Where Where You When it Happened?
English 201
9/11/06
Calvin-Smith
You really couldn't sit up out of the bed without something reminding you that today was September 11th. For my family, this was the day that my grandparents got married, our own mini tragedy of sorts....a virtually thirty year old man marrying a sixteen year old child. I digress to the topic at hand though. Five years ago on the eleventh of September 2001, I was in the eighth grade, excited that I would be finishing up my last year of middle school. Advidty for the changing of leaves and the chill of autumn filled me as with every year, and jovially I was chatting with my cousin as my class began to switch gears from social studies to english. Just as my instructor Mr. Clark was calling the class to attention, and for a decline in subsequent chatter, the guidance counselor Ms. Kush burst into our room with tears in her eyes and terror emanating from her face. "A plane has just been flown into the World Trade Center", she could barely choke out those before pushing a wad ratted used tissue to her nose and wiping her eyes, leaving them both far more red than when she entered our classroom. I'd like to say that the news pierced through all of us pubesent adults with great impact and severity, but that would be an aweful lie. None of us really even knew what it was that she was talking about. I believe that myself and one other person in the room knew where the World Trade Center was, but neither of us grasped the importance or comprehended what it meant. The class continued to talk, viewing our intructor's destraction as an invitation to carry on our superficial conversations. Attitudes quickly changed and a hush swept over all of us as soon as the Television was turned on to ground zero and we watched in horror as the second plane entered and exited the second tower. A scream came from the back of the room, and my mother's words rung in my head, " New York is the economic heart of the world, not just America. When they attack New York, then you know we're at the doorstep of Armageddon." Everyone sat, mouths gaped, and the first words out of my mouth were, "We're under attack, we're at war!" Not exactly the most logical thing to say to maintain order, but it was my initial thought, and I couldn't help but vocalize it. I remember how calm and distant my teacher was, he had a small Q & A session with us allowing us to voice our concerns and he answered them to the best of his ability. His military training came in handy that day because he did not exhibit one shred of emotion, he was in control of everything. We got out of school early obviously, but the thing that I remember most was my disgust with how calm everyone was. I went home with my bestfriend at the time, and since my entire world revolved around UWM we cut through the student union as any other day and you saw people playing frisbee, and basketball, chatting away like nothing had happened. The campus that I had relied on to be my socially concious platform was completely apathetic, that was the thing I remember most about where I was when it happened.
English 201
9/11/06
Calvin-Smith
You really couldn't sit up out of the bed without something reminding you that today was September 11th. For my family, this was the day that my grandparents got married, our own mini tragedy of sorts....a virtually thirty year old man marrying a sixteen year old child. I digress to the topic at hand though. Five years ago on the eleventh of September 2001, I was in the eighth grade, excited that I would be finishing up my last year of middle school. Advidty for the changing of leaves and the chill of autumn filled me as with every year, and jovially I was chatting with my cousin as my class began to switch gears from social studies to english. Just as my instructor Mr. Clark was calling the class to attention, and for a decline in subsequent chatter, the guidance counselor Ms. Kush burst into our room with tears in her eyes and terror emanating from her face. "A plane has just been flown into the World Trade Center", she could barely choke out those before pushing a wad ratted used tissue to her nose and wiping her eyes, leaving them both far more red than when she entered our classroom. I'd like to say that the news pierced through all of us pubesent adults with great impact and severity, but that would be an aweful lie. None of us really even knew what it was that she was talking about. I believe that myself and one other person in the room knew where the World Trade Center was, but neither of us grasped the importance or comprehended what it meant. The class continued to talk, viewing our intructor's destraction as an invitation to carry on our superficial conversations. Attitudes quickly changed and a hush swept over all of us as soon as the Television was turned on to ground zero and we watched in horror as the second plane entered and exited the second tower. A scream came from the back of the room, and my mother's words rung in my head, " New York is the economic heart of the world, not just America. When they attack New York, then you know we're at the doorstep of Armageddon." Everyone sat, mouths gaped, and the first words out of my mouth were, "We're under attack, we're at war!" Not exactly the most logical thing to say to maintain order, but it was my initial thought, and I couldn't help but vocalize it. I remember how calm and distant my teacher was, he had a small Q & A session with us allowing us to voice our concerns and he answered them to the best of his ability. His military training came in handy that day because he did not exhibit one shred of emotion, he was in control of everything. We got out of school early obviously, but the thing that I remember most was my disgust with how calm everyone was. I went home with my bestfriend at the time, and since my entire world revolved around UWM we cut through the student union as any other day and you saw people playing frisbee, and basketball, chatting away like nothing had happened. The campus that I had relied on to be my socially concious platform was completely apathetic, that was the thing I remember most about where I was when it happened.
posted by Essence_of_Dew at 10:45 AM
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