{"id":7519,"date":"2013-09-11T07:32:17","date_gmt":"2013-09-11T12:32:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/meganstrange.com\/?p=7519"},"modified":"2024-09-05T06:17:06","modified_gmt":"2024-09-05T11:17:06","slug":"911-12-years-later","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/meganstrange.com\/?p=7519","title":{"rendered":"9\/11 12 years later"},"content":{"rendered":"

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12 years later…I still remember every moment of how September 11, 2001 unfolded. \u00a0I pray I will never forget. \u00a0That day taught me that evil truly does exist and it is in direct opposition to a loving and merciful God.<\/p>\n

9\/11\/2011<\/strong><\/p>\n

7am<\/strong> \u00a0I arrived on campus at Emory University for my graduate classes for the day<\/p>\n

8am<\/strong> \u00a0I was studying in the common area at the Candler School of Theology<\/p>\n

8:46am<\/strong> Flight 11 crashed into the World Trade Center (North Tower)<\/p>\n

At that point, all the conversation at Emory was centered on the tragedy of the crash that must have resulted from a terrible miscommunication or mistake in directions. \u00a0There was some talk that it was a private plane and then word started to come out that it might have been a commercial airliner. \u00a0All of the very first communication still centered around a tragic incident. \u00a0Terrorism wasn’t first in our mind in those days.<\/p>\n

9am<\/strong> My first class of the day started: The History of Christian Thought<\/p>\n

9:03am<\/strong> Flight 175 crashed into the World Trade Center (South Tower)<\/p>\n

9:20am<\/strong> Several students in my class started talking quietly and spreading information they were hearing. \u00a0That was back before cellphones were so prevalent. \u00a0Even email wasn’t as pervasive as it is today. \u00a0My professor asked what was going on and someone shared with the class that a second plane had crashed into the World Trade Center. \u00a0The professor said that it thought it wise for us to dismiss class and head back to the tv’s in the lobby to see what was going on in our nation.<\/p>\n

9:37am<\/strong> Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon<\/p>\n

9:59am<\/strong> The South Tower of the World Trade Center collapsed<\/p>\n

We were all still standing in the lobby at Emory watching things unfold on the television. \u00a0There was a lot of concern in the room and a good bit of speculation up until this point…but still just watching things unfold. \u00a0When the South Tower collapsed, it was the eeriest feeling I’ve ever had in my life. \u00a0We watched on live TV as that tower fell…it only took 10 seconds to collapse…and in that moment we knew that hundreds…if not thousands of people had entered eternity right before our very eyes. \u00a0There was no more chit chat…there were tears, stunned looks, lots of prayer, and immediately everyone in the room was forever bonded in having shared that tragic moment together.<\/p>\n

10:03am<\/strong> Flight 93 crashed into a field in Pennsylvania…it turned out later that the passengers had overtaken the hijackers to intentionally crash the plane into a field to save Washington, DC, the intended target of the terrorists. \u00a0This was one of many unfathomable acts of heroism that took place on 9\/11 and the days following.<\/p>\n

Once that flight crashed, we started hearing some type of loudspeaker giving a message outside of the building we were all in. \u00a0Having never heard that before, we grabbed our bags and walked outside to hear what was going on. \u00a0The loudspeakers were saying, “All Emory University students and personnel should immediately evacuate the campus. \u00a0Do not walk, run to your vehicles or away from the campus immediately. \u00a0Evacuate the campus.” \u00a0A rumor started to circulate that there was a credible threat against the Center for Disease Control that neighbors the campus of Emory University. \u00a0Everyone immediately started to run to their cars and down the sidewalks leaving campus. \u00a0You would think it would be mass chaos, but it was the most orderly I’ve ever seen a huge parking lot empty.<\/p>\n

10:15am<\/strong> The E ring of the Pentagon collapsed<\/p>\n

10:28am<\/strong> The North Tower of the World Trade Center collapsed<\/p>\n

I heard this unfold on the radio in my car as I was heading west on I-285 to hit I-75 North back up to Acworth. \u00a0I remember thinking that traffic was probably going to be horrible….after all, this was still Atlanta. \u00a0It was really interesting to see how traffic unfolded. \u00a0Everyone was driving like me…fast and away from the city. \u00a0All of the electronic signs on the interstate said “National Emergency…Evacuation in Progress”. \u00a0I was listening to the news on the radio and I saw my emotions played out in all of the drivers that were next to me on the highway. \u00a0Grown men and women had tears running down their faces as they too were listening to things unfold. \u00a0The radio announcer said “This is a day that will live in infamy.” \u00a0I remembered that being said about Pearl Harbor and couldn’t believe that I was actually in the midst of something that was identified in the same way as that tragic day in our nation’s history.<\/p>\n

When I arrived back in Acworth, I immediately went to the church that I was on staff at and we gathered around televisions to watch things unfold. \u00a0We had a staff meeting and immediately began preparing a special prayer service for the following evening. \u00a0At that point, there was still no idea as to how much more was going to happen. \u00a0I remember eating lunch with a friend and she invited me to come over to their house for dinner and told me to bring my stuff in case I wanted to spend the night. \u00a0I was young and single in a place far from home and this was a family that was really special to me. \u00a0I immediately took her up on her offer!<\/p>\n

All commercial air travel had been suspended and it was strange not to see planes in the sky since we are not far from Hartsfield Atlanta Airport…the nation’s busiest international airport. I remember that a friend was travelling in Canada and ended up renting a car to drive home. \u00a0Several other friends were stranded for a few days due to business travel and that type of thing. \u00a0We did occasionally see planes in the sky, but they were fighter jets from Dobbins Air Force base. \u00a0When you saw the fighter jets, you immediately found yourself bracing for something else to happen. \u00a0Gratefully nothing else happened that day.<\/p>\n

I still remember how tense I was the entire day. \u00a0I prayed, but it was very distracted prayers as I was worried about family and friends spread around the world. \u00a0In the weeks and months to come, we all heard many stories of people that were supposed to have been on one of those flights, or were originally scheduled to be in the World Trade Center for one reason or the other. \u00a0I remember just watching the news the entire day. \u00a0Even lunch and dinner were at restaurants with TV’s so that we could all stay in touch. \u00a0I remember Tom Brokaw on the NBC News telling everyone to hug their kids tighter and to remember that America will not lay down…we will find those responsible for this. \u00a0I believed him and was proud to be an American.<\/p>\n

At 8:30pm<\/strong> President Bush was on television and he shared that “America and our friends and allies join with all those who want peace and security in the world, and we stand together to win the war against terrorism.” \u00a0I believed him and was proud to be an American.<\/p>\n