The night before The Day of Horror my husband called. My attention was diverted as I was watching the end of a movie. He said something about going into New York for a business meeting or some such thing. He frequently travels as he is a consultant. I really wasn't paying attention. The next morning I flipped on the computer to check for emails and a red circle was flashing a news alert. A tower in New York City had been hit by a plane or some such thing. Where did my husband say he was going? I turned on the tv. What? What was happening: people standing around, people in firemens' gear and then a building collapsed. An office building? The World Trade Center ..the place our son trained as a stockbroker for Dean Witter? Where was my husband? Panic..I started feeling confused. In the past if a tragedy happened, for some reason I usually headed for the front door and walked out of wherever I was living in an attempt to flee the bad news. This time I was riveted to my seat, shaking, crying, reaching out to those I loved. Our daughter who lives nearby left work with her husband to come to me as I was badly frightened for my husband's safety and also by what I was seeing unfold on tv. A plane coming out of nowhere and smashing into the other tower and finally the building imploding and falling down, smashing the lives, hopes, and dreams of countless numbers of people. Innocent human beings... Or daughter arrived and together we tried calling Washington, DC area where my husband was last. The lines were dead. Our nation was under attack. I didn't think to go online. I did try our cellphone and didn't reach him. Where was he? God, what was happening? On tv, more incredible scenes. Finally the phone rang. My husband had been trying to reach us but the lines were dead or busy. His meeting was scheduled for New Jersey and not until later that day. He is still in the DC area and I am not sure when he will fly out but I don't care. I know he is safe, at least for now. My heart goes out to all those people who didn't get a phone call or who still don't know where or how their loved ones are. May God give you comfort in your pain; may the President give you the strength to endure and may a simple act of kindness from others help you to know we care.
Last updated: 09/13/01