Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Today six years ago

September 11. Six years ago today I woke up from a phone ringing really early in the morning. After awhile I realized it was my cell phone, ringing at 6 am something. I decided to ignore it, must be some confused Swede wanting to talk to me, unaware of time difference, but it kept ringing.

By the time I found the phone in the hall I had missed the calls. Then the Husband got an sms on his phone next to mine. I thought this was weird, and just got a bad feeling and did something I normally wouldn't do, I read his sms. "Scary things going on over there!" was the message from one of his friends in Sweden.

I decided to turn on the computer and check the news. Usually when we have pepole call and weird hours it has been an earthquake somewhere in California and the family worry.

But I couldn't get to any of the news sites. They were all overloaded. A feeling in my tummy made me turn on the TV instead to check the news. The local channel, normally showing the first hour of the morning show at this time, was now showing news feeds from CNN.

I wasn't sure I was really awake, but it looked like both of the World Trade Center towers were on fire.

I called out for the Husband, still sound asleep, to tell him something weird was going on. By the time he got up, the first tower fell before our eyes. It was 6.59 am in California. We still were not sure what we were seeing, just barely awake still.

Still in pajamas we spent the next couple of hours confused, trying to get in touch with the Husband's sister and husband then living on Manhattan, figuring out what was going on, trying to call family in Sweden to ensure them that we were ok, far from any real action (they were, the Brother-in-Law watched the tower fall from his office window). Phone systems were over loaded. We finally got through using an internet phone line and had family do phone chains to those we couldn't get hold of.

My Husband took off for work eventually. Only to come back a couple of hours later, work having been canceled. For several days the big channels didn't broadcast anything but news. No commercials. Only news.

My mom was supposed to arrive from Sweden two days later. She arrived 7 days later since there were no planes in the air for several days.

The other night we watched the movie United 93. It's about the plane that didn't hit a building that day, September 11, 2001, but crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. The movie is more of "documentary" sort of, and maybe not the best movie I've seen. But it did bring me back to that September day, and the feeling of total confusion those first few hours, those first few days six years ago.

7 comments:

BritGirl said...

Isn't it odd that so many of us all over the world (we were still in Uk at the time) all remember it so clearly. Walked around in a zombie like state for days trying to make sense of it.
A kind of sick feeling in my tummy is still there when I think about it.
Amazing and awful that someone in your family saw one of the towers go down.
I found United 93 tough to watch but felt somehow i owed it to the people that were on that plane to try to see what it was like for them. (Of course totally not helping my flying fears, but still)
I also read the amazing account of a fireman's story called "Last Man Down" which was amazing.
I hope to make extra effort to do something good or kind for someone this week to make something good out of something so bad as apparently many now do.
I know it sounds corny but I believe love can triumph over evil any day.

Annika said...

Har precis skrivit om det här på min blogg...Hur overkligt, overkligt, overkligt och HEMSKT allting var den där dagen för sex år sen. Jag hade precis lämnat K på kindergarten o var på väg mot gymmet...Sen fick jag höra på radion om ett plan som krashat in i ETC...TOTALT overkligt. Min svärfar jobbade i Pentagon när planet krashade in där. Han var på motsatt sida av den stora byggnaden och han sa att han trodde att det var en liten jordbävning, så kändes det när planet med kraft krashade in på motsatt sida.
Jag har inte sett ngn film ännu, men Peter försöker övertala mig att se united 93.
Tänk att sex år har gått...Det känns på ett sätt som om det var mkt längre sen...

Anonymous said...

Ja an idag kanns det hemskt, overkligt, hur kunde nagot som det handa??? Tanker pa dom som satt i planen, usch hemskt,ofattbart.

Anonymous said...

I had been throwing up all morning and finally fell asleep in the sofa. When I woke up I saw the second plane hit the other tower. For some reason I thought it was an another catastrophy film on tv....until my husband called me.

Dosiss

Liz said...

On 9/11 I was living in and working in Manhattan as a preschool teacher. I will never forget being in the classroom with the 2 and 3 year-olds and hearing an unending number of sirens and then having the school secretary slip me a note saying that there might be a terror attack a mere few blocks from school. Then I had to walk home about 80 blocks fully expecting car bombs to go off all around me. I will never forget that day. I am so glad I don't live in Manhattan anymore. If anything about 9/11 comes on TV or if I see anything in the newspaper I look away. I still can't face it.

JaCal said...

Britgirl - it sure was a defining moment in history. Last year CNN re-broadcasted their coverage from that day, exactly the way it was. I really wanted to watch, since we were sound asleep here when it happened -but of course they sent it Eastern Time. So once again I was still sleeping... And no... United93 sure is NOT a movie for your...

Annika - ja, det var verkligen en otäck och förvirrande dag... United 93 gav mig den där förvirrade magkänslan som var just den där dagen - de där timmarna, dynget innan någon visste vad som hände eller skulle hända. Läskigt med svärfar!

Veronika - ja, speciellt för de som satt i de plan där de visste vad som skulle hända.

Dosiss - it sure could have been - I was almost thinking the same, just having woke up...

Liz - oh, my... that sure is one horrible experience. I can imagine how you feel about pictures. I guess for me, being nowhere close to any of the action, it's easier to see the documentaries and read about it.

Isle Dance said...

The memory is still so clear. I've tried really hard to make some significant changes. For that, I'm grateful. I wonder if I'll ever be able to watch the old coverage/films about it. For now, it's still too new. My thoughts are with everyone who experienced it first hand. I cannot imagine that pain.