Seven years ago today, I was getting ready for work in a little Wymount apartment in Provo, Utah when the phone rang. It was Garry's mom, who had called to tell us about the events in progress in New York City and Washington, D.C. Garry and I switched on the TV as we continued our preparations for work and school.
Dumbfounded, we saw the gaping hole in one World Trade Center tower and heard reports of the Pentagon "bombing" in Washington. We were riveted, but we also had classes and employers, so we left home and turned on car radios instead. I drove to Wavetronix, where I was an administrative assistant. Garry went to class at BYU, excitedly anticipating the huge annual career fair that afternoon that would hopefully provide his post-graduation job in December. Little did we know how much the world would change.
As I look back on that day, I remember watching live news coverage in my boss's office and seeing the towers crumble in real time as horrified reporters (and my fellow employees) looked on. I remember being eight months pregnant and wondering what kind of world I'd be raising my baby boy in. I remember feeling scared and violated.
In the small corner of the world that Garry and I occupied, the immediate result of the terrorist attacks was the complete cancellation of the Marriott School of Management career fair. Air traffic was restricted and precious few of the recruiters could fly in for the event. When the fair was rescheduled a month later, only a handful of recruiters came. By that time, belts were tightened, hiring efforts were frozen, and the Marriott School's 98% placement record fell to 33% that year. Garry wasn't one of the lucky third.
But life went on. Our 9/11 "misfortunes" are tiny and insignificant compared to the devastating tragedies many experienced. But that's our story. I think about it every year on this day.
Where were you when the attacks happened? How did they affect your life?
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6 comments:
We were in Mississippi, and I had a nearly six-month-old baby girl. Mike called me from work, since we didn't even have cable or an antenna signal for me to hear about it. I drove up to his work to watch it in his conference room there until Madelyn was fussy, then went home and found a radio station that had updates on all day. My neighbor's husband was supposed to be on a flight from Boston and was anxiously waiting to hear from him. It was a scary day.
Because of that, Mike's workload increased exponentially. His engineering firm did blast-resistant design for government buildings, so they spent the next several years being extremely busy. Just some of the rippling effects of that day.
David called us early at home and we watched in horror, going through the motions of life but not really feeling like this could be real life. I remember being glued to the TV for days, still not comprehending that a place we had just visited a few weeks before could be obliterated, and all those people hurt, missing, and gone. The world has certainly never been the same.
P.S. A month later I was on a plane heading to an Orem hospital to see my brand new grandson. I can't think of another thing that would have compelled me to get on an airplane at that time!
i was getting ready for class @ mcc. i was wearing a yellow thrift store shirt, my gap jeans, and adidas. And my new york yankees visor. i remember what color my underwear was too, if you are interested. (:
when dad came up & told me i didn't really get the magnitude of it all until i got to school & all of my classes were canceled. i spent the rest of the day watching the news from the student center.
such a sad day. it has forever made me even more grateful for my blessings & the freedom i take for granted everyday.
We had just moved to Ohio, so far from family and friends and oh, so close to what was going on. Claire was just two weeks old and I was having many of the same thoughts you were having, "what kind of world was I raising my children in?" Such a scary day!
It is amazing how clear the memories from that day are! Thanks for your story! I have loved reading so many blogger's memories!
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