Where were you?

I considered not doing a "Where were you when the world stopped turning?" post.

Anyone over the age of  20 probably remembers where they were on that horrific morning.

Just like when we lost John, Bobby and Martin...or when the Challenger blew up or the reentry nightmare of the Columbia....when Diana died....the loss of John John...John Lennon...the list goes on.

Things burned into our memories.

September 11, 2001

The weekend before, I had finally opened an Antique Store after a difficult situation involving a crazy woman and a cursed yellow house in Tarpon Springs.  I had spent a day at the ER after thinking I had broken my arm.  I hadn't, but was diagnosed with High Blood pressure...not surprising considering my life at the time.

On  9/11/2001, I had a BIL that worked at one of the smaller buildings at the base of the Twin Towers.  When word came that something had happened in NYC,  it was hours before we got word that he was safe at home when the towers were hit.  He'd worked late the night before and his wife convinced him to stay home for a few hours that morning.  That decision kept him from his normal subway trip into the city and the basement station at the towers.  The station that would have been under the rubble.  Those long hours were hell for anyone and difficult for a woman with High Blood Pressure that wasn't under control yet.

I was working at a large Healthcare call center at the time.  We had a TV in the conference room.  The supervisors turned it on and for most of the rest of the day, we took turns going into the room where we stood in shock at what we were seeing. I don't think we took to many calls that day.  I believe most of our customers were glued to their TV's and didn't care about their coverage for that one awful day.

A year later I took my daughter to the first memorial event on Bayshore in Tampa.  It was a moving day until the rains came and washed the rest of the event out.  My daughter, in a moment that has stayed with me ever since said, " Mom-the victims are crying".

That same daughter moved to NYC for six months during her Senior year of college.  I had the opportunity to visit her while she was there and we took a trip to the site of where the towers once stood.  At the time, it was still a huge hole with lots of construction going on.  It was a very eerie.  One of the most moving places we visited was a memorial in the American Express building across from where the Towers once stood.  The second most moving site was a Sculpture that was once in the courtyard of the Tower complex.  It was damaged by all the falling debris.  It was amazing to imagine what it took to cause the dents and holes in the once perfect sphere.

On this 12th anniversary of that day that changed the world forever, I do not want to discuss politics.  I do not want to do anything but take a moment to remember the lives lost.

Where were you?


(If you are interested in statistics,  I found the following list on NYMAG.COM:
http://nymag.com/news/articles/wtc/1year/numbers.htm )