Notes from that day in September

I have a tendency to hold onto things, especially letters/ notes/ emails. I saved a number of e-mails and notes from the time period surrounding September 11, 2001 between myself and my friends and family. Below are a few I had pasted into my journal from several of my friend and family. I have a number of others, including ones that I sent to people, but they are all packed away in the attic at my Dad’s house. I actually made a good faith effort to go over there this afternoon and dig them out, but they had a minor (and by minor, I mean major) leak in the roof this summer, so there is major construction going on and I couldn’t find a damn thing. So, you only get the smattering I had pasted in my journal. I have typed them exactly as they were written; I have only changed the initials or names at the end. Just another look back to how my circle reacted to that day.

Side note: Gail, who the hell was Kenny?

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Tuesday, September 11, 2001, around noon

Guys…you all know it takes a lot to shake me and not much that happens outside the realm of my world affects me or upsets me, but I just watched a plane fly into the World Trade Center and I keep seeing the towers crumbling to the ground, over and over, and I am in total and complete shock. I don’t even know what to say. It just shook me and made me realize how crazy everything in this world has become and it upset me.

The main purpose of this email, however, was to let you all know that I love you so much and each and every one of you mean so much to me. All this really really scares me and I hope that all of you are safe and okay and just know that I sincerely love all of you with all my heart and I will hopefully see you all in the Fort in a few weeks…although I may be driving home instead of flying.

(Kenny- BE SAFE!)

I love you!

Gail

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Tuesday, September 11, 2001, 12:20pm

you fool- of course we’re okay.. we’re in KENTUCKY..although i’m convinced they’re headed after us next.. why? Kentucky Fried Chicken of course.. duh! they’re obviously jealous of our ability to fry delicious chicken.. and because we’re ignorant hillbillies.. dammit- i don’t care, they’ll never get the secret recipe

-AG

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Tuesday, September 11, 2001, 9:40pm

We in America will overcome this. We will get on with our lives. We will hurt, we will be more careful for a while, but we are too conditioned for individual freedom to let terrorists make us break the mold.

I’m amazed at this point how many from the Towers got out. And so glad I didn’t join my co-worker Charles at the press preview of our Sept. PBS show last night in NY. He is stuck there indefinitely, but fine.

Here’s a note Buddy sent me and I am sharing it with you and your suitemates. I’ll see you before Christmas, surely!!! Sent your dad a birthday message today.

Love, Grandma Pat

May today there be peace within you.

May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be.

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Wednesday, September 12, 2001, 1:10AM

We went live tonight for the first time this year.

We weren’t supposed to. We weren’t even ready. But with all that happened, with the world trade center collapsing… we did it. Today I became a journalist. A real one.

We threw a show together in three hours. It was shear chaos.

I had watched the footage this morning in utter shock. My roommate and I held each other, glued to the tv. Preston from across the hall busted into our room this morning at 9 and told us to turn on the tv (keith had tried to come down earlier, but no one was awake at 7:30 like he was). We watched in horror. The whole world did.

At 11 I had to do what God calls me to do. I had to block it out and be hard. I went down to the station. Only three of us were there- and we did the only thing we could do. We began to stack a show. I got on the phone, getting info on closings. Then I edited footage off the CNN feed. People began to petter in. At 2 Noelle and I left and went around campus getting interviews with students and faculty… talking to the international center and a faculty member whose son was doing an internship in washington (the son survived). We got back to the station at 3. I edited for an hour. By then everyone had arrived. After I edited I wrote stories. They told me I was going live from the newsroom as the reporter (i didn’t anchor—Ryan Lykins and Lauren Hanson did). At 4:30 I had to do Ryans makeup. At 5 I finally got a chance to eat something. AT 5:10 I did my makeup. At 5:20 we had breaking news (the rest of the station was in a rundown meeting) and I had to quickly write an update on the Afghanistan bombing that happened in Kabull. At 5:45 I went to the bathroom and got a tip about rising gas prices in the area from a girl in the restroom. I ran back to the newsroom and got on the phone. I barely had time to write down my information about the gas prices before I had to hit my mark in the live shot. I gave updates on closings around the region and then told our gas prices exclusive. I wasn’t nervous. I was calm and collected for once in my life. Thank god. A 6:30 the show was over. We did rather well—considering. At 7 I went to a prayer vigil and prayed. I got home at 8.

It wasn’t until I got on my phone with my mom that I let this all sink in. I cried for a long time. Girls, this scares me. It scares the heck out of me. I’m scared for this nation, for the victims, for my friends and family, and for myself. My whole life is going to be spent covering tragedy and there is NO WAY I can get out of it. You can’t deny god. He calls me to do this… and I know this, but I am so scared. Can I handle this? I don’t know. I don’t know about anything anymore.

I love all of you. Please know this.

SG