In September 2000, I had just moved to New York City into a high rise in the Financial District, just 5 blocks south of the World Trade Center. I had just graduated from Carleton and was beginning a graduate program at New York University. I returned to Minnesota three times while I was living in New York. That fall my dad was airlifted to the Mayo Clinic and had emergency surgery. I was home for Christmas and then in the spring of 2001, my mom, who had been battling cancer, became very ill. That summer I decided to move home to be closer to my family because my mom was dying.
I transferred to the University of Minnesota and on September 11, 2001 I was standing in line at the financial aid office trying to straighten out my loans. I watched the plane hit while I was standing in that office. I don't even recall if it was the first or second plane. Watching it televised, I couldn't really grasp the gravity of the situation because I felt so far removed. I called my mom and told her to turn on the TV. David, my brother, was with my mom - trying to get in as much mom time before she was gone.
Later that fall (October 9, 2001), my mom passed away. As my mom, she always watched out for me. Whether she knew it or not, she saved me from being 5 blocks from the World Trade Center on 9/11.
1 comment:
Interesting post. I'm so glad you were in MN and not in NY on that day. What I remember most about that morning was that I woke up with this weird feeling that I had to turn the tv on. I NEVER watched tv in the morning, but that day I did. I then went to work (I worked at The Marsh then)and someone brought a tv into a conference room where we all sat in shocked silence and watched.
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