It’s still so close to some people and it’s very hard to hear that people weren’t rocked to the core the way we were.
Dearest Shocked –
Thank you for sharing those stories – it is the little bits of info even years later that make this event ever-so-much-more real to those who were thousands of miles away with no relationships to those who it affected firsthand. And please do not apologize about being angry…I think it is a natural reaction from someone who painfully and violently experienced 9/11.
XO – Katie
Dear Tammy – It’s true that now the WTC is forever an important cultural and historic site…but keep in mind that we are all from different areas and some teachers never need to learn about monuments or buildings to be excellent educators. I actually went to college to become a science teacher and none of my core or later classes touched on that topic. If you are concerned that this topic needs to be addressed – I would encourage you to write your superintendent of education and see their curriculum.
XO – Katie
I was in college at the time, and was sitting in my dorm room, just after taking a shower, and I turned on the news to catch the weather. That’s when I saw the first two planes in the towers, and I sat and watched the towers collapse live. And I immediately starting crying and calling my family.
(Coincidentally, the class I had to go to that morning was Contemporary Social Problems. My teacher basically threw out the syllabus and all we talked about was the attacks and the debates about what to do. Smart lady).
Katie, don’t feel bad about not knowing about the World Trade Center. When I first saw the footage, I thought it was Chicago! And I had never really heard of the towers either.
And seriously, anyone who criticizes you (or claims that NJ folks should know better) should take a good hard look at themselves. It takes a lot of guts to admit that you didn’t have an immediate reaction – which is TOTALLY NORMAL. I think a lot of Americans had a similar reaction or didn’t know exactly what was going on, but no one else has the courage to admit it. You go, girl!
Hi Katie! I really didn’t “get” it either. I was a sophomore in high school hearing it on my journalism teacher’s radio. She was crying and school let us out early. I thought, this is so sad but I’m so glad it doesn’t effect me (other than it was ruining my 16th birthday).
When I got home, my older sister was terribly upset. One of her very best friends worked at Cantor Fitzgerald and died in the attacks. Her friend’s husband also worked there but he was late to work because of traffic. Her daughter at least has one parent still living. Although the tragedy is overwhelming, the small miracles that took place that day, like traffic, etc. amaze me more than the hatred.
Not knowing the impact then is not nearly as important as realizing it now.
I appreciate your honesty. You were young and perhaps it was a coping mechanism for the pain and confusion.
Thank you for praying for those moms and the babies. One of my friends from college was one of those moms and she was pregnant with their 3rd child when her husband, who I also knew from college, was killed at the Pentagon.
We all gathered at the Memorial at the Pentagon when it opened, it’s incredible and well worth a visit.
My friend has since remarried another Navy officer, whose wife died of cancer two months prior to 9/11. Together they now have 7 children! We all miss Dave, but we also know he’s happy to see her and the children happy again.
Alis – you have no idea how much this comforts me. I know you will miss Dave and remember him forever. I will definitely need to make the trip to visit the Memorial at the Pentagon…thanks for the reminder.
XO – Katie
“I think God knew my heart would break into a million pieces if I realized the magnitude.”
I don’t know what to say to this and other comments. Please educate yourself, broaden what you are exposed to on a daily, weekly and monthly basis…watch CNN, read the New York Times or a paper from the nearest City. Do you understand the magnitude of other tragedies this world has seen in the last 10 years? Bosnia? Darfur? The London bombings? The Madrid bombings? It’s ignorance that perpetuates all that is cruel in this world and allows so many to turn a blind eye.
Well said Mrs. Limestone and Tammy.
Hi Shocked Also –
I agree with you that ignorance does in fact allow cruelty to mature. And yes, I do understand the magnitude of the other tragedies that have since struck other nations and our own. The point of this post was to expose one of my own flaws (yes, I was young and cared more about my hair products than I did about national security) and hopefully encourage those who were also intially ignorant about the impact of 9/11. The point was not to make others feel guilty but to allow a space for them to be honest about their memories of that day. And in my personal opinion, remembering that day is one little way that we can honor those who passed.
XO – Katie
I’m in a pretty unique position. . . as I really didn’t know what the World Trade Center was (I’d never been to NYC), but I was working in DC just a few blocks from Capitol Hill. My boss called and said the World Trade Center has been hit by planes. . I had to go online to see the story and figure out what he was talking about.
But then I heard that the Pentagon had been hit and they were shutting down the city. As a person living near DC, I had driven by there regularly, so I definitely understood where that was. I fled DC with tens of thousands of other people. We were afraid to ride the Metro b/c we thought it was going to be attacked. People were claiming that planes were hitting monuments all over the city. It took us 5 hours to get home. . . it was normally about an hour trip. And we were terrified b/c we had absolutely no idea what was going on. We just knew that we were being attacked by terrorists and our cell phones didn’t work and the streets were jammed and we all just wanted to get the heck out of DC. So while I didn’t know what the Twin Towers were the minute that they got hit. . I definitely experienced the terror that was 9/11 firsthand.
