September 11th Remembered

Our generation's version of "Where were you when Kennedy got shot?" came to bear on September 11, 2001. I'm sure that neither Arthur C. Clarke or Stanley Kubrick could have imagined what significance 2001 would really have for the world. I think we all would have preferred their science fiction fantasy to the harshest realism any of us could have imagined. Where were you on 9/11?

I remember where I was. I had just woken up. It was one of the few mornings that I actually got out of bed before 8:00 a.m. (CST), determined as it were to make it to work by 8:30 a.m. – or at least before nine. My clock actually read 8:00 a.m. but I set it 12 minutes fast in a weak attempt to get myself out of the house earlier. No clock in my house displays the right time, so I am often in a state of panic caused by my consistent habit of not being anywhere until I really have to. As I live in a building that was constructed around the turn of the 20th Century, and I had just started my daily ritual of getting the shower going so it has ample time to warm up (which is not a short period of time). I then turned on the radio, which I have permanently set to National Public Radio (WBEZ 91.5 FM in Chicago) and heard Lisa Labuz announce that a plane had apparently just crashed into the World Trade Center and nothing more was known I remember feeling that sickening feeling that I always get when I hear of a plane crash, but this felt worse as I imagined that some people had died in the building and perhaps on the ground. At that moment, NPR launched from the local news back into the national news program, Morning Edition, hosted by Bob Edwards. Bob is often "away" in the mornings (where he goes nobody knows), but he was there on this tragic day. Bob announced the same tragic news but nothing else was known. Lisa Labuz again came on when NPR cut to local programming, and I remember her announcing that two planes had crashed into the World Trade Center. Two?!? At that point I turned on the TV and saw the horrific footage of the second plane. The reporters were talking about how the plane had banked towards the WTC just before impact and that the crash was clearly deliberate. Deliberate?!? I was in shock. My mind was reeling, especially as we did not yet know that it was a terrorist attack. I managed to get ready for work and, while listening to NPR on my way, Tom Gjetlen was reporting from the Pentagon. All of a sudden he reported that fire alarms were going off, which of course later turned out to be the third target. Just after hearing this, Bob Edwards came on to announce the cataclysmic news in a cracked voice that one of the North Tower in the World Trade Center towers had collapsed due to the impact of the first plane. I remember sitting in my car in the parking lot at work, absolutely stunned. All of this in just over an hour.

Once at the office, no work could be done. It was unclear that the terrorist attacks were over. A car bomb outside the State Department had been reported (which later turned out to be false, as many other reports did). There were vivid fears of more planes in the air with unknown targets. Living in Chicago, those around me were worried that the Sears Tower might also be targeted and that those we knew in the Loop could be at risk. I remember telling my girlfriend at the time, who worked on Michigan Avenue, that if anything happened to head towards the lake and to avoid public transportation at all costs. Shortly afterwards, I heard that the fourth plane had gone down in Pennsylvania (we only learned much later that this was due to the heroism of those onboard that stood up to the terrorists) and that the South Tower had also collapsed. Fear was palpable in the air and rumor swirled around the office like old discarded newspapers in a vestibule. We were sent home in the early afternoon and I spent the rest of it with my girlfriend on the couch watching the impacts and the towers' collapse over and over on the TV. Finally, around dinner time, we had enough and we headed to the only place we knew we could get some good food and get away from the terror. We went to Cullen's. As we ate, we watched President Bush address the nation where he promised to avenge these abominable acts. I didn't vote for Bush but I was quite impressed with him on that night and in the weeks to come. While I can't say that I was happy, I certainly was glad to be with someone I cared for and at Cullen's. It's amazing what a pint of Guinness and a bit of craic can do for one's soul.

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– written by Sean Parnell