I guess we all remember what we were doing that day. It was a gorgeous fall day, just like today in the Northeast--cool and crisp with the most beautiful blue sky. Maybe that similarity is helping me to remember so much of that day.
I was in Boston, observing Christine, one of the trainers in my department at the state agency I worked for. Shortly before 9 AM we were interrupted by Andy, an attorney from another department, who told us that a plane had crashed into one of the World Trade Center buildings--we all thought it was a small plane. We went into the other room where they had a television with very poor reception and muffled audio. We watched for a minute and then went back to the class.
A few minutes later Andy came back to the classroom with a very grim look on his face. Another plane had struck the second tower and they now knew that both planes were commercial airliners. The realization struck us all at the same time. This was deliberate. It's so hard to explain my reaction. I literally couldn't process what was happening. We went back to the television, but the reception was so bad that we were having a hard time seeing or hearing what was happening. Suddenly, we realized that the first tower was collapsing; a short while later, the second tower went down. One thing we were able to hear was that over 50,000 people worked in those buildings. We didn't know if any of them had escaped. That thought was paralyzing.
I checked my email and found a message from my fiance (now husband) who lived in Manhattan and worked in New Jersey. The message was one sentence. He had seen the second tower fall from his office. At least I knew he was safe.
Word came down from the Governor that all state offices were closing and we were to leave work immediately. My car keys were in my office at Copley Place on the other side of Boston, and my car was in the garage below the building. I had to take the subway back to my office from the classroom. Everyone on the subway was nervous and sharing everything we knew with the other passengers, even though we were all strangers. On a normal day we wouldn't even have made eye contact. We had no idea if there would be more attacks. I had a hard time getting into my office because people were leaving the building in droves. I saw a co-worker who told me that the Pentagon had also been attacked. Copley Place is located between the two tallest buildings in Boston, the Hancock Building and the Prudential Building. It struck me that those buildings might also be targets.
I truly felt a huge relief when I got myself out of the city. Where did I go? JoAnne's Fabrics. I kid you not. I was driving by the store and on a whim I pulled in. I spent about an hour in the store and being in a craft store made me feel better. I guess that makes sense. Beading, painting, sewing, etc. always help to calm me. After that I went to see my mother and finally I went home.
I spent the entire night watching the coverage on television--literally the entire night. I didn't sleep; I watched until dawn and finally fell asleep in my chair.
What a horrible time that was. We should never let our memories become dulled to the pain and horror of that day or we will let down our guard and leave ourselves open to another attack. We should never forget the innocent people in the towers and on the planes who lost their lives. We should never forget the Pentagon employees who lost their lives, both military and civilian. We should never forget the police officers and firefighters who entered those burning buildings with the intent of saving people and gave their lives instead. We should never forget those brave civilians who stormed the cockpit of the plane that crashed in PA--the plane that was intended to crash into the Capitol Building.
Two years ago I stitched a bracelet of the Manhattan Skyline, including the Twin Towers. I completed it while I watched a 9/11 documentary in 2010. You can see the post and photos of my bracelet here.
Although I had completed the main part of the cuff, I needed some Charlottes to create the picot edge. I finally found those Charlottes this past summer. I finished the edging on my bracelet today while I watched the 9/11 coverage. I think that was appropriate.
For those of you who don't know, a Charlotte is a very tiny seed bead, usually size 13/0. It would be designated as a round seed bead, but because it has one section that is flattened, it is called a Charlotte. That flattened spot reflects light and helps the Charlottes to glitter.
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| This is the completed cuff bracelet with the picot edging. |
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