Where Were You?

Where were you on the morning of 9/11/2001? Click on to add yourself to an interactive map, and leave your comments. http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/09/08/us/sept-11-reckoning/where-were-you-september-11-map.html?hp#!/40425

Well, I was nowhere near ground zero, but New York didn't seem that very far away that day, as I knew the planes had left from Boston and Portland, Maine. I was at work in an elementary school. When I first heard about the attacks, I thought it was the World Trade Center in Boston. I felt panicky and scared, but also felt a sense of resolve. I had a responsibility for the safety of the children, and was prepared to act .

I remember being concerned about my maternal Aunt, who was still working in Government Center in Boston at the time. The FBI was one floor below her, so I thought her building might be a target, and I heard they were evacuating buildings. 

I was prepared that administrators might decide to evacuate our building and send the children home from school, but we stayed. For the most part, I was shielded from the events of that day. The principal decided not to have T.V.s or computers on, except for the older children. He rightly considered that the news would just frighten and confuse the younger children. Since I mostly worked with younger children, I went about my business mostly unaware.

When I got home from school that day, I was more shocked than I ever have been in my life when I finally saw the image of the planes hitting the towers. It was an utter sense of disbelief and horror that this could happen. 

That weekend my friends and I had a get together, a vigil of sorts. We gathered together and talked about our feelings about that day. Our friend Rosalie was in NYC that day, only blocks from the towers. She took the subway every morning to school. Later on we also found out that my friend Julie's brother took his life that Saturday night. He suffered from multiple sclerosis and depression. 

It was a memorable time for all.