Write about where I was the morning of September 11th 2001

I was living in the Hudson River Valley, just under two hours from Manhattan by train. I had just accepted a job an hour away, and September 11 was my first day to train with the outgoing director. On my way there, I was listening to NPR, and the program was interrupted to announce the first plane crash. The radio show hosts were confused as to what caused the crash, and when they announced the second crash, we all knew. It was surreal; dark and disturbing, but at that time, I had no idea the extent of damage it would cause. When arrived at my new job, people were gathered in the office next to mine, watching it on the news, and I went in to see what was going on. The image I was met with was of one tower standing, amid rubble, chaos, and the highest degree of terror I’d ever seen. As I tried to process what I was seeing, I watched the second tower fall. It was disorienting, and horrific. People around me were crying and pacing and wringing their hands. I was surrounded by people I didn’t know, and too far from the people I loved. Everyone was too far from the people they loved, and that was the main topic of all conversations; who we loved, where they were, and when we would see them again.

Maybe on the 11th.