We lived in Sherwood, Oregon on September 11, 2001. Grandpa Lauro and Grandma Conchita had been visiting us for a couple of weeks and were scheduled to fly back to Monterrey from Portland very early that day. We left the house about 5:00 am and I dropped them off at the airport. As I was driving in to work at ESI in Portland, I turned on the radio in time to hear that something crazy was going on in New York City. It took me about a half an hour to get to work. When I arrived, some guys already had the television on and were watching the first tower burn. More and more people kept showing up to watch as the second tower got hit, then both towers collapsed. Not much work got done that day. We all just kind of walked around in a daze.
In the meantime, Grandpa Lauro and Grandma Conchita got sent home in a cab. They ended up staying with us for an extra week before they could get a flight home. Since we did not have a television, Aunt Julia loaned us a little portable one so we could watch the events unfold. What we did not know until later is that Aunt Jean and Uncle Rick were in New York City with Cousins Julia and Kylee. They were taking Julia to catch an airplane to Madrid as she was scheduled to go there as an exchange student. The whole family was spending a few days in New York to do some site seeing together. They were all on a tour bus on the way for a tour and lunch at the top of the towers when they saw all the smoke. They got stuck in New York City for several days before they could make their way home.
Wow! I think that everyone is reliving that day…I know that I do every anniversary…I was visiting my sister in Marysville (about an hour north of here) and got woken up by a phone call and hearing her scream. I plopped myself into her bed and we watched the rest of the story unfold. It sounds silly, but to me at the time, it felt like the end of the world almost. It was a scary time for me with 4 young kids and John was still in the active reserves at that time. His unit was deployed a few days after he retired from the military.
I was hoped someone was going to write about what happened to them here. Thanks Ruthie. It must have been a particularly trying time because you husband was in the reserves. It is hard for me to imagine.
Catherine
I was just a couple weeks into my first year of college sitting in an architecture class when we heard about it and class was cancelled. I went back to my dorm and watched tower 2 get hit and remember thinking, I’m sitting just a couple blocks from the tallest skyscraper in downtown Atlanta and the CDC is not too far away either. I called home and Mom had no idea what was going on. Not sure if she called Dad then or had to wait until later but the Air Force Base where Dad worked went on lockdown. My memory is not clear but I think for a few days after, only essential personnel were allowed on the base.
It’s interesting to me how well everyone remembers that day. My favorite (if you can call it that) memory is the unity that was shown by our country immediately afterwards. It quickly disintegrated to blame and other things but that brief moment of time was pretty cool to me.
Great story Catherine. Of all things to be studying when the towers go down–architecture! I wonder if you professor said anything about it later what with architecture playing a big role in the whole affair. It is amazing to me how many people knew what was going on in time to see the second tower go down. I, too, was amazed at the unity in the moment. It would have been great if it would have lasted a little longer. In the end, I think most people want the same things and it is nice to be reminded of that now and again.