I remember my fifth grade history teacher, Mrs. Murray, talking about remembering where she was when President Kennedy was shot, and I wondered what it was like having been a part of such a national tragedy that it stuck with you like that. That a person could actually remember where they were and what they were doing when they heard such terrible news.
Well, a few years later, I experienced my own moment when I first heard about the space
shuttle Challenger exploded. I was a student at Copperas Cove Junior High School and the school had televisions in the hallway near the concession stand and in the cafeteria for the students to see what was going on. I imagine the TVs had been brought in for students to watch the liftoff, and weren't brought in just so we could learn about the tragedy, but I can't be sure.
I also remember turning on the television 17 years later and learning that another shuttle,
the Columbia, had exploded while returning to earth. It was a Saturday morning and I had just turned on the television to see what was going on in the world. What a weird thing to wake up to.
Well, today, of course is a day of remembrance for another tragedy that touched most of the world. I remember getting out of my car to begin the workday at Wyatt's Office City in Nacogdoches, Texas, seven years ago this morning. Matt from the print shop was getting out of his car and told me he heard an airplane had hit the World Trade Center. We both figured it must have been a small private plane that had flown too near and clipped the building. Little did we know that American Airlines Flight 11 would be followed 16 minutes later by United Airlines Flight 175.
I remember where I was that morning and where I was most of the rest of the day. I don't imagine there are many people over the age of 20 who don't remember where they were.
Dozens of people gathered Sept. 11, 2008, in front of the Haywood County Courthouse in Waynesville, N.C., to pray and remember the events of 9/11.
