Where were you? Here is what I said on thewb.com the first time I posted on the subject, slightly edited for a typo and because Vic Thomas is back on Stardust now, although it's called "Timeless Favorites" these days. I should add that I will never again hear Roger Williams' "Near You" without thinking of that day.
Vic Thomas ... was the first to tell me. I didn't fully comprehend it, though, because those were such big buildings and I was picturing small planes. He mentioned Osama bin Laden, whose name I remembered from the African Embassy bombings. Paul Harvey had said earlier in the day that we were bombing Saddam Hussein, so I figured maybe he was connected with this.
Just blocks from where I was, Elizabeth Dole was to announce her candidacy for Senate. That didn't happen, and I hadn't planned to attend anyway. I was at a public library looking at various web sites for just regular news, as well as comic strips, but I was getting updates on this story I really didn't want to hear any more about yet. Another person on a computer said the Pentagon had been attacked. Then the White House. We all got up to look at his computer when he got a picture of one of the burning towers. I heard him say something about a tower collapsing, but I thought he meant the part that was burning. I went out to walk for exercise (it was a beautiful day) and halfway expected planes to attack where I was too. It reminded me of September 1, 1983, the closest I can remember coming to nuclear war in my life. It was a weird thing to eat at Kentucky Fried Chicken and see everyone acting like nothing had happened. I returned to the library and it was eerie. No one there but the people who worked there. I looked at some real, actual newspapers, and I read a column by Art Buchwald which would have been funny when he wrote it, but not that day. I went to the car to listen to Paul Harvey's 'The Rest of the Story', which came on as usual (oh, so maybe things aren't as bad as I thought). I returned to the library and finished with the newspapers.
I came back out to the car at 5:15 and no one on the radio had music. It was all news about this terrible day. WHAT happened to the towers? No, they couldn't have. They were too big. HOW MANY people died? Well, it didn't turn out to be that many, but it was bad enough. I sure didn't experience the day like the rest of the world, though it was bad enough. I had already made the connection: 9-11 and 911, even before hearing how bad it really was.
So I felt numb driving home. Not a pleasant experience. And there was the terrible news on the TV. Once they started repeating themselves, I turned it off and went back to more newspapers. At least 'Gilmore Girls' was coming on in an hour. Hey, when I turned on the station, 'The Drew Carey Show' was on. They must have been airing the usual sitcoms and stuff all day. Would their viewers even know?
Well, I was really disappointed. CNN was on the WB. I turned it off again. Can't look at any more of this.
Vic Thomas ... was the first to tell me. I didn't fully comprehend it, though, because those were such big buildings and I was picturing small planes. He mentioned Osama bin Laden, whose name I remembered from the African Embassy bombings. Paul Harvey had said earlier in the day that we were bombing Saddam Hussein, so I figured maybe he was connected with this.
Just blocks from where I was, Elizabeth Dole was to announce her candidacy for Senate. That didn't happen, and I hadn't planned to attend anyway. I was at a public library looking at various web sites for just regular news, as well as comic strips, but I was getting updates on this story I really didn't want to hear any more about yet. Another person on a computer said the Pentagon had been attacked. Then the White House. We all got up to look at his computer when he got a picture of one of the burning towers. I heard him say something about a tower collapsing, but I thought he meant the part that was burning. I went out to walk for exercise (it was a beautiful day) and halfway expected planes to attack where I was too. It reminded me of September 1, 1983, the closest I can remember coming to nuclear war in my life. It was a weird thing to eat at Kentucky Fried Chicken and see everyone acting like nothing had happened. I returned to the library and it was eerie. No one there but the people who worked there. I looked at some real, actual newspapers, and I read a column by Art Buchwald which would have been funny when he wrote it, but not that day. I went to the car to listen to Paul Harvey's 'The Rest of the Story', which came on as usual (oh, so maybe things aren't as bad as I thought). I returned to the library and finished with the newspapers.
I came back out to the car at 5:15 and no one on the radio had music. It was all news about this terrible day. WHAT happened to the towers? No, they couldn't have. They were too big. HOW MANY people died? Well, it didn't turn out to be that many, but it was bad enough. I sure didn't experience the day like the rest of the world, though it was bad enough. I had already made the connection: 9-11 and 911, even before hearing how bad it really was.
So I felt numb driving home. Not a pleasant experience. And there was the terrible news on the TV. Once they started repeating themselves, I turned it off and went back to more newspapers. At least 'Gilmore Girls' was coming on in an hour. Hey, when I turned on the station, 'The Drew Carey Show' was on. They must have been airing the usual sitcoms and stuff all day. Would their viewers even know?
Well, I was really disappointed. CNN was on the WB. I turned it off again. Can't look at any more of this.