I remember it well.
It was about 6:05 a.m. in California. My clock radio went off. As I reached to hit the snooze bar, I heard the DJ say something like ". . . 2 planes . . . crashed . . . World Trade Center." In my half asleep dazed and confused mind, I thought he was saying something to the effect that in the course of history that two small planes have crashed into it at one time or another-- or something like that. As soon as I hit the snooze bar, my brain kicked into gear and I realized that he was not talking about some insignificant historical event, he was talking about something that was happening NOW.
Wide awake now, I turned on the TV. I was getting ready for work, and watching TV when the third plane crashed into the Pentagon. I'm not sure that I actually saw the plane, but certainly saw the smoke from the crash.
On my way driving into work, listening to the radio, I heard about the crash in Pennsylvania. I couldn't process what was going on. I just had this need to get to work to concentrate on my project; something concrete to focus on; something that made sense; something that had a beginning and an end; something with structure and no surprises.
The day was surreal. Radio reception in the building is poor, we can only get a couple of FM stations. Fortunately the one that I could get had suspended normal programming and was only broadcasting news of the attack. We relied heavily on the internet for our news. I remember there was confusion as to how many planes were involved. Was it 4 -- or was it 5? Nobody knew for sure. One of the IT gals subscribed to CNN news and forwarded updates as she received them.
My heart goes out to those who lost friends and family in this tragedy. To those in uniform (Police, Firefighters, military) who work day and night to keep us safe - thank you!
God Bless.
