9/11

[Brad Fox]

Special Day. I remember my dad calling me at 6:30 in the morning telling me that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center in N.Y. I thought, "yeah, statistically it's going to happen sooner or later." I was thinking a small Cessna or something of that scale. Little did I know. He was pretty agitated about what he was seeing on the tv, so I agreed to turn on mine and shortly thereafter the second plane hit. I remember the tv commentators being somewhat at a loss for words. They were able to describe the "what" but not the "why." 
Wow! What a way to start a day of teaching. I remember giving my neighbor kid, Nick, a ride to school, and as he and I listened to the car radio, the commentator said that one of the towers had fallen. I couldn't comprehend that statement as a reality, so I told Nick that the commentator must be overreacting (only to be shocked later that the collapse was real!) The teachers in my school lounge were in shock. They were huddled in small groups discussing what had happened. 
When the commencement bell rang, I think we all dreaded standing in front of our kids and trying to calm their fears. Some of us tried to allow them to talk and process what was going on. One of my colleagues ran the tv all day and just let the kids watch (I thought "you're letting them watch the people jump from the towers!!!???) 
It was amazing that at lunch time the rumor mill had started and the kids in military families were already hearing that their dads/moms wouldn't be home that afternoon because they were on their way to the Middle East! (Remember, this was a time before Google and smart phones. In fact, it is amazing to me that more parents didn't pull their kids out of school.) 
It was probably the most difficult day of my teaching career.
The final twist of emotion came when I drove to my elderly parents' home that afternoon to share the news and commiserate with them. They both lived through Pearl Harbor and Dad served 5 1/2 years in WWII. They were sitting there in shock that such a surprise attack could happen yet again on American soil. Theirs was a grief I couldn't begin to comfort.