On This Day.....

We all have a story, don't we?

On this day 8 years ago, I sat at my desk in the University at Buffalo Financial Aid Office, processing financial aid documents for students who had filed them late. We were already into the fall semester, and the busy-ness of the summer semester (always our busiest time) was behind us. I looked outside at a glorious day - blue skies, warm temperatures and a soft breeze came through the open window next to me. All of a sudden, my friend came back from the front of the office and announced that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center and I immediately called Ron who was at home watching CNN and FOX News as he still does in the morning. We put the TV on in the conference room and all of us took turns watching it. I knew that Laurie was not at her duty station at Fort Knox, but rather at another post across the country for some training. Someone had a radio which was always on during the day - not loud enough most days for anyone else to hear, but suddenly, on that same (normally quiet) radio, we all could hear the terrible news as it unfolded. It was unthinkable to know what was happening and when the Pentagon was hit, it became very personal to me since Laurie had met many soldiers from the Pentagon at an NCO training course only weeks earlier. My mind immediately envisioned the graduation program and the names of the soldiers and their home bases. I can still see 'Pentagon' listed so many times.

My fear then was, 'what was Laurie hearing so far from home?' And was Scott listening at his new apartment, or watching this on TV? My prayer was that my children were not afraid - not as afraid as their mom was at that moment.

We heard that students were crowded around the TVs in the Student Union - so many of our student population were from NYC and their thoughts must have been so far away from classwork. At 1 pm, Governor Pataki announced the closing of UB for the day and we all went home to watch the morning's terrible events on TV.

Laurie called bot Ron and I when she was able to, knowing that we would be worried about what was going on where she was. She couldn't talk long but we at least heard her voice....and Scott's shortly after hers.

Laurie said that they had been given updates all morning long and that although they were supposed to leave the next morning, with the airlines not operating it would be several days before she could go "home." Scott was frightened beyond words and eventually he realized that his greatest fear was because he knew his sister no longer served in a time of peace.
I think my most lasting vision of that day was the dust and destruction surrounding those buildings...and the empty fire and rescue trucks buried in that rubble...of wondering where the occupants of those trucks had gone; of the surviving firemen sitting on the curbs in total shock.

It's all personal - yet shared by us all - what the events of that day mean to us.

May God be with the families of those lost that day...and protect those who still work to keep it from happening again - from the President, to our military, the fire and police men and women, right down to each American citizen.

May He bless us all.