09/11/2026
Where were you?
I was off work from EMS and 911 dispatch... I was home with Forrest Davenport and Jacob Kiser who were 4 years and 19 months old. I had just learned I was pregnant with Jessica Kiser.
I sat in my kitchen, having breakfast with my two young sons, basking in the glow of having just learned blessings number 3 would arrive in May. I was enjoying a bright sunny day off duty.
Suddenly my phone rang, and the other end of the line brought a frantic "turn on your t.v.! NOW!" Plane number 1 had just hit, it was still thought to be a freak accident. My mind was thinking "mass casualty incident, triage, bless their hearts, wow this is going to be hard for any system to handle."
Then, plane number 2 hit the second tower, a plane hit the pentagon, a plane crashed in Pennsylvania, the world was changing fast. 200 years of safety and security were shattered in a matter of minutes. Terrorists had attacked, lives were lost, trust broken, life was never to be the same.
I'll never forget the feeling of helplessness and loss. The moment the towers went down I was on the phone and my first words were "oh dear God, the responders are still inside..." my heart still breaks remembering.
I hugged my babies tightly, I cried and cried. I couldn't even call my husband and check on him, the phones were off at the Oak Ridge plants for a time. In stunned silence I watched the towers collapse. I wondered when it would end? How many would have to die? Would the world survive? Was WW3 beginning? What kind of place would my children grow up in? Would we end up like other ravaged and war torn countries? Would we as Americans prevail, unite, and stand as we had for 2oo years? It is not only that day that I will never forget; it is emotion, the fear, the terror, and later the thankfulness, that day brought with it that I will never forget.
Where were you that day? Have you forgotten? I haven't. I said goodbye to many EMS/FIRE/LAW ENFORCEMENT brothers and sisters that day.
9-11-01 : I WILL NEVER FORGET!!!!
