[This post is part of an ongoing blog series to get to know each other better. Have you read and participated in the other “More About You Monday” questions?]
***
In light of last night’s announcement of Osama bin Laden’s death, today’s More About You Monday question is: Where were you on September 11, 2001?
Like most Americans, I remember clearly where I was and what I was doing on 9/11/01. Working in the accounting dept at the bank, my task entailed daily settling of funds and processing all wire transfers. One bank branch had called to tell us of the news and we turned on the radio and connected to the internet immediately. Having read Tom Clancy books, there was no doubt as to the mission of the attackers. Nevertheless, I was NOT going to allow them to stop our bank from accomplishing the daily processing. All wire transfers (which flowed through NYC, primarily)were sent and received that day. Most notably, the daily settlement came out even… no excess cash to wire out for overnight investing, nor any shortage of funds that might have required borrowing through the wire transfer system. This was so impressive because the banks with whom we invested or borrowed overnight were located in the World Trade Center. As it turned out we were balanced and settled for a number of days in a row, Praise God! There was no way I would have allowed those terrorists to stop the operations of our bank. Not sure what the next step was going to be, but I was determined to be the victor…. And, Praise God, we survived as a nation!
I was at home, had the Today Show on. I turned it on when they were just showing the first plane flying into the first tower…when they were still thinking it was an accident, wondering what had happened. It soon became all too clear that it was a grave evil we were all watching unfold. Unbelievable, even yet to this day, to consider those thousands of lives lost.
This morning on Today, headlines were shown. One with reference to hell. I thought of Bin Laden and where he quite probably is now, and how the Truth has now been made very clear to him. And it brought home very clearly to me, the verse that says “every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.” In the end, everyone who makes the grave mistake in not trusting in the true Messiah will see the truth. Everyone will have to admit He was indeed who He said He was.
Not meant to be a sermon, but this morning, thinking of him dead brought these thoughts to mind. As a Christian, I don’t rejoice in his death, though I’m thankful he is no longer a threat himself. But I do grieve for the evil he carried out or directed, for the families effected, and for what hell truly will be like for those who believe their own way to be the truth.
Nancy in the Midwest
“I don’t rejoice in his death, though I’m thankful he is no longer a threat himself. But I do grieve for the evil he carried out or directed, for the families effected…”
Pretty much sums up my immediate thoughts after Lana shared the news with me this morning.
Perfectly stated!
I am going to use some of your entry on my Facebook….
It was the middle of the day in England. I was sitting at my desk working away when one of my colleague-friends told me that a plane crashed into the WTC. Like many, I quickly jumped online to see what happened. There was one lone article that seemed to indicate that it was an accident. No pictures. No details. Just a couple of sparse paragraphs.
I imagined a little Cessna flying into the side of the building and bouncing off like a mosquito on a car windshield. Not quite a bounce. More like a splat!
Thinking little more of it, I went back to work.
About 10-15 minutes later, I picked up my head and looked across the expansive office room to see 25-30 people huddled together in the far corner, obviously around the television. Curious, I walked over and stood aghast at what was showing on the screen.
I walked silently back to my desk, completely stunned. As soon as I sat down, I called Lana, who was home in Virginia. At least…I tried to call her but was unable to get through as all the phone lines were busy.
***
When Jesus was dying on the cross, he said, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they are doing.”
***
Father, forgive them for they know not what they are doing.
Father, forgive us for we know not what we are doing.
Father, forgive me for I know not what I am doing.
I was in law school, in the library. The librarians set up a TV right near the entrance to the library and people gathered to watch the coverage. I vividly remember another student – someone I didn’t know – coming through the doors, asking what was going on, and saying “My mother works in the World Trade Center” then turning around and running out. I think of him and his mother often.
My sister and I had taken my aunt to work that morning around 7:30am and then went to get coffee with our two 2 year old boys and her 1 month old daughter. This is relevant because it means that the radio was set to Peter, Paul and Mommy – not the news. The person that served us the coffee told us that a plane crashed into one of the towers. We also assumed that it was an accident and thought of it as a small plane, not even imagining that anyone inside the towers would have been hurt. We didn’t even put the news on on the car radio. We drove back home and put on the Today show and watched in shock!
