September 11, 2001... We remember!

Kosciusko, MS, Brooke. September 11, 2001, I woke up before the blazing sun which was quit unusual for my 20 year old self with a part-time job that didn't start until 1pm. Never the less, there were muscadines to be picked and sold to the local grocery store in an effort to pad my savings account for the apartment/house I was determined to rent and furnish by the end of the year. As the sun came up and began to beat down on my body, I had 2 five gallon buckets of berries and headed inside to cool off and possibly take a nap.

As I pulled my boots off at the back door, I heard my phone ringing but didn't get in a hurry to answer it. A quick glance at my phone showed 6 or 7 missed calls from my boyfriend, Frankie. Knowing that was extremely strange because he should have been at work, I called him back, immediately. There was no hello, only, "Turn the TV on, something bad has happened!" I did as I was instructed in a blur of confusion. He said, "They are reporting we have been attacked by terrorist."

The first thing I saw when the TV came on was a lady running as fast as she could down a New York street and ducking behind a car. She was covered in ashes. Frankie nor I spoke, but I continued to hold the phone to my ear as my brain began to comprehend what had happened. Planes had hit the North and South towers in New York, one plane crashed into the Pentagon, and one went down on a field in Pennsylvania because a group of courageous people fought back. By this time, the first tower had already fallen, and you could hear urgency and hysteria in all the reporters voices. At some point Frankie and I must have hung up with one another because I called my mom at work to make sure she knew what was going on. I had not moved from standing in front the TV in my parents living room. I remember her saying, "Oh, it is so sad, Brooke." I responded with, "Oh my God, the second tower just fell; I am watching a live news feed!" Tears filled my eyes, as I explained, "Momma, all those people just died." She tried to reassure me and herself by saying,  "Oh no, I am sure it was just a replay of the first tower falling." I assured her; it was not.

The rest of the morning was spent staring at that TV and sorting out what had happened. I finally rushed through a shower not wanting to miss a second of the news before I had to leave to go work at the public library. Between the hours of 1pm-6pm, not a single soul entered the library. We (the employees) took turns going  upstairs to watch the news. We, like the rest of the world, found ourselves in state of shock that has yet to wear off.

AAE bulletin board 2011

 New York, NY, Wes. 1, 159 miles away in New York City, I received a phone call from my girlfriend, Rebecca. She cried in hysterics as she explained that while riding the ferry to work she watched two planes fly into both of the towers that made up the World Trade Center. I lived in West New York/New Jersey and could see Manhattan Island from my apartment balcony. Not yet comprehending what was happening, I  looked out my window and saw smoke billowing from the towers. I woke up my roommates, immediately, and turned on the TV. The TV screen and the view from my window were mostly identical.

Reporters were just beginning to speculate that America had been the victim of a terrorist attack. I saw the first tower begin falling on the TV and watched it crumble to the ground out of my apartment window. I, then,  called my sister who lives in NY to make sure she was okay. While leaving a message for my mom to let her know I was safe, I watched the second tower collapse outside the window.

The thing I remember most about that day was how beautiful it was... no clouds in the sky, cool temperatures, and the bluest skies. I remember how quiet it was, no planes in the sky, no traffic, no one talking as they returned from the city either by ferry or by foot as all traffic was closed in and out of the city. You could finally hear the birds singing. Around mid-day, the scent of an electrical fire made its way to my apartment. My skyline view of the twin towers was replaced with pillars of smoke. When asked what it was like that day, I can only respond with the word, shock.

Until next time...

OXOXOXXOX

A special thanks to Wes for sharing his story with me.