September 11th 2001: Memories

On the morning of September 11th, 2001, I was living at home in Morristown, getting ready to go to The Office Bar & Grill for my lunch waitressing shift.

I think my mother called to tell me that a plane just hit the first tower. We didn't know if it was an accident or deliberate at the time.

I turned on the TV and watched, mouth gaped, as a 2nd plane hit the 2nd tower and knew this was no accident.

As I drove to work, Morristown seemed eerily quiet. I looked at the sky and noticed no clouds. It was a beautiful day.

The Office was quiet except for the news broadcasts over the TVs. Professionals from around The Green filled in as they had been just let out of work for the day. We all just stood or sat and watched the coverage, not knowing what would happen next.

I spoke to my mom who works at Morristown-Beard and said there were kids being sent home who's parents either worked in the city or in the towers.

Later I called a friend who was is the Pittsburgh area after hearing of the crash of Flight 93 nearby.

I never knew anyone who died that day nor did I know someone who lost a loved one until I got my first job teaching up in Glen Rock, a town in Bergen County which lost the most NJ residents in the tower attacks. They lost 13 friends. The art teacher lost her brother.

My husband works in the same town where Todd Beamer lived. The post office was the site of a memorial and dons a plaque in his honor.

When I started teaching at Mobeard, I had a student who shared the name of the father he lost. So much pain for kids to deal with. It never goes away.

I remember when officials confiscated a mailbox in Princeton during the Anthrax attacks which happened in nearby Hamilton.

It's almost impossible to live in New Jersey a not have a story to share about 9-11-01.

Never Forget.