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Five years ago....
Sep. 11th, 2006 07:15 amSleek and I had been planning a big PFM chat. September 12, 2001, was, after all, the Monkees' 35th anniversary. Between that and having been to see the Twokees in Dallas that weekend, I was quite happily stuck in Monkee mode.
At the time, Mum had a cell phone, and she would call on her way to work to make sure I was up in time for class. This day was no different--the call came just after 8. I don't remember what all we talked about.
But then she said, rather slowly but calmly, "By the way, you may not want to turn your TV on for a while today. The radio's saying that a plane just hit the World Trade Center, and apparently there's a fire on the National Mall in Washington."
I didn't really think much of it at the time. When she said "plane," I thought she meant a small one, a twin-engine type. But I took her advice and got what news I could from the radio, from Fox News online--without pictures, mostly, since the servers were nearly overloaded--and through the grapevine as the day progressed. I got what I thought was a fairly accurate mental picture.
The TV lounge in the SUB was packed. I couldn't even see the TVs. So I didn't bother trying to see anything from there.
My lab partner panicked and went home, so I had to finish my lab with help from the TA. I was a little miffed, but not mad.
It wasn't until after I got home from lab that I finally turned on the TV--about 5 p.m. CDT. And then... well, I think I went into shock. I couldn't react. All I could do was absorb.
Chappy forwarded news via email that a family friend had been supernaturally delayed on his way to a meeting at the Pentagon and was thus spared. That made me... as close to glad as I could be at the time. But what really snapped me out of it was wondering what would happen to a friend of mine in Afghanistan--a missionary named Heather Mercer.
I shall not forget.
At the time, Mum had a cell phone, and she would call on her way to work to make sure I was up in time for class. This day was no different--the call came just after 8. I don't remember what all we talked about.
But then she said, rather slowly but calmly, "By the way, you may not want to turn your TV on for a while today. The radio's saying that a plane just hit the World Trade Center, and apparently there's a fire on the National Mall in Washington."
I didn't really think much of it at the time. When she said "plane," I thought she meant a small one, a twin-engine type. But I took her advice and got what news I could from the radio, from Fox News online--without pictures, mostly, since the servers were nearly overloaded--and through the grapevine as the day progressed. I got what I thought was a fairly accurate mental picture.
The TV lounge in the SUB was packed. I couldn't even see the TVs. So I didn't bother trying to see anything from there.
My lab partner panicked and went home, so I had to finish my lab with help from the TA. I was a little miffed, but not mad.
It wasn't until after I got home from lab that I finally turned on the TV--about 5 p.m. CDT. And then... well, I think I went into shock. I couldn't react. All I could do was absorb.
Chappy forwarded news via email that a family friend had been supernaturally delayed on his way to a meeting at the Pentagon and was thus spared. That made me... as close to glad as I could be at the time. But what really snapped me out of it was wondering what would happen to a friend of mine in Afghanistan--a missionary named Heather Mercer.
I shall not forget.
