I remember September 11th, 2001. I was a senoir in High School, in choir, when our principal come over the P.A. to announce that NYC had been attacked. I thought, "Oh, how sad!" and wondered what had happened. After choir I went to senior english (boooring class!) and sat in my usual seat next to my friend, Bryant. Our teacher was extremely laid back and turned the TV on for us so we could watch CNN and the coverage. So we sat and watched. I overheard some guys in the back of the class joking about how maybe they'd let us go home from school early because of what had happened. Jerks. Bryant and I were the only ones really paying attention, everyone else was goofing off having a good ole time, like it was a party or something. I saw the second plane hit the other tower and so did Bryant. We turned to each other and both said, "DId you just see.....? I think I saw...." We were in shock. Our next class we had together, and it was Economics. That teacher too was extremely laid back and let us watch TV all hour. So we watched some more. And then we stayed there during lunch and watched even more. It was so sad. It was also sad to see how most of my classmates reacted to it. Lots of joking. And yet somehow I was voted "Most Immature" in our class. Jerks. After lunch we went to different classes, and my teacher actually held class like normal. By that time there was no new coverage or anything. But I was pretty much in a daze all day. My dad came to pick me up from school like usual and we drove home, wondering how the world was going to change. Our first clue was when we drove by the gas station in town. It was PACKED OUT, people were lined up into the street to get gas. I asked my dad if we were going to go through another depression or something, or if the world was ending. He just shook his head and said, "We'll see." But everyone was panicking, it was crazy. We got home and turned the TV on to watch some more. A few days later dad was contacted by the FBI (I think). His name had come up in a list of people they were calling to come help with rescue/recovery. He was very qualified because he was a firefighter, and EMT and a Pastor, so he was good for everything, including counseling. So he packed up and left, picking up his friend Leo on the way. When he got home he had aged about ten years and had a lot of stories to share. I could see the sadness in his eyes and it really bothered me. He told me all about it, about the body sniffing dogs, and the smoke and the smell and the noise, and walking through a building that may collapse in order to get to a building where people were trapped. And about the "bucket brigade" lines of volunteers that would pass five gallon buckets of debris to try to get people to save them. They didn't save anyone. He found a torso, a leg and an elbow I believe. I still don't know how he did it. He's a hero.
I have a few pictures from when he was there, I'll post them tomorow.
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