Like many of you, I remember exactly what I was doing that gorgeous sunny morning on September 11, 2001. I was sitting at home doing Hospice paperwork.
Suddenly, my phone rang. Nancy, Administrative Assistant in my previous job as an RN in Radiation Oncology and typist for all my Seminary projects, asked if I had my TV on. I told her No and she urgently said to turn it on.
As I did, I saw what looked like a cloud of smoke pouring out of a tall skyscraper. The voice of Katie Couric came loudly over the TV. Nancy and Katie almost simultaneously said that something had hit one of the towers of the World Trade Center! Right at that moment, I saw something that looked like a plane fly into and hit the other tower! I stared in disbelief, my mind suddenly blank.
Nancy and I stayed on the phone for several minutes, not speaking. Nancy finally shakily said that it was like being back in Oklahoma City all over again during the bombing of the F. Murrah Federal Building where she had seen and experienced the devastation. We murmured words of support.
As the day wore on, I visited with my terminal patients, trying to bring comfort where needed while shaking inside.
My BFF Janie was in touch throughout the day as she anxiously tried to reach her oldest daughter in NYC who had just been a block away from the explosions. It was at least 10 harrowing hours before Janie could finally reach her. Rebecca had struggled for hours to get to her home amidst the acrid smoke, chaos, fear, and panic that day.
Several staff finally gathered at our office that day and the next, stunned, in shock, and in grief. My friend Judy asked if I could help with a memorial service and grief group for our staff. We then found out that another work friend had lost her close friend when the plane she had boarded in Boston had been derailed and hit one of the World Trade Center buildings. Everyone was affected in some way by this tragedy.
I do not remember much about that memorial service and grief group but as so often happens in the midst of shock and grief, we did. It was a blessing to be able to share and be with others.
One thing I do know is that nothing would ever be the same again in our country.
Let me close with the following Litany of Remembrance which has brought comfort to so many in the memorial and celebration of life services I have done since that infamous day.
Blessings on this day as WE REMEMBER!
Rev. Carolyn Quinn
