Well, it was a weird day. September 10th, 2001 I stayed up rather late. Tuesday, September 11th I woke up a little late for school [12th grade at the time]. I figured, **** it, I'm already late for ******* Geography class [or was it history... I don't remember, one of those two.]. I looked around for a decent shirt to wear, I was planning to ask this girl out that day and wanted to look nice.
I discovered this American Flag shirt I stole from my older brother so I ironed it all nice and neat and put that on with some nice blue jeans. I remember spending far longer than I should have ironing my clothes that day. I was off to school looking nice thinking today would be the day where it worked out and I asked out Danielle Champ.
When I got to school, about 8:50ish is when I showed up in my homeroom class. My teacher and everyone in class are watching T.V. and looking a bit glum and I didn't quite understand why. I look up and it's news coverage explaining that a plane had hit one of the twin towers in new york and I didn't quite grasp what had happened yet. I wasn't sure if it was a bad dream or not cause I was half awake [as usual during school].
I just stood there confused watching T.V. and hadn't taken a seat at a desk and then there was breaking news of a 2nd plane flying towards the towers and video footage showed it hit, live on T.V.. I felt something deep inside me that just felt horrifying. I just watching a lot of people die, live on T.V.. I rarely swore back then but I remember saying "What the **** just happened?" to my Teacher, Mr. Ronniger. And he said "I think we're under attack?" in a confused tone and didn't even care that I had swore in class.
In class all we did was watch T.V.. No one mentioned I was late, we didn't talk about class, we all just watched the news and occasionally asked questions.
In Art class a T.V. had been wheeled in so we could watch the news. This was my 2nd class that day. That's when we heard about the pentagon. And when the pentagon thing happened I was a bit terrified as was another girl in my school and my cousin and a few of the teachers. Let's rewind a bit here. Back to.... I don't know freshmen year of high school.
1999
I'm in my U.S. History [or was it geography... I don't remember] with Mr. Ronniger. We had learned an easy way to get out of doing work was to convince him to tell us a story or random interesting facts. Someone had got him going and he's telling us that according to the FBI or the CIA [I really don't remember] that the Facility our school was less than a mile away from was on Saddam Hussein's list of top 10 things he might want to blow up in america. To top this off, my dad and uncle worked at the place. Also the wreslting coach worked there as well and his daughter went to school with me and I was on the wrestling team. The busiest control room for the FAA in the country is located in Oberlin, OH. Less than a mile away from Oberlin High School. And our history/geography teacher told us, back in 99' that that specific facility is on a top ten list of **** Saddam Hussein is likely to blow up according to the FBI or the CIA [I think the CIA....?]. Also my dad and uncle worked there and when I came home that day and asked if that were true and why it would be both my dad and uncle [was actually my next door neighbor] confirmed that it is indeed the busiest control room in the USA and get's the most air traffic and that destroying it would most certainly cripple the country.
So... he also mentioned on this top ten list there were the world trade center, the pentagon, the white house, and I forgot what else.
2000
another teacher mentioned the top ten list to us in biology class.
So, back to tuesday 9/11/2001
I'm in Art class at ******* Oberlin ******* high school and just discovered that 2 of the things on a top ten list of **** saddam hussein would want to attack and blow up have been attacked and 1 of the things on this same top 10 list is less than a mile away from where me and all my friends are at the moment. I was kinda ******* terrified and have never felt that afraid or scared in my life. I wanna lie and say that I hatched a plan to bail on school and managed to rally up my friends and say "Hey, let's get the **** out of here and head downtown to tappan square AWAY from the FAA.... but ****'s not looking so great for that building."
But, I kinda just stayed in school.... So did my cousin and Erika Twining [her dad worked with my dad and uncle at the FAA]. Same with the two teachers who mentioned the FAA facility was something someone attacking America would certainly want to destroy. Looking back I guess we were just a bit too scared to think to just leave the school and head away from the FAA.
School was all just watching T.V. in every class. We didn't do any work at all. Then eventually 2:30 came and the bell rang and when I left school I walked in the opposite direction of the FAA towards Oberlin College and went to Mudd Library and just kinda hung around outside. All the college students, well everyone really, looked sullen and confused and glum. I probably did too.
Eventually I went back home... Probably around about 10pm or so. My dad was at home and I asked him what happened.
He told me that after I left for school [which was just before the 1st plane hit. It was about a 15 minute walk to school and I arrived inbetween the time each plane hit] the first plane his and he was called to go into work immediately. My uncle was already there [I was 17, so that means they both had done the job for 17 years at that point]. At work they had filled the building with all the workers with the most experience on the job and had sent home people with only 10 or less years [I don't know the exact numbers... but basically they had the all star team in the world of air traffic controllers at work that day].
So, this all star team of the best of the best air traffic controllers within the building just landed every single plane in the sky at the nearest runway. My dad normally worked the night shift, so basically he got off work around the time I was getting up for school [our schedule was that when he was going to sleep I was going to school, when I got off school he was waking up, and when I was about to go to sleep he was going to work]. Once all the plans had been landed they were sent home and the building was pretty empty I'm told.
I didn't bother to mention the whole top ten list thing... at this point I just didn't want to think about it anymore, cause it was kinda terrifying.
But, that was how my day went on 9/11.