9/11

I guess I should post about 9/11.  It was actually only a few days after I started my first blog.  Here is what I wrote:

Tuesday, September 11, 2001

7:00 AM- I wake up to the sound of my alarm.  I had been in a pretty deep sleep and I felt good.  I didn't fall asleep until three that morning because my mind was racing.  (I was nervous about starting a new temporary job Derrick, a friend from the youth center, had gotten me.  It was doing house keeping at a hotel.)  Anyway, I got up quickly, dressed, and walked downstairs. My mom got out of the shower finally and let me use the bathroom. I put in my contacts, brushed my teeth, and thought about what the day would bring. I wondered what the people I would work with today would be like. I wondered if the hotel rooms would be really dirty. I shrugged to myself, finished up and then waited for Derrick to come pick me up.

 7:45 AM- Derrick comes right on time.  He (crazily) drives me to the staffing agency where he works and we meet up with Tonya, the other girl I’m going to be working with. We sit down and wait for him to do some stuff and then we're off. We get on the highway, listening to Derrick’s praise and worship CD, but then get off on the Tyrone exit because Derrick likes the scenic route. I think to myself that the scenic route will take longer, but oh well. We wind around tight curves and stare at the beautiful mountains that spread out before us. We joke around about the pigs and cows we see. For some reason, Derrick and Tonya think both animals are cute. Ew.  We drive past the stable where Derrick keeps his horse and he gets all excited. I look at the clock. 8:39. Derrick says he has to drive fast to get us there on time.  I look at the clock again after a while. 8:47. I can't stop looking at the clock for some reason.  We finally make it to State College and arrive at the hotel.

9:00 AM- Tonya and I are trying to find the person in charge of house keeping.  We finally find her and we settle in, have things explained to us, and then are assigned to Jane, who is going to train us.  Jane takes us to a closet, pulls out a cart and starts loading it with stuff. We get our little soaps, big soaps, tiny shampoos and such, and finally make our way to the third floor where all our rooms were.

9:30 AM- We're in our first room.  Tonya is cleaning the bathroom (bless her heart) and I'm dusting the furniture. A guy who works in laundry comes running down the hall. “Hey! Did you guys hear? Two planes just crashed into the World Trade Center! I don't believe it!” Jane swears and I stand in shock, dusting cloth in hand as Tonya rings out her sponge.  She wonders what we're talking about. I tell her, hardly able to comprehend it. What? What's going on? Two planes crashed? I don't understand.

10:00 AM- We're in our third or fourth room now.  Every room we go in, I turn on the TV to ABC. Jane sits on the bed and swears repeatedly as I try to put the fitted sheets on, shaking like crazy.  I can't believe what's going on! Jane leaves and Tonya is in the bathroom, so I'm all alone to listen to the voices drone on over the facts that I've already heard. Suddenly, the local people come on. What's that they're saying? I listen closer. “Another high-jacked plane has just crashed down 80 miles south of Pittsburgh...” I'm on the verge of tears. PITTSBURGH??!! No! No, no, no, no, no! That is WAY to close to me! I watch in horror as the cancellations go across the bottom of the screen.  Schools that I can name students from are closing early. Baseball, soccer, and football games are all being canceled...

Then, the news anchor says something that makes my stomach turn.  “A suspicious package has been reported being delivered to the Altoona post office.” I collapse onto the bed. Immediately I think of my old school. Do the kids there know? Do my friends know what's going on? Do they know the terror that has struck our wonderful country? Are they safe? I try to push the thought out of my mind, thinking why in the world someone would try to bomb Altoona.  (I would laugh, but it's no laughing matter)

I don't really remember the specific times after that. Every time I looked at the clock it seemed to be only seconds later.  Every time I turned on the news, they seemed to add something even more terrifying. I wanted to leave work. I couldn't concentrate. If I did a bad job, tough tacos.  How can you expect me to work when my country, my home, my FREEDOM is being attacked by terrorists? Especially when a plane just crashed hours away from me??!!

 3:00 PM- We finished off our last room to the sound of the news reporters' voices.  Walking to the State College branch of the staffing agency, Tonya and I laugh. How could we laugh, though? How could we possibly laugh while all those people are trapped?  I kept thinking about what it would feel like to be one of those people. To be trapped, hurt, and bleeding.  To not know what just happened.  To wonder if their family is ok.  To be praying so hard that help comes.

5:00 PM- Derrick is driving us home.  I'm silent most of the way, thinking still of the terrible events. Derrick and Tonya somehow can laugh and talk and joke around. I can't. I think of all my friends during this time.  Wondering how many of them know.  If they announced it in school.

6:05 PM- We finally arrive at my house.  Derrick comes in to talk to my brother. My mom asked strangely, “Have you been watching the news at all?” I answer, “Yes, all day,” then leave the room. I don't really feel like talking. Derrick stays a couple minutes to watch the news with us. We're looking at clips of another country that has been attacked by missiles, they think.  The news people talk about how they think it's the US retaliating. Derrick shakes his head, turns to me, and says, “Man, I'm going to get drafted.” I find that funny and I laugh for a second. Derrick then says he has to leave, I say bye, and then turn back to the TV. My dad is recording it. I figure I should write about it somewhere. I thought of my blog first. Unless the terrorists bomb the internet, my blog will always be here.

8:30 PM- President Bush comes on TV to talk.  His speech is wonderful and up lifting, while still mourning the tragedies.  My eyes brim with tears as he quotes Psalm 23:4.  “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.”