Where were you on Sept. 11, 2001?

What were you doing on September 11, 2001?

John's Weekend Assignment #128: Share your thoughts about 9/11. You can remember back on what you were doing on the day or give some thought to how we think about it today. Thoughts personal, political or philosophical are all up for consideration. Tell us all what you think about when you think about September 11, 2001 .... Write it up in your Journal or Blog, and then come back here and leave a link ...

I was beginning my third year as a teacher. Those who knew of it happening did a very good job of not telling the rest of us. Teachers who had television sets were told not to turn them on. I didn't have a television set, so I didn't even hear that message. It was 11:00 a.m., as I walked to the lunch room, that I noticed an unusual number of parents or grandparents either picking up their children, or eating lunch with them.

I stood in line behind a woman whose granddaughter was about to eat lunch. She was a friend of mine from church. I asked her "Is it Grandparent's day or something? What's going on?"

She turned and said, "Bea, haven't you heard? Two planes crashed into the Twin Towers this morning..."

Try processing that kind of news coming to you during school hours, with no awareness that it had already happened.

"Oh my God!" I exclaimed. "What...?  How...? What happened?"

"They think it was a terrorist action," she said nervously. Knowing this woman, I knew she was very concerned for all those killed, their families, ... the implications were too great, too difficult to grasp.

Shock. That's what I felt.

And then I started thinking of the thousands of people in the towers... I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

So I left the lunch line and nearly ran to the front office. There was a television set on, like I knew it would be. Whenever there is bad weather, it is on. This was bigger than bad weather.

I stared in horror at the screen. All I could see was a sky view of the city, and smoke, just smoke. I didn't realize it but by then, the towers had both collapsed.

"Where are the towers?" I asked to no one in particular.

A teacher standing beside me, her eyes riveted to the screen, said, "They're gone... they collapsed."

My hands flew to cover my mouth as the meaning of it all sank in. Tears filled my eyes. "No!"

She looked at me and said, "Bea, you can't tell the kids. Don't say anything to the kids. They'll find out when they get home. Their parents can talk to them about it."

When they get home? But some of them go to an empty home, alone until their parents return from work. They will turn on the tv to watch cartoons, and they will see it. The older ones will understand enough to be afraid. The younger ones may think it's just a movie. These thoughts went through my mind as I returned to my classroom.

I had a plan on what to say to them before they went home.

(To be continued....)

Tags: Weekend Assignment #128, September 11