story2053.xml

story2053.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-09-10

Today is Tuesday, September 10, 2002. The sky is blue with wispy white clouds throughout. It is warm outside, with a crisp breeze. I am sitting in Springfield VA and trying to keep myself in my seat and not panic at how similiar today is to September 11th.

A year ago, tomorrow, I was driving into Old Town Alexandria (right next to Fort Belvoir via the GW Parkway to be exact) when I heard a local radio station announce that the World Trade Center had been struck by a plane. My first thought was oh my god, this is it. Two short footnotes to this story...I was 6 months pregnant and had just lost my father a few months beforehand..fear was prevelant. Ten minutes or so later I show up to work just in time to notice a 2nd plane flying behind the burning 1st tower, and then watch as that plane rammed into the 2nd tower. I immediately sat down and began to cry.

What seemed like hours later CNN broadcasts that the Pentagon had just been hit. My office was almost directly across the Potomac River from the Pentagon, we looked out our windows toward that direction and saw a plume of black smoke. My fater-in-law works for the DOD and has an office in the Pentagon, having just lost my father I lost it. I tried to use my cell phone to call my husband, who was in DC also at his training class (he's an electrician apprentice), but I could not reach him. I began crying and having stomach pains. My co-workers sat me down and tried to calm me down because they were afraid I was going to lose my son. I finally reached my husband and he was stuck in traffic...right in front of the capitol building (a plane was missing and suspected to be headed for the capitol building). Convinced I was going to lose 3 more people (my father in law, my husband and our unborn son), I broke down and hid in the bathroom. Finally regaining my composure I went back to my office and waiting to hear newas, I have never been as happy or felt as blessed as I did when I saw my gorgeous husband standing in front of me. He grabbed me and told my boss we were leaving.... We walked out onto the streets of Old Town Alexandria and they were empty. The few people who were out were staring at the large black smoke coming across the river and the fighter planes screaming down the Potomac River. I followed my husband home, it took us 2 hours to get past Fort Belvoir, and once we got on 95, it was a ghost town. I can't remember 95 ever being so empty. We went home first to call his mom and see if she had heard anything from his father...luckily he had been at the CIA that day and was on his way home. Since we lived right outside of Quantico, we packed bags, grabbed our dog and two cats and went down to Fredericksburg to stay with my mom. She had been watching our oldest son that day and didn't know about what was going on (ahh the joys of nickelodeon) until we called her to tell her we were coming and staying there.

The next day neither of us went to work, I wondered if I would ever be able to go back there....We did and that night we spent at home listening to the sounds of helicopters and planes overhead, wondering if they were coming from Quantico, or aiming for Quantico.

Almost a year ago today and I can still feel the terror and the pain. I cry for everyone who was lost that day and for everyone who was found that day.

I have since moved to Fredericksburg and changed job locations to Springfield, which I think might still be too close...I would like to move to the Outer Banks, while right now they're biggest worry is SubTropical Storm Gustav.