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9-11, 2001
Sep. 11th, 2009 05:51 pmI remember I called in sick to work, due to a bad headache--and was awakened by a phone call from Mr. Snuffy, who was at work in SF, telling me to turn on the TV or radio, and see what else I could find out.
A lot of tower buildings in SF were under tight security and a possible evacuation alert. He explained quickly what had happened in New York--and the suggestion in the news (at that point) that it was likely a terrorist attack. All air traffic shut down.
I lay there numbly. Couldn't be a terrorist attack. I turned on the radio--I didn't want to watch the TV. NPR, KPFA.
Suddenly I realized I had to call my Dad. We were going through a bad and and increasingly stressful time with my Mom's Alzheimer's and my Dad's dealing with it. I called my Dad to inquire and see how Mom was, how he was handling the news, and to reassure him. Somehow, everything was going to be all right. Somehow, I was going to assure this.
I remember of that day, numbness, disbelief, fear--and the strange satisfaction that my mother had progressed so far, she would not know what had happened.
Next day was a long one at work. All so quiet--except for one or two pundits who needed to wander around cubicle land and pass on their own theories. That afternoon, as I went out with my old supervisor, we noted how absolutely quiet the campus was--
and then we heard a plane go overhead. Our heads snapped up, and she looked at me in fear. "Who is that? No one supposed to be flying!" I reminded her that Travis AFB was a short distance from Davis. We watched the contrail, and quietly, quickly, walked to our cars.
The next week was fitful sleeping, always aware of the proximity of the air force base, listening.
A lot of tower buildings in SF were under tight security and a possible evacuation alert. He explained quickly what had happened in New York--and the suggestion in the news (at that point) that it was likely a terrorist attack. All air traffic shut down.
I lay there numbly. Couldn't be a terrorist attack. I turned on the radio--I didn't want to watch the TV. NPR, KPFA.
Suddenly I realized I had to call my Dad. We were going through a bad and and increasingly stressful time with my Mom's Alzheimer's and my Dad's dealing with it. I called my Dad to inquire and see how Mom was, how he was handling the news, and to reassure him. Somehow, everything was going to be all right. Somehow, I was going to assure this.
I remember of that day, numbness, disbelief, fear--and the strange satisfaction that my mother had progressed so far, she would not know what had happened.
Next day was a long one at work. All so quiet--except for one or two pundits who needed to wander around cubicle land and pass on their own theories. That afternoon, as I went out with my old supervisor, we noted how absolutely quiet the campus was--
and then we heard a plane go overhead. Our heads snapped up, and she looked at me in fear. "Who is that? No one supposed to be flying!" I reminded her that Travis AFB was a short distance from Davis. We watched the contrail, and quietly, quickly, walked to our cars.
The next week was fitful sleeping, always aware of the proximity of the air force base, listening.