A year later, my friend had won tickets to go see Regis and Kelly. The 4 of us went (on my birthday – September 9th). We made the trek down to ground zero and it was just awful. The strangest thing was that there was no sound. All the signs were still up for the missing, shrines were all over. There were no cars, so tno traffic noises – and nobody was talking. Not just my friends and I, nobody. As we rounded the corner a man was playing “Amazing Grace” on the saxaphone. I am getting choked up and teary eyed even now thinking about it.
I have to add, this morning all over Facebook all the status updates were regarding the death of Bin Laden. All were rejoicing. I felt like I was the only one that wasn’t. Do NOT get me wrong, I am thrilled that he can no longer hurt anyone. Thank you for putting my thoughts into words, Nancy in the Midwest: “I don’t rejoice in his death, though I’m thankful he is no longer a threat himself. But I do grieve for the evil he carried out or directed, for the families effected…”
That is how I am feeling.
I went to work that morning at the Skyview Unit of a Texas prison for the mentally ill. As I walked toward my office I noticed several inmates watching tv. One of them told me that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center and that it was believed that terrorists might be involved. I sat with them to watch. I saw the second plane and found it very hard to believe when it also crashed into the building.
After the towers had collapsed one of my more delusional patients began to feel responsibility, thinking he had somehow caused this to happen. I had to take time for a little therapy with him.
As I learned of the other attacks and crashes, I called Lana to check that she and Dave were safe.
I was on my way to pick up coffee break for Bob and Mike. At the bagel store, they asked if I had seen the plane crash. I went home (instead of work) watched the second plane. Not knowing that one of my friends husband was in the second building. Never found him. He had 2 young boys. Another friend was spared. She was on the flight from Washington D.C. just before the fateful one. Her husband would have been in the Trade Center but had to bring her to the airport. He went back to bed because she had to leave so early and he overslept. He was on his way to work (late) when the planes crashed into the towers. Two men from our church were lost.
I was at our local Insurance Office, purchasing life insurance, of all things! My Lori was 4 and was quietly playing while the agent was asking me questions. He asked me if I had heard that a plane had flown into the World Trade Center. I hadn’t, and neither one of us were concerned. I think we both had the image, just as Dave did, that it was a little Cessna that accidently hit the massive building and bounced to the ground. I was concerned that someone, or a few people had died, but we continued with our business of LIFE. When I got home, my Jerry called, frantic, saying that the country had been attacked! I’ll never forget that feeling, that possibly we were at war, right on our own soil. I wanted to rush to school and scoop up my boys, but I let them continue their day where they were. Many parents DID go get their children though. Jerry came home right away. We went outside and talked together. We stood on our deck looking at the beautiful blue sky. It was so quiet, too quiet. No vapor trails… It’s hard to forgot those emotions….
I was driving to work, listening to the radio, when I heard that first one and then a second plane had crashed into the WTC. At that point I knew it was a terrorist act and a big one. I went up to my office where my boss and others were standing watching TV in the break room. We stood close and just kind of felt the horror together. The thing that shocked me more than anything was watching the first tower fall. I did not think that would happen. I knew without a doubt that there had not been enough time for a lot of the people to escape. A little later I got a call from my friend who was friends with the mayor. I was told that there was a plane flying around our city, and I was in one of the tallest buildings. (That was the one that crashed in PA.) Pretty soon everyone went home because nobody was sure there weren’t going to be more crashes. My boss refused to leave because he was trying to contact his wife who was traveling at the time. (She was OK.) My friend was in NY at the time, but not near the site. I went home and talked to my family and just felt the warmth of being mentally together at such a time.
I was working in Washington DC at a hospital. It was very scary as there were rumors that the next target was the Capitol- a mere few blocks from where I was. We didn’t have a TV in our department. We were not allowed to use phones- they wanted the lines open for emergencies and the cell phones were getting many blockages. Then we were ordered to stay in our departments. We were readied to receive a lot of people, we got some of the most serious from the Pentagon, but not as many injured as I thought, most were perished. We were allowed to leave in the early evening. I was so scared to ride the metrorail home- I was sure it was a very obvious target- they could kill a lot of people in the system.
It was a gut-wrenching day. A guy I knew in college- his brother perished in the Pentagon (another brother had been killed the year before in the sub in Yemen that was bombed). My uncles friend, a NYC firefighter died also. I hope to never see anything like that in my lifetime again.
