The following morning, I was driving to pick up the carpool kids when I heard about the first plane at about 6:55 mountain time. I had already gotten the kids when I heard of the second plane. My first thought was to turn around, which is what I should have done, but didn't. I told the kids they could only whisper for the 25 minute ride.
I got to work. The principal called a quick meeting before school started. He told us to act as normal as possible. Many people didn't know what happened. At 7:45, as the school doors unlocked, a parent called and told me about the Pentagon.
I spent a good part of the morning, calling kids down to the office to go home. I kept wishing I could go, too.
My husband had seen it all on t.v. He was getting ready for work when my D.C. working sister called him. She couldn't get a hold of my parents who were seeing a doctor on Long Island. The phones weren't working. Steve, my husband, called my Uncle's house where they were staying. They had already left for the appointment. (It was my mom's 5th year cancer free check-up)
He had no problem getting through. He spent the rest of the day acting as a message center for my L.I. relatives and my D.C. sister. They could all call Colorado, and he could call there, but they couldn't directly call each other.
Steve called me at about 8:30 and told me my parents were on Long Island and o.k. And that my sister was fine, she had called in sick that day. That was when it hit me how serious this was.(I hadn't seen any t.v.at that point) Everybody in my family was fine and I broke down. I took a break, went out to my car, listened to the radio and talked to my husband for about a half hour. I didn't get to see the pictures until after 6:00 that night.