RANDY ELROD

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Scenes From 9/11: Do You Remember Where You Were?

It was Tuesday.

I’ll never forget.

As long as I live.

I was at Merridee’s Breadbasket in downtown Franklin on that cloudless, crisp September morning.

Mark Lee and I were having coffee quietly talking about music, being sleepy and life—little realizing that our world was about to change forever…

The rest of that day seemed to live out in slow motion high definition horror.

A server came from behind the counter and said “Did you hear that one of the twin towers has been hit by an airplane?”

Mark and I hurriedly rose from our seats and gathered around the small television in that innocent little restaurant with others in shocked horror.

My phone rang.

I was asked to come quickly to the office.

We drove together in stunned silence not knowing the ramifications of what we had just witnessed. The news sources still thought it was an some sort of horrible accident.

Until…arriving at the office, barely realizing people were gathered around the table watching live TV, and watching unbelievably as another plane hits the remaining tower.

The scenes play out rapidly from there.

Calling my family to make sure everyone is okay.

Mark, stunned, saying, I need to get home.

Michael W. Smith calling to ask if we can plan some sort of tribute service.

Me walking into my house and seeing my daughter in the floor rocking back and forth grasping a pillow wailing uncontrollably as the television replayed the crashes over and over and over.

Holding her tight and whispering, “Honey, it will be okay.”

Later saying, the world will never be the same, little realizing how true those words would be.

Realizing America is far greater than I had hoped.

Feeling proud to be an American.

Knowing I will never forget.

Realizing the photos of the burning towers are still too horrific to use as the graphic for this blog post.

Almost ten years later, transfixed again, watching the Navy Seals rid the world of a man whose twisted mind I cannot begin to understand.

Feeling that it was somehow right, but not knowing why.

Question: Do you remember where you were that morning when you heard?

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13 responses to “Scenes From 9/11: Do You Remember Where You Were?”

  1. Ken Summerall Avatar
    Ken Summerall

    I was on staff at a church in Northeast GA at the time. That Tuesday we were in our regular staff meeting. Our support staff had just exited the meeting, leaving the ministry staff at the table. Just a few moments later one of the secretaries knocked on the door and stuck her head in and told us that something had happened at the World Trade Centers and one of the towers was on fire.

    We didn’t have a TV in that building so I ran next door and ran cable between the buildings and set up TV in our offices. The rest of the day was spent figuring out what was happening and how we could minister to our community, many of which had family or friends in or around NY or Washington. I remember being relieved when we found out that a family friend that lived in NYC not far from the UN building was safe.

    That evening was spent trying to locate my parents. They were sailing in the South Pacific. We figured that they were safe but at a time like that a child, no matter what age, needs to hear Mom and Dad’s voice. That reassuring voice that tells you that everything will be OK.

    The tough part for them was getting “stuck” in Tahiti for a few days until LAX was re-opened.

    Reply
  2. Michael W. Lee Avatar
    Michael W. Lee

    I remember name dropping 5 or 6 times that day too.

    Reply
    1. Randy Elrod Avatar
      Randy Elrod

      Sigh.

      Reply
  3. Rob Walls Avatar
    Rob Walls

    I was a junior in high school in my wood-working class. I remember like it was yesterday.

    Reply
    1. Randy Elrod Avatar
      Randy Elrod

      Thanks, Rob, for joining the conversation.

      Reply
  4. Jason Avatar
    Jason

    I was working for a radio station cluster in Springfield, MO. I walked in the door after my hour commute (where I would listen to books on CD) and everyone was running around the halls. When I asked what was going on, they told me. I kicked into journalist mode and really don’t remember much of the rest of the day. I just did my job.

    Reply
    1. Randy Elrod Avatar
      Randy Elrod

      Thanks, Jason, for joining the conversation today.

