I listened to CD’s that morning instead of the radio. At the red lights I was preoccupied as usual. I was going through a mental checklist for my work day, visualizing the top priorities to keep them in focus. I had the windows rolled down to feel the coolness of the morning, but I barely glanced at the people and cars around me.
When I got to the office, my web developer looked up and said, “There was a second plane.” I saw he was watching the news online in a browser window while he coded a web page next to it. “What?” The news window showed a burning building. As I went into my office I heard him mutter, “Don’t you watch the news?” There was a strained edge to his voice.
Then the emails started, and the whole floor got very quiet. It was not a small plane, and yes there were 2 planes. A co-worker in California emailed me that she was crying and, “What should we do?”
Our company had 300 people in the World Trade Center. As the towers disintegrated, so did the composed workplace expressions on our faces. When the CEO sent the email directing us to “go home and be with your families,” we wandered into the parking lot in a daze. Several cars in the lot had people just sitting in them, staring at their radios.
On the way home I looked intently at people in other cars. And they looked back, as if we all knew each other.