Lisa Wegman (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
morrigan716) wrote2023-09-11 12:19 pm
morrigan716) wrote2023-09-11 12:19 pm
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I have never been one of those Americans that bleed red, white, and blue, especially lately when it’s quite embarrassing to be American, and I was far away from the Northeast on 09/11, but it did have a huge effect on me.
On September 11, 2001, I was in between jobs and had several applications in with temp agencies. The night before, I had contemplated whether or not to get up the next day, leave Alexander with the sitter, and go searching. I had pretty much decided that I would, but not early, probably like 10:00 or 11:00.
The phone rang around 9:30 Central Time, so 10:30 in NYC, but I didn’t make it (no cell phone yet), and the answering machine picked up. I was Alexander’s Bio Dad, who left a message something along the lines of, “I guess you’re not up yet, but when you get up turn on the TV. You really should see this.” So I turned on NBC. The first thing I saw was the Pentagon on fire, and I thought, “WTF?” Then I saw that the first tower had already fallen, and I was in shock, confused as fuck about what had happened. Then while I was still processing things, my brother called and said it was probably a terrorist attack. At that point in my life, I barely had any concept of a terrorist attack. I decided to call the sitter and tell her I wasn’t going job hunting that day, and while I was on the phone with her, the second tower fell.
After a while, I started to panic. I lived near a NATO Base, and thought it could be attacked too. I thought, what if I need to run or escape or something. I packed a diaper bag for Alex, who was only 2 years old at the time and got the cat carrier ready to go just in case. Looking that, that was a bit extreme, but hell, you can never be too prepared.
I was glued to the TV pretty much all day, and the only good news was that the temp agency called to tell me they had found me a job. It was kind of hard to be happy, but I was. (That job lasted about a week, BTW.)
I told Alex what happened, but he was really too young to understand. I told him some bad people had flown airplanes into two towers, and a lot of people had gone to live with the angels. (That was how I explained death to him at the time.) I had managed not to cry for most of the day, but when they started to show footage of people jumping from the buildings, that got me. Then they showed members of Congress singing “God Bless America” on the steps of the Capitol, I just about lost it. Since I lived near an airport and an Air Base, things were eerily quiet for a while. Everything seemed so surreal, and I knew that the world was changed forever.
I didn’t know anyone who died or anyone who knew anyone who died. I didn’t know anyone directly affected by the tragedy, but any American not affected by the events of 09/11 may not have a soul. (I have met a few.) Even my husband, who rarely gets emotional about anything, doesn’t like to talk about 09/11. I never visited New York or DC prior to 2001, but I have since been to both the Pentagon and the Twin Towers Memorials. Both are heart wrenching, yet peaceful at the same time, so you can’t help but feel a little bit of peace for the victims.
Every year, I hope that some asshat doesn’t try to pull a copycat and do it again. I know that security is heightened since then, and especially today, but still. Also, maybe it shouldn’t, but it annoys the hell out me when people post crap like “Never forget”. I mean, who is going to forget?
On September 11, 2001, I was in between jobs and had several applications in with temp agencies. The night before, I had contemplated whether or not to get up the next day, leave Alexander with the sitter, and go searching. I had pretty much decided that I would, but not early, probably like 10:00 or 11:00.
The phone rang around 9:30 Central Time, so 10:30 in NYC, but I didn’t make it (no cell phone yet), and the answering machine picked up. I was Alexander’s Bio Dad, who left a message something along the lines of, “I guess you’re not up yet, but when you get up turn on the TV. You really should see this.” So I turned on NBC. The first thing I saw was the Pentagon on fire, and I thought, “WTF?” Then I saw that the first tower had already fallen, and I was in shock, confused as fuck about what had happened. Then while I was still processing things, my brother called and said it was probably a terrorist attack. At that point in my life, I barely had any concept of a terrorist attack. I decided to call the sitter and tell her I wasn’t going job hunting that day, and while I was on the phone with her, the second tower fell.
After a while, I started to panic. I lived near a NATO Base, and thought it could be attacked too. I thought, what if I need to run or escape or something. I packed a diaper bag for Alex, who was only 2 years old at the time and got the cat carrier ready to go just in case. Looking that, that was a bit extreme, but hell, you can never be too prepared.
I was glued to the TV pretty much all day, and the only good news was that the temp agency called to tell me they had found me a job. It was kind of hard to be happy, but I was. (That job lasted about a week, BTW.)
I told Alex what happened, but he was really too young to understand. I told him some bad people had flown airplanes into two towers, and a lot of people had gone to live with the angels. (That was how I explained death to him at the time.) I had managed not to cry for most of the day, but when they started to show footage of people jumping from the buildings, that got me. Then they showed members of Congress singing “God Bless America” on the steps of the Capitol, I just about lost it. Since I lived near an airport and an Air Base, things were eerily quiet for a while. Everything seemed so surreal, and I knew that the world was changed forever.
I didn’t know anyone who died or anyone who knew anyone who died. I didn’t know anyone directly affected by the tragedy, but any American not affected by the events of 09/11 may not have a soul. (I have met a few.) Even my husband, who rarely gets emotional about anything, doesn’t like to talk about 09/11. I never visited New York or DC prior to 2001, but I have since been to both the Pentagon and the Twin Towers Memorials. Both are heart wrenching, yet peaceful at the same time, so you can’t help but feel a little bit of peace for the victims.
Every year, I hope that some asshat doesn’t try to pull a copycat and do it again. I know that security is heightened since then, and especially today, but still. Also, maybe it shouldn’t, but it annoys the hell out me when people post crap like “Never forget”. I mean, who is going to forget?