As I woke up today, of course I remebered September 11, 2001. Who could forget? I saw the first plane hit the tower on the news with two professors at Millersville. We had the news on in the background as we were discussing my thesis and stopped in our tracks as the breaking news came on. Since it was time for class, we went to the room and put the news on with a projector so it was literally projecting the size of the entire wall, which is when the second plane hit as we were watching. I remember sitting with my classmates in one of my favorite courses, all of us in tears as speculation of what was next kept appearing at the bottom of the screen. From Chicago to another missing plane to other reports that were later confirmed to be inaccurate, the fear swept over all of our faces. We stayed there well beyond the end of class just continuing to watch the news completely stunned, shocked and saddened.
When I left there, I called my mom and asked if I could watch her TV since I didn't get full cable. I sat on her sun porch glued to CNN. She came home over lunch and we ate grilled cheese together (comfort food!) and watched in horror until she had to go back to work. By that night, all the major networks had footage to show and various stories and angles, so I watched by myself at our apartment. I was all alone and sad. Shawn was up at his parents in Morris, PA to attend a job fair at Penn State, and I missed him so much. I clutched my stuffed frog and was glued to the TV as news of people helping one another, news of people who had died and news of people missing continued to unfold on the screen. I cried and cried and cried and didn't move for hours...
Eight years later, I still remember many of those stories, as well as the intense patriotism that followed and everyone singing God Bless America and praying for each other. It was a horrendous time and yet what hope & joy followed from people learning to re-prioritize their lives and live for God. We were engaged shortly thereafter and we graduated that following December. What a moment in history! God bless America!
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