I Remember
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
The day started just as every day in the halls of Naugle Hall had for me. It was a Tuesday and I had woken up to my 9am alarm a little more than groggy. Like had happened many nights with my friends at Shippensburg University, we had decided to go to the Late Night meal at the union building. Every night at 11pm, going to get pizza, ice cream, or pepperoni sticks and a soda was about as much as any under 21 year old in college could look forward too. To my friends and I, this was our Happy Hour.
We had gone the night before and stayed there until the building closed at midnight. From there we went back to Naugle Hall for some late night television, but would soon call it a night. Some of our friends went back to their dorm or their rooms, and I went to bed. I had a sociology class to get rested up for the next morning at 9:30 am, my earliest class of the week. And after that I had a psychology class. It was my least favorite day of classes, but it was still early in the semester so I looked forward to going to my new classes.
After climbing down form the top bunk while my roommate kept on sleeping (I believe he was usually up for hours after I went to bed), I went through my morning routine, although slightly abbreviated. I first went to my computer and checked the National League playoff standings as the Phillies were battling with the Atlanta Braves for the National League East division as well as jockeying for position in the wild card spot. I wanted to know what happened on the west coast while I slept. Other than that I was looking forward to Thursday night's game Penn State would be playing down in Virginia against my former high school quarterback, Matt Schaub, and the Virginia Cavaliers. After checking the west coast scores I got my clothes for the day together, as well as my toothbrush and made my way down the hallway towards the bathroom for my morning shower. I saw no need to shave this day, as I was already in a rush to get ready for my class. I wanted to stop by the CUB and grab a breakfast sandwich too.
Normally when I made the walk down the hallway there were a couple people with their doors open. I would typically see a couple people heading back from their 8am classes, or getting ready for their 9:30 classes. Some would have their TVs on, others would just be on their computer. I noticed some more people had their TVs on today but thought nothing of it. I went and showered and got dressed in the bathroom, and brushed my teeth. From there I walked back to my room.
About two doors from my room somebody had greeted me from behind, Jon Rotz, who lived a couple doors down from me. He was coming back form an 8am class. Jon had lived in the same hallway, as I did, last year so we had come to know each other and talked more than some other people in the hallway. I always admired his and his roommates' room too as they had a big screen TV, a slab of marble that they laid across their school provided desks which they used to create a wall long desk for the two of them, and a plethora of lights, as well as the nicest futon in the hallway. He and his roommates were also owners of an original Nintendo so I had something in common with those guys.
"Have you seen it?" Jon asked me.
"Seen what?" I replied. I had no clue what he was talking about. I figured maybe he was talking about some kind of prank somebody pulled in the hallway, but immediately turned that thought down by the look on his face.
"The World Trade Center. It was hit by a couple planes."
"WHAT?"
"Come here," Jon said and I followed him to his room. His roommate was already up, getting ready for his 9:30 class and he was watching their TV intently with a blank stare on his face. I fixated my eyes on their TV and was amazed as we saw the World Trade Center burning and spewing smoke like I had never seen. It was then that I saw for the first time a video clip of the second plane flying into the tower. The three of us were stunned. We didn't know what to think. Was it an accident? Immediately after see
ing the clip of the plane, we knew it was not an accident. I told them I had to get back to my room and excused myself. I entered my room and didn't care that my roommate was sleeping. I turned our TV on as I finished getting ready for class.
I was ready for class, but just had to get my books together. I couldn't though. I was too mesmerized by the news I was watching unfold before my eyes. I don't remember what channel I was watching. It didn't matter though. Everybody I'm sure was showing exactly the same thing. Thoughts about that Phillies game I was excited for that night were an afterthought. Class was an afterthought. I then realized I had five minutes to make a 10 minute walk across campus.
I showed up five minutes late, but it didn't matter. Sociology class had turned into an open forum about what happened. There were classmates hearing the news for the first time. Not everybody turned on a TV as they got ready for their morning, or checked anything more than their e-mail on their computer. Our professor was already there joining in on the open discussion that had nothing to do with sociology. After only five minutes our professor said that holding class today was going to be useless if we weren't going to actually have class and he ended class right there after taking attendance. He urged us all to go back to our rooms and such and watch the news. I bolted out of there and went right back to my room. I had an hour and and fifteen minutes to kill before my next class would start.
