Saturday, September 11, 2010

Been posting this for the last few years.... #WhereWereYou

Wrote this in 2008 on the 7th anniversary of the terrorists attacks. I re-post it every year. Few days in my life (can) stand out as vividly as that day. There are two things I would like to remind everyone of however; First there was a plane that hit the Pentagon AND there was a plane that went down in a field in Pennsylvania because there were some people on board that accepted their fate, but instead of pitying themselves, they thought of their fellow man. People they had never met and would never know that were in the targeted building that that plane was suppose to hit. They took what precious moments they had left and made the most of them, saving no telling how many lives. I would wish that everyone could die peacefully in their sleep of old age. But I can't help but admire those that have died tragically for noble reasons.

Secondly, despite our incompetent national media, despite any actual shortcomings, despite any political differences you may have with him, despite any criticism any critic can even attempt to lay on him... George W. Bush was as good a President of the United States, on September 11, 2001 as we have ever had on a single day in this nations history. Watching footage that day, in the afternoon they showed footage of the President that morning at an elementary school in Florida. They showed an administration official whisper into the President's ear about the plane hitting the World Trade Center. The President was watching some play or something at the school, so jumping up and running for Air Force One wasn't actually an option less pandemonium was desired. But he sat calmly with a considerable change in demeanor until a few moments later when he was flown to various secure locations that day while getting briefed and making the type of decisions a Commander in Chief is responsible for making. Within a few hours every airport in the country was shut down. And a nation, and most of the world sat in disbelief. However, in the days and months after 9-11, I don't know that anyone could have addressed and responded to the tragedy as well as President Bush did. Whatever political rhetoric has been espoused or asserted over the wars or his supposed hand in our current economic situation is largely overstated, exaggerated, or incorrect, and regardless pales in comparison to the demonstrable leadership and fortitude with which he LEAD, in every sense of the word, the United States in the days following 9-11


Anyway, here's where I was... Watching the second plane fly into the Trade Center will be the most surreal thing I think I'll ever witness...

I was coaching basketball at the University of Southern Mississippi. We practiced at 6:00A.M. every morning. We had just finished the day's practice and I was leaving the coliseum to head to my apartment to get cleaned up in order to go to an athletic department meeting.

I got in my car, and turned on the Steve and DC morning show out of St. Louis. They were just getting reports of it, trying to confirm the reports, etc.

I got to my apartment, turned on CNN and was watching the coverage. At that time no one was sure that it was a terrorist attack. Some were speculating, but it was pure speculation.

Then, a reporter on top of an adjacent building with the Twin Towers in the background was reporting the known facts at the time. He broke the news as it was coming into his ear piece that another plane had indeed been hijacked. About the time he got the words out of his mouth you could see behind him the plane flying into the other tower. Then he turned around and realized what happened.

I quickly showered and returned to the basketball offices. No one there had heard anything about it yet, so we turned on all the TVs and radios available, and like much of the world watched the rest of the day in complete and utter non-belief.

One of my colleagues who coached women's basketball had a sister that worked at the Pentagon. Thankfully she was safe.

That's where I was. Please feel free to comment about where you were and what you were doing that day.

Where were you?

Posted via email from Todd's posterous