Where Were You and What Were You Doing on September 11, 2001?

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Well, here is another discussion on a topic that has not left us in 7 years. As the old saying goes, "Shall we forget history, it shall repeat itself." It has been said for centuries that if we forget the past, the past will return to haunt us or it could even return to make us better people either as a nation or as individuals. Not long after the frightful day in American History, we found ourselves as Americans here at home and abroad, placing flags and yellow ribbons on our properties. We came together as a nation and mourned for a short period, and then, in a flash of greatness, we became a nation that cared for one another and began to find solutions to a problem that has plagued global society for centuries. The problem that I am talking about is terrorism. Briefly, when I traveled overseas as a teenager, I traveled for two years in a country that has been plagued by terrorism for decades. I saw terrorism first hand and I saw the eyes of those who committed the acts. I traveled through areas of the country where children would attack our buses with rocks and with bricks. This was an act that I did not want to experience ever again, yet, 20 plus years, on the soil of my own home country, I experienced it again. Granted, I was not in New York on September 11, 2001 or at at the Pentagon or in Shanksville, PA, but as an American, I felt that being a citizen of the greatest country on the face of this earth, I was personally attacked by a people that only wants to see US dead. If not dead, then they want to convert us to their way of life. This is not my idea of democracy or freedom. We as Americans enjoy freedoms that are not seen around the world. We have to be thankful for that and we have to be thankful that our president has kept terrorism from rearing its ugly head for the remainder of his administration at least to this point. OK, enough rambling. This is what I was doing on Tuesday, September 11, 2001: I was at work at a local retail mall, working as an Assistant Director of Security. I was in my office doing some paperwork after my walk through of the property when one of my supervisors came across the radio and said this: "World Trade Center, New York, plane crashed." I radioed back to the supervisor for further explanation. She could not get any further news, as she appeared shaken. She was driving one of the patrol vehicles and continued her patrols. I then heard my dispatch officer say that a plane crashed into one of the World Trade Center Towers in New York. At that time, I ran from my office to the management office which was down the hall. I went directly to the Mall Manager's office who was watching the television in his personal, small conference room. The pictures out of New York were already beginning to come in and one of the tower's was on fire. Then, looking again at the live pictures coming from New York, I pointed out that there was another airliner making a turn as if it was going to crash as well. Well, it did and this threw me backwards. Then the news came in at the bottom of the television screen that another plane had gone into the Pentagon. There was a live picture coming in from the Pentagon showing the intense smoke bellowing out of the building. Then, later, news about the plane crashing into the ground in Shanksville, PA was reported and at that time I said, "My God, we are at war! We are under complete and utter attack!" At that time, raced off to the Security Director's office who was somewhat oblivious to what was happening because he was doing paperwork and actually forgot to turn on his radio or had it turned down. I said to him what was happening and he was in total disbelief. We both went back to the mall manager's office who was already laying out plans for the mall. He said that there was going to be a conference call but not to alert anyone in the mall at that time. Well, that was an order that was going to be hard to keep. Tenants were already aware of what was happening and began closing their stores and heading for home. Eventually, the conference call with all mall manager's ended with the order to close the malls for the day. At that time, the order was to report to the tenant's to begin closing their stores and listen to news throughout the day for plans of reopening the next day. People were already filing out of the mall and what was great and surprising, there was no panic. Along with other officers, I began to report to different doors and began to lock them down. At one of the doors, a young, Middle Eastern looking man tried to continue getting through the door wearing headphones obviously listening to music and not able to hear what I was telling him. I had to repeat myself several times as he still tried to get into the mall. I called for backup and a mobile security unit approached and I asked him to follow the man off property. What was sad about this day beyond all that was happening, I was on the telephone later talking with my wife, in tears. It was hard to fathom what was happening. She was telling me that all was going to be alright and that she was headed home. You see, my wife and I were married in May 2001. So we were still newlyweds and I was sent to this mall as a promotion from a smaller mall. I told her that I was headed home, but I was to report back to the mall at 10pm to handle the overnight. The director of security handled the rest of the day and stayed until I returned. My wife was not too happy because she was worried that the mall's could be the next target's. I told her everything would be alright and that I would not do anything that would be stupid. I took her to her mother's house as she did not want to stay at home alone and I understood her feelings. That Tuesday was a sad day for all, but one thing I knew. The president of this great country was already with his staff planning and reacting to what had happened earlier in the day. It was good to know that he and the cabinet members were safe and that they were available to put an emergency plan into action. So, what were you doing and how did you react to the news of the country being under attack from at the time unknown sources?