I'm sure today everyone in the States will be talking about where they were during September 11, what they were doing, what they remember. I'm not sure, however, how people will deal with it here in Dubai. I guess I'll know tomororw.
But since it's early morning here, and early-early morning in the States, I'll tell you my story from five years ago.
I was living in Burbank, California, working as a Script Coordinator at Walt Disney Television Animation on the Disney Studio Lot. I lived about a mile, mile and a half from the Studio. I think there were five stop lights, if that, on my commute. I'd like to say that I walked it often, it would have been smart, but no, I only did a couple of dozen of times in the three years I lived there. Oh, and I didn't have a roommate at the time, either, my former roommate Mike had just moved out, and my next roommate was moving in at the end of the week, on the 15th.
I remembered it was September 11 that morning as I got ready - because before 2001 September 11 was just my Dad's birthday. When I got to work I was going to fax him a birthday note, he was teaching Middle School back in Maine. I liked to send a little "hello" to both of my folks at school on their birthdays, just in case the office workers didn't know, they'd see the fax and wish my them a happy birthday.
Yep, I had my morning planned.
Then I got in my car and turned on the radio. A news channel came on. And I knew that I hadn't left it on a news channel the night before, I pretty much only listened to KROQ, the popular modern rock station in LA.
"Someone broke into my car, again," I thought.
See, the year before, when I was living in a somewhat sketchy part of Hollywood, someone broken into my 1991 Saab 900, and stole my radio. This was, of course, while it was parked in the "secure" garage at the apartment complex. But that's not the worst part. The worst part was that they took the toolbox - my toolbox - from the trunk to chisle the radio.
When I went to the car that morning in 2000 my driver's side seat was facing forward. "That's odd, I didn't leave that forward." Pull it back. "That's odd, the toolbox is on the seat." Look inside. "That's odd, the radio is missing."
So on September 11 I thought someone had broken into my car. But not to steal the radio, to change the channel.
They hadn't.
I finally shut up in my head and actually listen to what they're saying on the newsfeed, I think it was CNN. All baseball games were canceled nationwide, they said. Walt Disney World in Florida was closed, as well.
They had my attention.
See, I'm a Disney geek. There's no denying it. And I knew that Walt Disney World in Florida had closed once in 28 years. It actually was just two years eariler for Hurricane Floyd in 1999.
Whatever going on this morning was big.
Scary big.
The normal morning anchors on KROQ, Kevin and "Bean", were on vacation that week, the day before was a greatest hits show. Instead their sidekick Ralph, a hilarious comic in his own right, came on the air a minute later and explained to the people who just tuned in that someone had leveled both World Trade Center towers in New York with jumbo jets.
The biggest news story in my lifetime, probably the biggest domestic news story since Pearl Harbor, and I heard it from Ralph The New Guy on KROQ.
I pulled into the Disney Studio Lot - five security guards met me. It used to be one dude, I wouldn't even roll down the window just slow down and smile, he'd see my windshield sticker and all was good.
Not anymore.
Of course the building I worked in faced the Team Disney building, where Michael Eisner, Bob Iger, Dick Cook - all of the bigwigs have their offices. This entrance to the Studio Lot was their entrance, and thus would become the most secure security gate that I've ever seen. Everyone had to show Disney ID. Front and back. Everyone had to open their trunk. Eventually they even had those mirrors on sticks to look under your car.
But today everyone was in shock.
I walked into work and it was somber, scary quiet. Many people hadn't even gone in, having heard the news before leaving for work.
Fifteen minutes later we were told to go home. Apparently the FBI had informed Disney that the Studio Lot might be a potential target.
For terrorism.
I don't remember the drive home - except that I pulled over on Olive for a firetruck and an ambulance. I got home and turned on the TV. Katie Couric showed me the footage of second jet hitting the tower. A minute later they showed the two collapse.
It was the first time I'd seen the now overly familiar images.
I know it's cliched, but it really looked like a movie. (Heck, now it is a movie.) It really looked like the opening to 'Armageddon', with Eddie from Malcolm and Eddie and Mr. Cooper from Hangin' with Mr Cooper. But it was real.
I wanted to call my parents and let them know that I was okay - who knows what crazy things the TV reporters are saying about Los Angeles as we just wake up.
All circuits were busy. Again. Still busy. Third time I got through and got their answering machine. I told them I was safe and ... well, evacuated from work, as it was a potential target.
For terrorism.
I choked up for the first time.
Then I sat at the TV for nine hours watching NBC, CBS, ABC (I didn't have cable at the time). Finally one of my friends called and said we had to get out of the house. I went out to dinner, happy to be out of the empty apartment.
I've always been a history buff, my minor in college was 20th Century American History. It's weird to think, on a day-to-day basis, of living in actual history. I'd only ever thought that once before in my life, I was sick from school the first time Bill Clinton was inaugurated. I watched the entire thing on TV. I remember watching it and thinking, "This is history right here".
That morning in 2001 I thought, "No, this is history."
But we haven't even figured out what effect it will have. Five years is not a long time to put perspective on an event. In the next history books they write, September 11 will be a new chapter. The fall of the USSR through Bill Clinton will be a slender chapter, capped off by the election scandal of 2000. Then you flip to the next chapter and there's a full page photo of the World Trade Center on fire. Maybe a photo of people running from the huge cloud of ash and dust. A photo of the aftermath, American flags flying everywhere. The firefighters and police as heroes.
But what will it say about George W. Bush? What will it say about the current Iraqi war - the second Gulf War, will it have a real "name"? What will they say about the state of politics, the state of the people, the state of the economy?