We were living in San Deigo at the time while my husband was stationed out at Coronado Naval Air Station. A few minutes after 6 a.m. my MIL called and told us about the first plane. We turned on the news, then saw the 2nd tower hit, and heard about the pentagon. I watched the news all day, for days.
I knew that the towers were the WTC, but was unaware of the fact that they were only 2 of many, or to the exact extent of what all they encompassed. I also never realized that they were the true defining elements of the NYC skyline.
At the time, we lived about 15 miles from the San Deigo airport, and were on the approach line. From the front windows of our home you could watch the curve all the airplanes made and then see them straighten out for their approach. It was so odd to not see any air traffic for days. Even more odd – the first plane that came back through on that path created a very eerie feeling. All the cars on the streets in our immediate area stopped, pulled over, and everyone got out of their cars to watch. Everyone came out of their homes to look. Very, very eerie.
The one thing about that day that I will never, ever forget is seeing those poor people leaping from the towers. Utterly heartbreaking.
Katie – I don’t think I was quite as clueless, but I didn’t understand the full meaning of what was happening that day either. I was also in college, getting ready for a class when my roommate called me and told me that a plane had hit one tower, I then watched the second plane hit and watched them both collapse. I didn’t really understand how many people were there…or what the impact of the whole thing would actually be, but I think without having the personal connection, we were aloud to misunderstand a little bit…we all figured it out eventually, right?
Thanks for posting this Katie.
I was actually supposed to be in the North Tower that morning for a meeting. I was working at a university on Long Island at the time, and we had 3 meeting scheduled that day, starting at 9:00am. Ironically 2 were canceled the the last one our assistant canceled the night before at 4:00pm. Things sure do happen for a reason.
I feel strange telling people that, like I was supposed to be there and wasn’t, because I don’t really think about it and people have suffered far worse than me from that day.
My strongest memories were shopping for supplies for the rescue workers. I was in a store buying flash lights and work gloves, and the thing that make me break down was the fact that there were 10 other women in that flash light section doing the exact same thing.
How much people pulled together and gave to help others is what I remember. Both on Long Island and in all other towns across America I’m sure.
Hi Katie. Thanks for your honesty. I was driving to work in Atlanta. They were talking about it on the radio. My first thought was extreme sadness and I began crying there in my car. I grew up in the state of NY and was very familiar with what the towers were. Then they said another plane hit the other tower and I will admit that I didn’t get it right then and there that it was a terrorist attack. I really thought it was a coincidence. But I remember feeling so much sorrow for the people I knew had died in those buildings even before they fell to the ground. I remember being scared once I reached work and realized that it was a terrorist attack and knowing I live in the city that houses the CDC and what a “lovely” target that would be. Many of us left work early to pick up our children and go home. My job allowed it because our building was right next to the federal building and they evacuated all their employees that day. I remember going home and watching in horror. Horror and fear and anger and sadness. I can understand how some didn’t get it right then in there. But I wasn’t one of them. The magnitude of it all hit me very, very hard immediately. So I thank you for this post. We all may not have gotten it right then and there, be we all will never forget.
I didn’t know what the World Trade Center was either.
I was already in class sitting in my chair waiting for the instructor. Some people came in and were whispering. After class I was in my car, had the radio on and figured out fairly quickly that something was going on. I called my mom and said, “What’s going on?” She screamed in the phone, “We are under attack!” I’m like, “Who’s under attack?” She screamed, “The United States!” I went to her house and we watched tv all day long. I had seen the Twin Towers in movies (go figure) but didn’t know exactly what the World Trade Center was until she explained it to me.
Fast forward 3 years. I moved out of state and met a young teenage girl who lost her mother in the Twin Towers on 9/11.
Never forget.
Katie,
I just wanted to say thank you for your honesty. It takes a genuine, honest, humble person to share things with the general public that are personal and maybe even a little embarrassing. This was a horrible, tragic day that noone will ever forget – regardless of how much you understood the day it actually happened. Thanks for putting yourself out there and generating discussion that prompted people to share their stories.
Katie, girl! I was actually in my science class in high school when everyone found out. We tunned in during our class hour and watched the horrendous situation take place. I didn’t know what the World Trade Center was either and still to this day I am not confident on the history of the building!!! So your def. not left out 😉
Katie, thank you for your honesty. I had just moved to NYC from NC and I only really knew the Towers as a landmark. Tall beautifull buildings to take pictures of. Like things often do, the Towers meant more after they were gone. Here’s my story: http://costumedivasdirtylaundry.blogspot.com/2009/01/9-11-01.html
I’m late to the party, as usual.
I don’t think your response to that day was out of ignorance, but out of innocense. Innocense to the possibility of such profound evil, and there is nothing wrong with that. who cares about the building? the building — while symbolic to the terrorists — had absolutely no bearing on the level of human tragedy.
