Where Were You?

"All of a sudden there were people screaming. I saw people jumping out of the building.

Their arms were flailing. I stopped taking pictures and started crying." 

Michael Walters, a free-lance photo journalist in Manhattan.

September 11, 2001…most of us remember where we were and what we were doing.  I was in the math and science building at Troy University…a place I spent many hours during my four years there.  My quirky math teacher made the announcement, but if I’m honest I didn’t really know where the World Trade Center buildings were located, but I knew it wasn’t good.  Class was cancelled and I went the closest place I could to watch a TV…the Adams Center.  I was relieved to find Bare and Brian there watching the coverage…they caught me up on the news and were both pretty close to joining the armed forces that day.  At that point I realized the magnitude of the situation.

May 1, 2011…fast forward almost 10 years… I will always remember where I was when I learned that the world’s most wanted terrorist was killed.  I had been home for a week after living in Montana for only 3 months.  It had been a great trip and I decided to wait until the last minute to fly back before going back to work Monday morning.  While sitting in the Minneapolis airport late that Sunday night waiting for my last flight, regular programming was interrupted to let us know President Obama would be making an announcement.  We knew it must be of extreme importance, but we had to board.  As we boarded the plane, several fellow travelers asked the pilots to please find out what was going on.  And he did, the pilot updated us after Obama told the news.  It was a weird feeling to be on a plane when I learned of his death.

Where were you that September day and Sunday night?