So, Where Were You?: September 11, 2001
As we approach another September 11th, I offer an article I wrote in 2011. Ten Years Later... Alan Jackson wrote the song Where Were You... and I don't think anyone does not remember their day.
Attack of the World Trade Center
Ten Years Later
Today, 10 years later, I was (almost) back there.
On my way to visit John this morning, my radio (seemed) taken over (again), not by Peter Jennings, but by excerpts of the horrendous events of 2001. I didn't want to hear this! I turned the station, but there was someone singing 'God Bless America'. I turned it back. I might as well listen.
On my 25 minute drive I was choked up as if it was 2001. I tried not to remember the drive that day.
Back then, I was still driving my 1979 Chev Silverado pickup. As the tires clicked along, listening to all the reports, I couldn't still the feeling of dread that I was going to be affected by this tragedy.
Today...
I'm driving my $100 car, my 1990 Olds Cutless Supreme. I haven't come very far in 10 years. I'd had my new car... a 2005 Chev Malibu Maxx.... and had it repoed. I'm still going to the same prison complex to see John. Different prison. Now I visit on Sundays... back then it was a Tuesday.
Then
When the first plane hit, I was sitting in my upstairs apartment, writing out checks to pay my bills. My TV was still in my camper, just a half mile as the crow flies from the prison, so I was listening on the radio. It was probably a small plane, they were saying. When I started out in my truck, the second plane hit. We were in BIG trouble. The foreboding was horrible.
Now
I was driving the same road in my Olds... some reporter was recalling getting up close to the tower, then realizing he needed to back up to get the whole picture... When he backed up far enough to see he was overcome by emotion because he was seeing people jumping to their deaths.
Flashback
When I parked my truck and went to the waiting area, I was the second person in line. Me and that woman got all the way to the visiting room. No one was in there. It was eerie. We looked at each other and sat down. A few minutes later, a guard came in and told us we'd have to go back out front for a while.
Fast Forward
When I parked my car today, I shut off the radio, went in and forgot about it. Oh, John and I discussed it a bit, but I didn't have to listen to it anymore. We discussed what had happened on that day.
How it was...
That woman and I waited out front for a half hour, then a Corrections Officer came out and announced there would be no visiting today. The President had sent out a proclamation for all non-essential government workers to be sent home. For the prison, that meant the guards in the visiting room.
I went to my trailer. I was going to get my TV. Instead, I turned it on. If I hadn't already been in shock, I went into shock at what I was seeing. A few minutes later, the phone rang. It was Johnny. He had seen my truck. Knew I'd been there. Knew I'd go to the trailer. How did he know? I didn't even know.
I took my TV back to the apartment and watched it for 3 days. Since then, I've lived in the upstairs apartment for a year and a half... then moved downstairs and been there ever since. I threw my TV out a couple months ago. (Analog)
Today, of course, was uneventful, but it still is amazing that even though I was not in any of the areas that were struck, I was still affected by the tragedy.
We all were.
My fiancé`, John, and Me (10/27/2003)
Tiana Dreymor
September 11, 2011
Copyright - Vista 15
Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning) Lyrics - Alan Jackson
Where were you when the world stopped turning that September day
Out in the yard with your wife and children
Working on some stage in LA
Did you stand there in shock at the site of
That black smoke rising against that blue sky
Did you shout out in anger In fear for your neighbor
Or did you just sit down and cry
Did you weep for the children
Who lost their dear loved ones
And pray for the ones who don't know
Did you rejoice for the people who walked from the rubble
And sob for the ones left below
Did you burst out in pride
For the red white and blue
The heroes who died just doing what they do
Did you look up to heaven for some kind of answer
And look at yourself to what really matters
I'm just a singer of simple songs
I'm not a real political man
I watch CNN but I'm not sure I can tell you
The difference in Iraq and Iran
But I know Jesus and I talk to God
And I remember this from when I was young
Faith hope and love are some good things He gave us
And the greatest is love
Where were you when the world stopped turning that September day
Teaching a class full of innocent children
Driving down some cold interstate
Did you feel guilty cause you're a survivor
In a crowded room did you feel alone
Did you call up your mother and tell her you love her
Did you dust off that Bible at home
Did you open your eyes and hope it never happened
Close your eyes and not go to sleep
Did you notice the sunset the first time in ages
Speak with some stranger on the street
Did you lay down at night and think of tomorrow
Go out and buy you a gun
Did you turn off that violent old movie you're watching
And turn on "I Love Lucy" reruns
Did you go to a church and hold hands with some stranger
Stand in line and give your own blood
Did you just stay home and cling tight to your family
Thank God you had somebody to love
I'm just a singer of simple songs
I'm not a real political man
I watch CNN but I'm not sure I can tell you
The difference in Iraq and Iran
But I know Jesus and I talk to God
And I remember this from when I was young
Faith hope and love are some good things he gave us
And the greatest is love
I'm just a singer of simple songs
I'm not a real political man
I watch CNN but I'm not sure I can tell you
The difference in Iraq and Iran
But I know Jesus and I talk to God
And I remember this from when I was young
Faith hope and love are some good things He gave us
And the greatest is love
The greatest is love
The greatest is love
Where were you when the world stopped turning that September day
Comments
I had just got my coffee ready. I sat on the sofa to watch the news, I always watch the news. I was watching when the news people suddenly didn't know what was going on. They finally said a tower was on fire. My husband called to check on me like he always did. I told him one tower was burning in NY. Short time later I realized exactly what had happened. Peter Jennings was in a panic yelling at the girl on the ground wanting to know what she was talking about that the building had collapsed.
September 11th was remarkable in many ways. I never watch television, I am never home in the daytime. I took the liberty that morning to go into work late - probably the one time that I ever did in 30 years of working. I never turn on the television when I am home alone yet that morning I did. I saw it and couldn't believe it. I sat down in disbelief with chills. I had been on that tower in 1982 with my Pakistani boyfriend. The view was amazing. The world had forever changed for me. I had ventured into college, met some friends from far away lands, was dating a wonderful man from Pakistan. That was 1982. Then in 2001, I was a successful Finance Director, my peers always took the liberty to arrive late after a board meeting - that was and never will be my normal course. I was always there on time but not on that Tuesday morning, I was home and for some inexplicable reason the television was on. I rarely watch television at night let alone in the morning. I was stunned. I recalled my 1982 adventure to New York and now you remind me of the remarkable chapters in my life and the many remarkable blessings I have had encountered. I thank God for life and the friendships. I thank God for allowing me to go to college and expand my horizons. I thank God for my career opportunities. And today, I continue here on HubPages meeting new people and recalling my life. Thank you for making me sit back and take notice and renew my gratitude for life and friends and I send a special prayer for peace and understanding for our world here on earth.
God bless you and your family.