Eight years ago I was one week into a clerkship at the Court of Federal Claims — across McPherson Square from the White House. I didn’t get back to work for a week because the White House security perimeter often included that building.
Eight years ago I couldn't reach my husband on my cell phone to let him know I was crawling through backstreets of DC trying to reach a bridge we could cross to get out of the city. They’d shut down the cell network to prevent bomb detonations. Know that now, didn’t think of it then.
Eight years ago, a friend who worked for the Vice-President's wife tore across McPherson Square because they were told to leave...NOW.
Eight years ago, a friend who was chief of staff for a Congressman walked home because they shut down the metro system.
Eight years ago, another friend barely made it out of the World Trade Center and that experience inched him closer to Christ.
Eight years ago, my husband, 11 month old and I sat in a neighbor's townhouse watching the coverage until he and his wife got called to the Pentagon to do grief counseling. He is a Anglican priest in the Air Force.
Eight years ago, Eric and I walked our daughter and dog to the bridge in our neighborhood that crossed 395 and watched the Pentagon burn.
I’ll never forget the impact of that day.
Cara
2 comments:
Wow, Cara, you were right in the thick of it! I was at work when the news hit the wires & within a few minutes we'd set up a TV in a hallway so all could gather. The images I saw that day were so stark. I sat there praying. The next days were eery in that I live very close to O'Hare and the silence in the skies was deafening. A couple days later when the no-fly order was lifted, screaming jets burst over my head. I flipped on TV, certain we were being attacked again. The fighter jets had scrambled to escort an airliner to the ground because a man who was mentally impaired had made some strange comments to flight attendants. They were taking NO chances.
As much as security lines can be frustrating at time, especially when we are called out for having what seems to be an 'innocent' item in our belongings, I remember 9/11 and thank God for the security people.
My mom works down there and knows a lot of people who work at the Pentagon. Turned out my grandma had been at the Twin Towers the day before eating lunch or breakfast. Don't recall now. I remember my husband getting me out of bed to tell me what was going on. We weren't sure if we should send the girls to school or not, but it was still going. I remember in the days afterward how quiet the skies were. It was very eerie!
~Mimi B
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