September 11th

Alan, Jacob, and Derek on the one-year anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks

It is hard to believe that it has been eight years since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. It certainly was a monumental happening for our country. It is definitely a date where most people can remember exactly where they were on the morning of the devastation.

Paul and I were living in Park City in Paul's daughter's condo on September 11, 2001. We had sold our home in Sandy and were temporarily living in Park City until our new home in Draper was completed. The condo where we lived in Park City was surrounded by other ski condos that, for the most part, were empty at this time of year. So, we were quite isolated at the time and had no idea what was happening until later in the morning. Paul called his sister-in-law in Payson to wish her a happy birthday, and she told him to turn on the TV, that something worse than Pearl Harbor had happened. That scared me a lot, because I know how terrible Pearl Harbor was in the memories of those of my parents' ages.

By the time we turned on the TV, three of the four planes had already crashed. I remember watching those first few minutes and feeling helpless, wondering if our whole world was falling apart. Was it possible to ever feel safe again?

I also remember that all the news on TV was about the tragedy. A few months later, I thought to myself, "I wonder what other news happened in that time period." 9/11 was all-consuming for a very long time.

The only other event where I can remember exactly where I was when it happened was when President Kennedy was shot. I was working at a sewing machine in a Pattern and Dress Design class at BYU. I was 19 years old at the time.

Let's hope we don't have any more scary "I remember where I was" experiences in the future. The ones we have are definitely enough.