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September 11, 2001 WTC NEWS & LINKS

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where were you?
Posted by: Katie from fort worth Monday September 09, 2002 @ 11:20 PDT
sitting down in my senior english class, my mind floating from one thought next to the other, was typical of me. just sitting, waiting for the bell to ring. it was not unusual for office aides to knock on the door to pass out notes from the office, so when there was a bang on the door, i did not pay any attention. the knock, even though it barely registered, was urgent. i was thinking one of the kids from the office was trying to get his errands done early. my mom works in the office, so it wasn't out of the norm that she would stop by my class every now and then. she had tears running down her face. our class had no idea what was going on, our teacher didn't keep our tv's on. i got up, my books fell to the floor and ran to her. my dad had left that morning from dfw on a flight to the dulles, to go to the pentagon, he travels a lot, even more so now. he and my mother are divorced, but there is still a tiny stream of communication that floats between them. my mom had been watching tv. she knew what every other person that had communication to the outside world of school knew. "katie, what is your dad's pager number, his cell phone is off?!" i had no idea, i never used it. i didn't get that upset because she was crying, yet, i had only 2 seconds to talk to her. i figured my sister or brother had fought with her, and she wanted my dad to help clear it up. logical explanation. not so logical day. again, utter frenzy enveloped those which i thought were words, but came out as gasps. what was going on? "what's your dad's pager number, a plane has crashed into the world trade center, people are bombing us, there is one heading to the pentagon." i ran as fast as i could through the halls that i drearily walked through every day. my little sister was in class, i ran in her classroom, disregarded the teacher, and grabbed her. i felt horrible for my mother, just remembering that i left her. i asked my sister the same question my mother asked me. she knew. i yelled back at her teacher to turn on the news, now, and ran back to my mom's office, hoping she was there. she was, we paged my dad, and waited. we stared at the television, and watched another plane crash into the building. i had to get up and throw up several times. i prayed so earnestly, every step, every breath, sometimes forgetting to breathe. my dad called back, his plane was grounded. thank god, thank god. i wish everyone was fortunate as me. my deepest sorrow goes out to the victims and their beloved families. god will comfort you.