Where Were you on September 11 2001

I remember it like it was yesturday. The way my room was set up was completely different. I had a 19" Tv with all my videogames stereo and what not set up next to my bed. I was sound asleep, when all of the sudden my mother burst into my room screeming, Francis wake up wake up, we're under attack, Americas under attack! Not knowing what was going on, and having only gone to sleep a couple hours before, I was very confused as too what my mother was talking about. I thought my mother was joking, having figured out a crafty way of wakeing me up. She hates it when I sleep all day. I replied to my mother by saying what? What do you meen we're under attack, the first thing that came to my mind is that the Russians had changed their mind about us, and dropped the Bomb . My mother shouts turn on the TV they hit the World Trade Center, and the Pentagon! Who? What are you talking about? I turned on the TV and to my dissmay I saw the two WTC towers burning. I asked my mom who did this and she said that they didn't know yet, but airplanes had flown into the buildings. It wasn't before long when the news began playing the scene of the second impact. I didn't know how to handle what I was seeing. what I mean by that is, I didn't get sad or fearfull, most likely due to my complete disasociation with NeyYork and its people, and the lack of understanding the severity behind the whole situation. Instead my brain, as horrible as it sounds, handled the images I was viewing as entertainment, not real at all. As I watched I then saw the WTC 1 fall on live TV. The images of people running in fear and the massive dust ploom that tumbled through the canions of NYC envelopeing everything, only brought one thought to mind. Thats like somthing out of a movie.

The whole day stands out in my mind very bizarly. Here in Chicago the whole down town/ loop was evacuated. My father, a former Chicago Board Of Trade employee, was rushed out of his building. Their were thaughts, at the time, that all finacial institutions were a likely target. I remember him saying he was one of the last to leave, because he had to stay behind and secure their back up opperating systems. All schools were cancelled and the streets became ieraly empty. Living near O'Hare airport it was particaulars strange not to hear or see a plane in the sky.

My friend Alex just recently returned from her vacation in NYC and brought back photos of where the WTC towers once stood. Its hard to believe that after all the devastation that took place there, its completely cleaned up and looks like any other construction project.