Never Forget 11 September 2001 -attack on America
Like thousands of other Americans, I watched with horror the events of 11 September unfold. Again, like thousands of others, I found comfort in sharing with others the wide range of emotions I was experiencing. My first reaction was disbelief, thinking 'this has to be some kind of joke!' After, all the DJ I was listening to on the radio was know for his sometimes offensive humor.
Knowing he had been fired from other stations because of his on air antics, I switched to a more stable station -NJ 1015 and quickly leanred this was no joke. Only a bad nightmare.
With several emotions crashing into each other, among my first thoughts was how to get in touch with my family and friends working in and around (what was) The World Trade Center. My next thought was, "Oh my GOD! What's happeing?
Having been a part of a disaster team for about 10 years, the volunteer in me kicked in. I immediately made a few calls and planned to go to Ground Zero as part of one of those teams. But, there was one condition -'Get clearance from my doctor.'
When my first doctor refused to give me the clearance to go, I called another, who also said "NO!" Well, it was a little more then "NO!" It was more like "What are you crazy...." I doubt he was amused when I responded "Well uh, yeah!"
After going through all my options trying to get the clearance, with no luck, I found other ways to help. I wasn't too happy about being kept in New Jersey, making sure my doctors all knew how mad I was at them.
I tend to be very vocal when I'm really mad, or I think I'm being kept from something I want to do because of my health. Looking back on it now, I realize everyone was looking out for my best interest. As much as I hate to admit it, they did me a big favor.
One of the things I found help release some of the tension and fear I was experiencing trying to locate my missing friends and family members, was to go where there were other people. For me, this was on of the hilltop reservations near my home. Known for their awesome views of New York, I knew others would also venture there. Off I went with my cellphone, laptop, and portable TV, as well as high powered binoculars.
My hunches were right, many others had the same thought I did. Although some of us knew each other from town, for the most part most of us were total strangers. This didn't stop us from drawing support from each other. Some people lit candles, some posted pictures of their loved ones, all of us gladly shared our radios, binoculars, whatever we had. Cellphones at this point were useless, so were the portable TV's. By now, without cable, there was no television reception.
I discovered (in a small way) the horror and pain of the crackpots making false reports as I frantically tried to locate my missing friends and family. By Thursday we thought we had located everyone. We knew one for sure person we knew lost their life, and another we were told, was barely hanging on a thread.
With no way in or out of the City I was frantically trying to locate anyone who might know what hospital he was in. Friday morning I was told he lost the battle and had died. Like a dope I believed it.
Hey, you would have too if you received a bunch of calls, starting 15 minutes after the attack asking if you heard from this person? Then calls two days later telling you he was located and was seriously injured. Then calls telling you he's died. Having left close to a dozen calls on his answering machine, with no response, what would you think? I guess some people are just idiots.
As the days moved on I learned 16 people I knew lost their life that day. People from college, clubs, church, my town. Siblings of friends, coworkers, even friends I never realized worked in or around the Trade Center Site.
Look for some new additions to this site such as:
Memorial Quilts, Links to 'lite candles' and Links to wave your flags! (Okay, no comments from the peanut gallery!)
In a short time I've been interested in the quilts, I've met some really nice people. Shelia from Bownielocks made my 'quilt`'patch.' for me, Cindy gave me some great tips for learning Paint Shop Pro and about 'tubes,' and Martha has some great graphics on her site she let me use.
JM's USA Memorial Quilt. Please note the "quilt" is graphic intense, so it takes a few minutes to load.
Please be patient because the quilt is worth the wait!
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this site created 14 september 2001
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