Kodey.com - 9/11/2001

9/11/2001

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9/11/2001. Tuesday. 8:30am.

Herndon, VA - 30 minutes west of Washington DC

For me, just like everyone else says, September 11 began like any other day. My super-long 5-minute commute is normally filled with 1.5 songs from CD. I don't listen to the radio, since most of that 5 minutes would be filled with commercials.

I got to work at 8:30, and began reading email. Nothing out of the ordinary. I had no idea what was going on. My friend Susan was the first to find out.

"Did you hear? A plane hit the World Trade Center."

Big deal. I lived and worked just outside NYC for four years - I had heard all the stories before. This would be the third time "a plane hit a tower" since working there. It's always a hoax.

MSNBC.com... No response.
CNN.com... No response.

Hmmm... All the news web servers are bogged down. Must be high traffic. Wow. Everyone must be trying to get the story.

It starts to sink in... It can't be true...

Luckily, we had a TV in our office that we had never used. We built a makeshift antenna out of a CAT5 network cable...and we were in business.

Whoa... Looks like both towers are emitting smoke. The news confirms it. This was no accident. It's really sinking in. It's true.

Then, they showed that clip of the plane entering the south tower. All 10 of us who were gathered around the TV gasped and recoiled in our chairs. I was speechless. We all were. I had been in those towers. My brain couldn't comprehend what it was seeing. I can't imagine how I would have reacted if I had seen that plain hit on live TV, let alone in person.

As time went by, I'm not sure what we were expecting to see next. It should have been over. What else could possibly happen? Then, my scientific brain kicked in. How the heck did those building remain standing? You can't imagine the torque the base of those buildings withstood during the impact. Incredible. Everyone in the room agreed. Then, I thought about the size of the hole, and the fire burning within them. I remember that the hair on the back of my neck stood on end when I realized what could be next. What if the tops of the towers crumbled around those burning holes? What if the tops fell to the ground? What would get hit? Little did I know...

Next, we heard about the Pentagon. The tone of the room changed dramatically. You see, for four years, I worked and lived across the river from Manhattan, in full view of the WTC. The images up to this point were all-too-real for me. But, I have a feeling that anyone who hadn't seen those enormous towers in real life couldn't possibly comprehend what they were seeing. Now, the pentagon was hit. It's only 30 minutes away from the office we were in. Now, everyone else had a frame of reference. Now, everyone was just as speechless as I.

The picture switched back to New York. The news was reporting concern about the possibility of collapse. The room froze. No way.

Wait. Why does it look like there's only one tower there? The camera angle isn't good...too much smoke. It must be behind the smoke. Where did all that white smoke come from? It was black before. It really looks like there's only one tower. The news isn't confirming anything.

There's only one tower left. The South tower is gone. How is that possible? I hope everyone got out...

There we were...glued to the TV. Hoping for something positive. Something to say "it's over".

Then, on live TV.

The North tower.

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Jun 18, 2002
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