Where were You?

In the Tree House: Where were you?...

By: Samantha Stroube Daviss

As I was emailing my column over for this week, I always put in the subject line what issue date it is for, and as I turned and looked at my calendar and typed in the words “September 11^th” I knew I had to save that originally written column for another date.

I can’t believe that it has been 10 years since that fateful day. I always remember my parents talking about where they were when JFK was shot, or where they were when Martin Luther King was shot. I never thought in my wildest dreams that I would be one of those people, or at least I hoped I wouldn’t have been, one of those people that had a story to tell my children… “I remember exactly where I was on September 11, 2001”.

I was living in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. I had just gotten home from a wonderful morning walk in the cool September weather, when I got a phone call from my mom wondering if my brother was OK. I had no idea what she was talking about, and she told me to turn on the news. (My brother was working for the government at that time, so we were fearful for his safety.)

Once I realized what was going on, I was frozen. I sat on the corner of my bed, motionless watching the television in awe. I will never forget, I was watching Diane Sawyer and Charles Gibson on Good Morning America, and they were talking about a plane that had crashed into the first World Trade Center Tower. And during their broadcast, the second plane hit, I could see it happen over their left shoulders.

For a moment I was totally confused. I thought they were just replaying the recording of the first tower being hit, when it dawned on me that it was a second plane hitting the second tower. I was stunned; the realization of what was actually happening didn’t quite resonate with me for the longest time. You know how people talk about out-of-body experiences; well I think I had one of those that day. I couldn’t believe that it was happening…I couldn’t believe that it was happening on American soil…and I couldn’t believe that someone of such a warped mastermind was able to come up with such a God awful plan.

Who were these people? What was happening? All four planes went down within such a short period of time of one another that I couldn’t keep it all straight in my mind. I couldn’t believe that such a catastrophic event was happening to us. I realized its magnitude when my friend from Austria called me to check on me and to give her blessing to America and Americans alike. Right then and there is when it hit me, we were under attack, and the entire world knows it.

I know that sounds kind of odd that it took me so long to realize the magnitude of 9/11, but as I said I was in such shock… just an innocent 20-something year old woman sitting on the edge of her bed one Tuesday morning after taking her morning walk as she always did; only to come home and find out her country was under attack.

So when my kids ask me where I was on September 11, I know exactly where I was; but still to this day the clarity of it all is still a little hazy, I can’t believe that something like this happened during my lifetime.

So every time you see the “new” skyline of New York, or complain about the TSA lines, or the security at national monuments. Just remember those 3,500+ people that lost their lives that cool September morning, and remember all the babies that never met or don’t remember their fallen parents from that dreadful day. We are all in this together, so take a little time to yourself today and remember those lost lives of 9/11/01 and thank our troops for all they have done over the past decade to keep us out of harm’s way.

God Bless America!!