9/11

I wasn’t going to post about my memories from 9/11, since I feel terribly unworthy to do so, especially after reading blogs from people who had real connections to the terrible scenes. I, like most Americans, was sitting safely away just watching the television in disbelief. However, I did want to share something personal from that day none of us will/can ever forget.


Below is an instant-message transcript I saved from the very moment I found out about the attacks, and I thought it may be interesting to share. I was chatting online with my good friend Danny, who at the time worked in Arlington. The conversation took place over a few hours, although you can’t tell that just by reading it through. Re-reading our conversation brings chills to me, as I remember the feeling of truly not knowing what was happening. There was so much dis-information and the country was in a state of panic, and even buildings where I worked in safe Minnesota were being evacuated. My fear was nothing compared to those who had to live through the terror for real.







danny: Wow...not to digress, but I just heard that each of the twin towers of the World Trade Center in NYC got hit by airplanes! At least one of them seems to have been a hijacked plane!

Tina: WHAT?!

Tina: oh my GOD!

danny: WTC: That was my reaction...

Tina: reading news now

danny: I think that's the first time something like that has happened since WWII, when a disabled bomber crashed into the Empire State Building.

Tina: news website loading VERY slowly... i think a lot of people are looking at it

danny: That's what Emily said--sites on the story were very, very slow...

Tina: i can't get any of them up at all

danny: BRB

Tina: were people in the WTC killed?

danny: OK, I'm back. This is bad...

danny: Laurie just called me too, worried about, and I had to assure her I was still a good 20 miles from the city...

danny: One of the planes was a 767. Still don't know about the other plane. And as I was up I just found out another plane was crashed into the Pentagon. The White House has been evacuated just in case.

danny: 737 into the Pentagon.

Tina: OH MY GOD OH MY GOD

Tina: watching news here

danny: Be back

Tina: are you being evacuated???

danny: No--we still are over 20 miles away. But *every* federal building is being evacuated and ALL air traffic across the country has been grounded.

danny: My friend James can see the smoke rising over the Pentagon from his apartment. Jesus, I'm glad I'm not working in Arlington today--I had to go right by the Pentagon to get to work.

danny: The USA Today building, which is alongside the highway right before you get to where I was, is covered in smoke.

danny: They also just reported that one of the Twin Towers has collapsed, making the authorities think that maybe there had been bombs planted inside, too.

danny: I'll be back in a bit.

danny: OK, a section of one of the towers has come down, not the whole thing...

Tina: this is horrible

Tina: I'm so glad you're safe where you are

Tina: I'm scared

danny: There have been reports of more explosions at the Pentagon--it seems like another plane came down, but may have *missed*!

danny: I think you're about in one of the safest cities you can be in as far as this sort of thing is concerned.

Tina: oh my god... what is next

Tina: Yea... i'm not scared for myself

Tina: how many thousands were kileed?

danny: No way to tell yet...hmmm, looks like our Arlington office has been evacuated (you could see the Pentagon smoke there too), and the Pentagon City metro stop (which I passed on the way there every day) has been shut down. All federal offices, not just buildings, are being closed down.

danny: Goodness...even AOL decided to shut down for the day. That's just down the road from here.

danny: About a five minute drive in normal traffic.

Tina: i can't believe this

Tina: have you seen the pictures?

danny: Not yet. Everything with pictures are clogged.

danny: Car bomb went off in front of the State Department...just saw footage of the second plane going through the Towers...and CNN is reporting that the top halves of both Twin Towers are gone...

danny: Scrap that...both of the Towers are gone.

danny: Our folks at the Arlington department are stuck there because traffic getting out is so bad. Interstate 66 are turning into a parking lot.

danny: -states 66 and 95, that is.

danny: Another plane just went down in Pittsburgh. Apparently this was the third plane that authorities speculated was supposed to go after the Twin Towers, and got diverted. Looks like it may have been heading for D.C.

Tina: you still there?

Tina: i can't even imagine this. I can't even believe this

danny: Still here. Still listening to the radio and sifting through reports. The folks over in our Arlington office can't leave now because the traffic is so heavy and the Pentagon City metro station has been closed.

danny: Phones are fried. Only e-mail, Telnet, and messaging are working.

Tina: oh my god

Tina: they say two planes went down in Pittsburg

Tina: maybe the attack is finished now

danny: I hope so.

Tina: a woman who works here, her son works in the Pentagon. She's crying...

danny: Two planes down in Pittsburgh, but it doesn't seem they hit anything. If there was another aircraft that hit the Pentagon, it apparently hit the Heliport instead of the building. Part of one side of the Pentagon may have collapsed, but no one except military can get close enough to confirm that.

danny: Another plane just exploded over Somerset Co., MD...must have been carrying bombs.

danny: (That's NE of here)

danny: I think

Tina: good god

Tina: i'm surprised yahoo is still up

Tina: i just heard one crashed at camp david

danny: ?

danny: Where did you hear that?

Tina: radio

Tina: now they're not talking about it...

danny: Reagan National Airport (also near the Pentagon--I passed it when I'd head out from Arlington to meet Loralie) is now being evacuated.

danny: How're you holding up, Tina?

danny: The Washington Post's website is back online.

Tina: huh... I don't even know what to say

Tina: 50,000 people work in the WTC

Tina: sounds like they're actually hiding the president now