Where I was

My 9/11 story isn't particularly interesting or unique-- pretty much like everyone else's who didn't live in DC or NYC, I imagine. I was driving back from dropping off kid #2 at preschool with a very young baby in the backseat when I heard on the radio that a plane had flown into one of the World Trade Center buildings. The news announcer seemed to think it was probably a private plane that had made a navigational error. But a couple of moments later, they announced a second plane had hit, and at that point it was horribly clear that it was no accident. I drove home, turned on the TV, and sat riveted in horror.

At one point I noticed my neighbor out in her backyard, and went out to tell her the news in case she hadn't heard. She hadn't. I remember she asked, "But the buildings are still standing, right?" and I answered, "Well, of course they're still standing. It's not like planes could knock them over-- could they?" I honestly couldn't conceive of something as huge as the World Trade Center towers falling or collapsing. It just didn't seem possible when they did in fact collapse.