My husband and I were out fishing last September 11th, 2001, when my mother in law called us on the phone! I had forwarded the calls from the house to the cell phone because we were expecting an important phone call, so her call came through.
“Hey you guys got the news on?” she asked in a stunned, terrified voice.
“Nope, we are fishing!” I said to her with concern in my voice, knowing instantly that something had happened and thinking that the President must have been shot for her to call about a news story. “Why?” I asked.
In tears, choking, sobbing tears, she said “Someone just flew a plane into the World Trade Center!” “You’re kidding?” I said.
“No!” It was horrible! Dad and I were watching the news story on NBC just now!” “Leah, it’s horrible, just horrible! How could this happen?” she asked.
“I don’t know Mom!” I stated. Crying together for a few minutes and then her letting me know she would call me with more information we hung up. I had no idea that information would come within a few minutes.
I turned in the boat to my husband and told him what had happened. With tears running down my face, we took one another hands, and I lead us into a pray for New York, the people, our country and our Government and the World.
I then called a Deacon from our church, who, is also in charge of starting a prayer chain within the congregation, and told him. He turned his TV on and told us what was happening. And our church began a pray for our country.
Then I sat there in shock, pretending to still be fishing. Actually I did try to still fish but I found that I just could not enjoy it any more. Then the phone rang again and it was Mom again and I thought “Now What!” “Leah she cried into the phone, there is another plane that has hit the other tower, we were watching TV and here comes this other plane right before our very eyes! Oh My Gosh, it’s awful” and we cried together again! For long moments we just cried. And all this time my husband was getting the fishing gear back into the boat and organized because he knew that the ordeal would really hit me soon and that I would want to go home.
Then I thought of my daughter who lived in Mississippi at the time and her husband who is in the US Navy! I called her and told her what was going on, because I knew she was not watching the news on TV. And I was right! She turned on CNN and started to cry and telling me what was going on.
After my daughter and I hung up, I told my husband we needed to go, I needed to be at home and see what was going on for myself. I needed to be home for my children in case the schools sent them home early. “I’ve already got most of the stuff ready, pull your poles in and we will be ready to leave”, he told me. I did and we went back to shore.
I remember there was an old man sitting in his truck there in the park and asked us if we had heard what had happened. We told him yes and that was why we had come in. But, before getting there my daughter called us back and told me “Mama, oh my gosh, they have bombed the Pentagon, well not bombed it with bombs, but the terrorist have flown a plane into it!” At this time she was 6 months pregnant and I had to get her calmed down. She had heard from her husband and he knew things that the media didn’t and wouldn’t know. But that’s the way our Armed Services are, they will always know things that the media, that the people will never know. But I could tell how my daughter was speaking and what she was speaking meant that this was not good! And then she told me of flight 93 going down in Pennsylvania. And I cried more!
After getting the boat hitched to the Blazer and all the gear loaded we headed home, but while we were loading my husband had turned on the radio so that we could hear the news. It was on every radio station and it was true! Someone had terrorized the United States of America and right away it was assumed that it was Osoma Bin Laudin, which turned out to be true as well.
I remember turning on the TV with such anticipation, more than I had ever had in my life! I had to see this all for myself to really believe it, that surely this was a horrible, sick joke! And yet it turned out not to be. I stood there watching this plane, then another plane hit the towers, and I cried and cried. I turned to my husband and we held one another and we prayed yet again. By this point and time all we were doing was praying.
Then I thought of my children in school and I immediately called both schools and at that time all children were remaining in school. The officials had decided that was the best way for the time being to handle things because things were messed up enough and it was important to keep a calm amongst the children. And of course most parents agreed with that, but some did not and they went and got their children. I left mine in school.
Our Church, as was many others, were opened to all the public, which they are daily anyway, but signs were put out front inviting people to come and pray for our Nation. And people from all over these Woods came and prayed. Some stayed all night while other stayed for a short time. Most have never come back!
In the days that followed the “God” word was being used left and right and I thought how God must be feeling right now, and how many people would be actually saved through this event, how many would live their lives as He wanted them to do and how many would not! And I thought about those who had been lost prior to this horror and knowing they were not in heaven now if they were lost before. And I cried again.
I thought about the children who had lost a parent, a brother, a sister, uncle, aunt, grandparent or friend. How their hearts must be broken, for mine surely was and I could not even begin to know their pain, only my own!
Over the last year I have watched many news specials on these events. I have cried more times than I count while listening to how these families were coping. And sometimes I actually recall seeing all those people walk across that bridge on that day in New York, getting away as fast as they could, seeking some kind of guidance, some kind of closure, some kind of answers. Not knowing if those things would ever come.
The effects that these terrorist attacks have had on my country have been hard to deal with at times, anger, frustration, news story after news story, will it ever end! NO! It will not! But one thing is for certain, These United States Of America have pulled together as only we can, we have prayed together in ways people never thought they would, we learned the hard way that we cannot take life for granted, that the spoiled country that we had become, has now changed and we have learned the hard way that “IT Can Happen To Us!” Of course my family and I have always been part of that very small group who always knew it could happen here, I have raised my children to believe that although America is a wonderful place to live, wars can and will take place here again. In fact, history teaches us that!
In the years to come, this date, September 11th, will always be remembered in some kind of way. To those who lost loved ones all around the World, I am praying for you daily, and my heart goes out to you, for it was the World that was attacked, not just the United States of America!
God Bless!
©LKD 2002
