View 91101 Stories

Show Top Posts:	Show All Posts:
the day before my birthday
Posted by: Tom Price from Visalia, California Wednesday September 11, 2002 @ 10:57 PDT
on the eve of my 22nd birthday my nation took a blow. i awoke to a phone call at 6:23 in the morning. on the other line was my mother-in-law who muttered three frightening words behind her shaky voice. “we’ve been attacked.” still not fully awake i could not comprehend the horror of what she just told me. “attacked?,” i said. “a plane crashed into the pentagon and into the world trade center,” she responded. almost in one breath i hung up the phone, rolled over and shook my fiancé. i quickly turned on the television just as they showed a replay of the second plane flying into the south tower of the world trade center. my fiancé, and i sat up numbed by what we were witnessing on live television. i held her and we watched. we cried. we were scared. and we grew angry together. wearing just a pair of shorts i grabbed our american flag out of our hall closet. i proceeded to walk bare foot to the front of my house and raised it with pride. with determined tears still streaming down my face i stepped back and watched the flag flap in the morning wind. the entire neighborhood was completely silent as i said a brief prayer for my fellow americans who were caught in the wrath of this unknown evil. once back in my house i called my brother who was on leave from the marines for 19-days. i was afraid he might be called to action. he assured me that he wasn’t going anywhere as we shared our anger over the entire happenings of that morning. i went to work, but didn’t get much done. the graphic scenes that the media replayed over and over again ran through my head. the unthinkable fright that the passengers in those planes endured haunted me throughout the day. glued to the television set or radio since early that morning i began to feel fatigued, and fell asleep around 10:30 p.m. it was the first time in my life that i had fallen asleep not feeling totally secure in my home and in my nation. but i rested well knowing that we as a country can overcome anything and that justice would be served and someday, someday soon i would sleep well again knowing that i live in a resilient and strong nation. on the eve of my 22nd birthday i had never been more proud to be an american.