I had the total opposite experience. I remember where I was when I found out: a classmate and I had been at an early-morning kick-off event for United Way and when we got in my car to drive to school (I was a high school senior), I noticed that Peter Jennings’ voice was on the radio. It took us a few minutes to piece together exactly what was going on, but I “got it” immediately. Though I wasn’t impacted personally, it shakes me to the core to this day, almost to an obsessive point. I was glued to the coverage for weeks, and still tune in on the anniversary (I still have some of this year’s History channel coverage on my DVR). I think I might feel a tad guilty for the privilege of being born in the US, knowing that so many around the world feel this kind of loss on a yearly/monthly/weekly basis.
Anyway, that’s my story. Just one of the millions of ways Americans (and others) experienced that day.
(sorry for the spelling errors, I know there must be some!)
Well, I’m from NY, so I knew what the World Trade Center was (but I doubt I would if I didn’t live in NY).
When I found out the tragedy occurred, I was at college, opening up the student’s snack shop while everyone else was in chapel (we had a chapel service every morning). I turned on the big-screen TV, saw the towers burning and the images of the plane crashing into them, and immediately called everyone I knew. No one believed me! It was really hard to tell people who had happened, since so many of my friends and had family members who worked in or near the WTC.
Still praying for those who lost their loved ones…
Katie: Ok, so I’m reading this posy a yr and a half latert but no big deal right?? I came across your blog yesterday and I pretty much have not stopped reading it. And yes, I know I sound like a big creeper kid here. 🙂 But, just so you’re not alone, I had no idea what the big idea was when 9/11 happened. I was a freshman in high school (a young’un I know). We watched the news all day and I didn’t have a clue. But, now I 100% understand it. And I’m also a weepy girl when I see the news about it now. Long story short– you’re not alone. Now back to creeping your past posts. 🙂
Thanks Megan…it’s nice to know that I am not the only clueless person out there 🙂
xo – kb
I had just graduated from highschool and was babysitting and on the phone with my boyfriend when the headlines hit the tv… I was clueless… call me a sheltered little girl from a tiny little town in PA. I’m glad to know that I’m not the only one that had no clue. It was a horrid day.
“That is why I pray for those babies everytime I go to the mall. ”
What? You only pray for babies who will never meet their fathers who were killed during a terrorist attack when you go to the mall? Am I missing a connection?
but, for the record, I didn’t know what the WTC was either. Nor did I know who Osama Bin Laden was, when my roommate came home and declared he was the culprit responsible.
For me, I need reminders to pray for specific groups. Some folks probably are really good about praying for groups all the time…but since I don’t know anyone personally that lost their father or loved one during 9-11, I need that reminder to pray SPECIFICALLY for them…I can’t imagine the heartache they must feel everyday no matter how much time has lapsed. The mall is a place that reminds me of my ignorance of the situation (I thought the world trade center was a shopping type center). The mall is a huge place that could easily be filled with folks that did lose someone close to them. It’s a memory technique. I use it a lot because I have the worst memory and I want to pray for people specifically.
xo – kb
Thanks for the reply KB! My prayers tend to get built up and then come out as a jumble of emotion, so I get why certain places help trigger prayers for certain things.
That happens to me too…I’m such a flake that I need those reminders. It helps me keep calm and carry on 🙂
xo – kb
Well here I am reading you blog 5 years after this post was published. I recently came across your blog due to the amount of hate threads there are about you. When I scanned one I said to myself that no one deserves this so I checked out your blog for myself and I have to say hat if we lived closer I was hunt you down and make you my friend. Your humour is my humour – we irish have very dry, potty-style humour so you would fit in perfectly here.
I know I dont have to tell you this but please ignore the haters, the internet is a magical place that makes every weasle grow the biggest balls that they are lacking in real life. You stay true to yourself!
To get back on point, I didnt know exactly what the WTC were myself, I just knew it was a prety big deal that America was under attack. Such a thing can have massive repercussions for the rest of the world. Also, my daddy’s cousin was working in the WTC on that day but he thankfully was ok. I’ll never forget that day. I was a fifth year in grammar school (I think a sophomore in your terms) and the atmosphere was crazy electric. I saw it on the tv in school and it was on every tv channel for the next few days. Ive since been to visit the memorial and then the new building and I feel myself tear up as I just stand and look. My heat goes out to everyone involved. It didnt just afffect America, it affected us all 🙁
I was 8, had no idea what the WTC was, and yet still managed to comprehend the situation. What were you doing for a whole year? Did you not read any newspapers or watch ANY news? That level of ignorance is seriously worrying.
This was a time of my life where I didn’t watch news or read newspapers. I was in college taking 24 semester hours, working, and playing two sports (and let’s be honest, I didn’t spend a lot of time doing much other than school, sports and flirting)….yes…the level of ignorance is terrible…but being uninformed was easier then. That’s nearly impossible now. For an 8 year old, I am sure you had an adult explaining things or a tv to watch. Looking back, I was a different person then and my priorities weren’t to be informed on current events. All that to say…I am thankful that I am in a different place and that I have instant access to news now.
xo – kb