      Reply
  5. Jen C Avatar
    Jen C

    I was in physics lab. We’d just sat through an hour of lecture and had finally gotten to lab to work. I was a good way through my project when the math prof down the hall opens our door and says, “The World Trade Center was hit.” I know we didn’t have a tv because I didn’t see any video of it until I got home that night. But my physics prof must have turned the radio on or something.

    I don’t remember much about the rest of the day, except meeting my husband for lunch between classes, sitting in the middle of the lawn and looking up at a very very blue sky. Not a contrail to be found. We talked about how this may have been the first day in recent history that there was not a single airplane in the sky.

    After getting home from classes, just before dinner time, my husband and I went to my in-laws house and I saw the clips of the attacks for the first time all day. It was kind of numbing, but also I remember thinking, “Well now what?” and “So this is what its like to live through a major historical event…”

    I may be totally crazy on this one, but with something like this, there seems to be something that stirs in your soul when your entire life-bubble is turned upside-down. Whether its just your personal life bubble, or like 9-11, many many bubbles, once you’ve experienced something, you are tied to others who have experienced the same thing with an invisible thread. There is a common bond whether you want to acknowledge it or not. I think that invisible thread is a positive result from something bad happening; a way to connect to others – to help them and to be helped.

    Whoa, sorry. Got a little deep there. Resuming normal functioning now. :)

    Reply
    1. Randy Elrod Avatar
      Randy Elrod

      So true, Jen. I know that our staff, Mark, Smitty, the band and all the other artists that joined us to try to utilize the arts to make sense of that day— and others that I spent the day with — we all have a special bond from that day that is somewhat inexplicable.

      And I will never forget the clear blue sky without a single plane…so eerie.

      Reply
  6. Mark Avatar
    Mark

    We were on holiday in Majorca, trying to recover from a horrible six months following the diagnosis of my wife’s blood disease. I saw the footage of the towers coming down as we walked past a tv shop in the town – I thought it was a disaster movie. A couple of days later I turned on the tv in the house and after trying for ages to find an English language channel, discovered what really happened. Truly Unbelievable. While I was watching tv, my wife found our three-yr-old daughter half-drowned in the swimming pool. I ran out and saw her three feet underwater drifting face down. My wife was already in the pool pushing her up to the surface. I grabbed her out and pumped her lungs to get the water out and held her upside down. Her grey face and eyes-rolled back told me she was dead, but as the water poured out of her mouth her eyes flickered and as I pumped her chest she started breathing and came round. Needless to say the rest of the day was spent in the Spanish hospital with a hundred different tests, but she was fine.

    So why did God allow all those beautiful people to die in New York and yet allowed my Holly to live? I still have no idea.

    Reply
    1. Randy Elrod Avatar
      Randy Elrod

      Oh my goodness! Mark, what a poignant story. Oh my goodness. Thanks for sharing that very personal time with us.

      Reply
  7. Jay Avatar
    Jay

    I was in our office in Florida working. It was something because it was at a time when the Internet could not handle the kind of traffic the attack generated. ALL of the major news sites went down. Even the Drudge Report crashed because of the traffic.

    The best we could do was listen on the radio. When it was announced a tower had fallen, I thought they were talking about the radio tower on top of one of the towers. The whole thing was surreal.

    It hit home for me in a major way because I am originally from New York. When my wife and I first started dating we went to NYC almost every weekend (we lived in NJ) and then for nearly four years, I worked right across the street in the World Financial Center. From where I sat, I could see the WTC right out the window. I shopped in the stores below the WTC. Bought newspapers there every day. Commuted with people who worked there every day. I frequented a deli right across the street from 7 WTC for breakfast any number of times. As a photographer, I have a number of images of the towers. I know there are all these specials going on, but I am sure I am going to tune out. I saw more than I wanted to see in the days following.

    Here’s one image I made from Brooklyn back in 1993:

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/mrblonde/4730892846/in/set-72157622825894941

    Reply
    1. Randy Elrod Avatar
      Randy Elrod

      Thanks, Jay for joining the conversation. And for sharing the beautiful pic and story.

      Reply

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