Though we were touched deeply by what happened that day, we were removed from so much of the emotion and pain, being far away and knowing no one directly involved. Hearing these accounts of those who were a part of the tragedy makes it so much more real. Thanks for sharing your heart.
Like all of you – for one reason or another – that day is forever etched in my head. At the time, I was pregnant with our first baby. We had JUST moved to the Ft. Belvoir, VA area – and that day was my husbands first day inprocessing (military) at the Pentagon. We were still in our temp housing, as we had literally just moved to the area. My mom calls me and asked, first, where my husband was – and if he was okay. I had just woke up – so I was baffled and had no idea what she was talking about. She asked if I’d seen the news. Nope, not yet. Her next words – Don’t turn it on. Don’t watch. But, contact him. (Talking about my husband.) So, the first thing I did? Turned on the TV. I was emotional and pregnant. Even though I knew the timing wasn’t really right for him to be in that area at that time, I still couldn’t breathe easily – I was pregnant and hormonal, and my whole world was upside down. I have cousins and friends who were in and around Ground Zero that day. My cousin, in fact, was late to work that day. Had she been on time, she would have been in the lobby, or closeby – all depending. I am grateful that my husband, family and my immediate friends were all okay. My heart is saddened with all those who cannot say the same thing.
With regards to Osama Bin Laden, I am going to apologize ahead of time for the novel I’m about to write…so, feel free to stop reading now if you just don’t have the time. It’s okay. I understand. haha This was actually some discussion I’ve been having with several people. Here is a copy / pasted comment I had on FB yesterday:
“My status update last night was this: “With all the coverage of Osama Bin Laden’s death, there is much celebration going on. I’d like to share a thought a friend of mine posted earlier, “On a serious note, the fact that we celebrate someones death speaks to the brokeness of our world.” Thoughts?”
~ I think that his death does allow everyone a sigh of relief in one way…but, I don’t think that just because he’s dead that terrorism will suddenly stop. I think we, as a nation and as individuals, need to stand up, united in prayer like never before.
~Also, with regards to his death, I KNOW he committed HORRIFIC acts against so many innocent people. I know people involved that day (9/11) and it is close to my heart. However, I cannot help be saddened on some level just at another person going to Hell. Do I think he deserved punishment? Absolutely. Death? In the eyes of the law, absolutely. But – my heart speaks a different story. He will now suffer for an eternity. I know many think that’s “karma” so to speak. I serve a God of love and grace. I know I am rambling, and so I will stop. I think you can understand the point I am making. :)”
I went on to say:
“I also wanted to add that, as a military veteran myself, I am extremely proud of our military – and stand behind the decision and do not complain that he died. My only “issue” is watching people literally celebrate his death, and knowing that he died not knowing Jesus.”
I was in Cheong Ju South Korea. I had just come back from from a pub crawl and my friend Tim and I were ordering chicken and pizza and looking for an English movie on the TV. It was 10:00pm It was the craziest thing because at first we thought that we were watching a movie and then it dawned on us that CNN was in the corner. We were in a daze. Both of us picked our phones up and started calling home to check on everyone. We watched all night long and went in to work the next day. All the Americans were stunned. What was really interesting to us all was that only people came up to us on the street, many of them crying, telling us how sorry they were. The younger one like college students were yelling curse words at us and flipping us off. It was completely surreal.
I was home watching TV. I sat there wondering if it was an intentional attack or an accident. My husband is a firefighter. And was on the Massachusetts Task Force. He received a phone call and I then knew it was no accident. As he was talking I said OMG look the other tower was just hit, he turned and couldn’t believe it. Well that phone called confirmed he was on his way to the WTC. He had no idea for how long, just that he had to leave immediately. He got his stuff together as I sat on the couch crying. Crying for the people that were just killed and for my husband who was going there. He was there for about a week. It was a very tough week with two kids at home wondering when he would come back. I told the kids even though we needed him at home, there were lots of other people who needed him even more right then.
My husband and I were sneaking out of work to have my first pregnancy confirmed. As we left, a co-worker had seen on the internet that a plane had crashed into the first tower. We listened to the radio on our way to the Dr’s. office. Details were still sketchy. As we waited in the waiting room, some were on cellphones to others who were in front of a TV. On the way back to work, we again listened to the radio. By then, details were clearer and it was obvious that it was not an accident. We returned to work where everyone stayed glued to their computers. I don’t think anyone realized that I had ever left.