That time was spent watching the TV in my room as my roommate was still sleeping. I had the door open because I was so focused on just getting to the TV. I sat there in my folding chair, the staple of dorm furniture, with my bag sitting in the middle of the floor, watching the story develop. Jon had walked by my room again and saw me.
"Did you go to your class?" he asked.
"Sure did. Prof sent us home," I replied.
"I bet," Rotz said as he continued on.
I continued to watch the TV, but started to work my way around the room, removing the sociology book form my bag and back to my self. I started to do the things I would normally do. I grabbed a drink from the fridge, started browsing some websites, checking my e-mail when I turned to watch some more TV. The south tower was collapsing. Unreal.
In a matter of time I would be seeing the clip of the South tower collapsing over and over, and over and over again. Soon enough the North Tower would collapse. Even more unreal. How could that have happened? Two structures that took seven years to construct, had collapsed and been totally demolished in a span of just under 30 minutes. In a sense it reminded me of my Lego building days. I would spend a large chunk of time constructing a large vehicle or building, but when it came time to clean things up it took me five seconds to destroy the item and place it back in the box. And there was still more to come.
Soon I would learn of the news of a plane hitting the Pentagon, and another crashing in Shanksville, PA. Still at this point I had no clue they were all part of a related attack. I was still confused as to what was happening in New York. Yet there I was, in Shippensburg, in the middle of the triangle. I still had fears as to what else could happen.
My thoughts were that I was safe in Shippensburg despite the new uncertainty I was feeling on American soil that I never thought I would feel. I loved the city Philadelphia and knew that something was going to happen there next, if it hadn't happened already. If Philadelphia wasn't next, then surely Boston or Los Angeles would be. To my relief, nothing more happened that day.
I never made it to my psychology class. Sorry Mom and Dad. That day there was no way I was doing anything but watch the news. I could make up a day's worth of psychology. I later learned that the class was canceled anyway so I didn't feel bad. In all honesty, I didn't feel bad anyway. I spent the day watching the news, flipping between all the networks. ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, MSNBC, FOXNews, ESPN, QVC, Home Shopping Network, Univision, Cartoon Network. It didn't matter what channel you turned on, they were all showing the same thing.
Word was spreading about canceled classes for everybody, but word was also spreading about marching band practice. It was still on. I had no problems with that. The feeling around the nation was quickly forming that we a as nation needed to come together and show that we will continue on. That was the message being delivered at band practice that day. We gathered as usual, talked about the news as we met each other. We warmed up and then played Amazing Grace. I couldn't help but break out into tears as we played. I knew a high school friend of mine who was in Washington D.C. as they had just transferred down to American University from Shippensburg that year. I had no idea how she was doing. I had left her a message on AOL's Instant Messenger but eagerly awaited for response. I didn't get a response when I had left for practice. I was sure she was alright but I just wanted to know.
Band practice went smoothly. We all found something to drive our focus away form the attacks as we prepared our show for our weekend game against Millersville. When all was said and done it was dinner time with friends.
That evening was a good time to call home. My dad picked up and we talked about everything that had happened that day. He said his coworkers were all focused on the events of the day just as my classmates and I were. Not much work got done at his office that day. I asked to make sure that nobody we knew was directly affected by the attacks in any of the locations. Thankfully he said no. We talked for a few minutes more before I got off the phone. Everything was safe at home. Why I didn't call earlier is beyond me. I wanted to call home the whole day but never peeled myself away form the TV or computer. While I was on the phone I got a reply on my instant messenger. It was from my friend in D.C. She was safe and OK. She even put the message in her away message. More relief on a day that tore emotions every which way.
Confusion. Sadness. Anger. Relief. Repeat.
That evening our usual group of friends gathered. There would be no late night meals. There would be no watching TV, as every station had the news on. We wanted something to take our mind off of the day's events, and we just wanted to sit, relax, and maybe even laugh a little bit. Too soon? Not for us.
There was nothing better that night than being able to sit and laugh with our friends that night as we watched Spaceballs The DVD. I have watched many movies with my friends and I have seen Spaceballs enough times to recite many of the scenes form memory. But at one point during the Mr. Radar scene, I looked around the room and found myself smiling for the first time since checking the National League playoff race. I was safe, even away from my family. I had some of the best friends in the world surrounding me. Tomorrow I would surely read more about everything that had happened that day, September 11, 2001.
I remember that day, and I will never forget it.
I hope the same holds true for you.
