Where were you?

This is a copy of a blog I posted on MySpace September 11th, 2007

Since I'm sure everyone else in the world has done this…

September 11^th, 2001 started off as normal for me as did for everyone else in the country save the hijackers. I got up, dropped the kids off at their respective places and went to work.

At that time I was working out of a smaller office than I have now and the way it was situated in our building I got very poor radio reception. I had a small boom box on the floor of my office just to have some sound in the room and every day the first thing I turned on in the morning was that radio. It really only got a couple stations. I like to listen to AM radio in general and talk radio in particular. Too many years in radio has turned me off from listening to music and the all-sound-alike DJ's that permeate the airwaves. Since I could not get AM in my office I usually had the local (and closest) FM station on just for background noise. The day before, however, I had switched to the oldies station in Pittsburgh (94.5 WWSW).

On 9/11/2001 I didn't turn the radio on.

I have no idea why. I wasn't any busier than normal. I didn't do anything to change my normal routine (thank you OCD!) or have anything interrupt my morning.

I just didn't turn the radio on.

I remember quite clearly that we had a flatbed truck to load that day with product being shipped out. I was in and out of the building checking on the tires we were shipping and it was a simply beautiful day. Clear blue skies, cool temperatures, no humidity. You could not have asked for a better day.

At one point our secretary told me as I walked into the front office that her sister had told her a plane hit of the world trade center buildings and I shrugged it off. I knew planes had hit the Empire State building before so it always possible.

Then she said her sister (who was at home watching television) called and said another plane had hit the tower and the news was saying we were under attack!

Surprised, I flipped on my radio and heard ABC news pouring out. I've been into radio for a long time…major music stations don't play the national news feed after 9am if they do it at all anymore.

This was big.

I jumped on the computer and found that all of the major news sites were jammed. I was able to get on the Japanese CNN site and see some images and print some pictures to show the guys at work.

Our boss, the owner, was outside with the truck being loaded. When I went out next I told him what was going on and he seemed more interested in getting the truck loaded! LOL! I knew he cared, but business had to go on no matter what.

All I wanted to do was to go home and watch the news, but that wasn't an option. I listened to the radio all day and all the rumors that were out there too.

At one point it was reported that one of the hijacked planes was in Fayette County airspace. We had a rouge county commissioner who loved to hear his own voice on television and radio who announced that to the world. People were calling our office because we are near the county airport. Not surprisingly we were not a target, but the plane (Flight 93) did apparently pass through the airspace as it was heading to turn around before it crashed.

Heading home that evening I was struck by the fact that there were no planes in the sky.

Obviously I had heard that all flights were grounded, but where I live we have a great view of the southern sky and to see ZERO planes all night was a bit disconcerting.

My wife was two months pregnant with our son at that time, and after consuming as much television as humanly possible I went to bed that night with my wife and wondered out loud what kind of world we were bringing another baby into.

In the aftermath I fully supported our attacking the Taliban in Afghanistan…but argued strongly against invading Iraq. I still hold those two views to this day.

Six years later I still wonder what kind of world we brought our son into, but I hope that the majority of us are trying to make it a better place.

~ The Glenn