where were you?

i had just started my student teaching in Saranac Lake High School. i believe it was the end of first period and the rumors were circulating. during the break between first and second, my mentor teacher and i ran to a television and watched, my mouth open and hers covered with a hand, the first tower burning. we went back to get the kids settled for class. i was completely numb and just shocked. i was confused and it didn't even hit me until i heard someone whisper that it could have been intentional. i thought it was just a mistake. i must've looked flustered and upset, so my teacher, Kathy Clark, told me that i could take some time...watch the news, whatever. she just put on her game face and continued with class. some of the kids still didn't know.

i got back to the TV just in time to see the first tower fall. i started to cry and i didn't know what to do. everyone was just so helpless. when the pentagon was hit, i became nearly frantic, and tried calling my boyfriend at the time because he was at the University of Maryland. ironically, he had narowly excaped harm from a damn tornado just days prior, and now this. of course i couldn't get ahold of him. somehow he was able to contact some friends and family and they were able to get word to me that he was ok.

that night i went out for drinks with some friends. when an old friend/professor walked in (i was living in a guesthouse of hers) we hugged like we'd just found each other in the rubble.