Tell me about your 9/11.

[MissMillie]

45. The thing that sticks in my mind the most is what a gorgeous day it was.

I mean, it was seriously gorgeous. Ironically, yesterday was much the same, weather-wise. Blue skies, puffy white clouds, warm, light breeze... days don't get much more beautiful than that.

I had the day off. One of my bosses was in Paris on a consulting gig (he got stuck there of course) and my son had two things going on that day: a consult with the orthodontist in the a.m., and his first high school football game in the afternoon.

After his dental appointment, I drove him to school. Driving home from there I was feeling so lucky to have such a beautiful day off. I had NPR on in the car. They were talking about a plane that hit one of the towers. Like many people, I didn't really grasp it. "Those buildings are huge! How the hell do you accidentally hit one? How hard can it be to fly around them?"

I pulled into my driveway, went into the house and turned the TV on. In the 90 seconds I was w/o radio or TV the second plane had hit the second building.

Called my mom and asked her if she was watching TV (it actually took me a few attempts to reach her--phone circuits were busy). Mom & Dad had finished w/ their morning news and had turned off the TV to start chores. I told Mom they should probably turn the TV back on.

Went to my son's football game in the afternoon. One of the other parents in the stands was crying softly. She didn't know how she was going to tell her son that his grandmother was on one of the planes (her MIL). She didn't want to tell him until she got him home.

Took my son out to dinner that evening. Didn't feel like cooking. Came home to find my ex-boyfriend sitting in my living room, watching TV and crying. He had had maybe 3 or 4 beers but hadn't eaten. I remember feeling a little miffed that instead of being able to sit down and watch the news, I had to make something for him to eat. (I didn't want him to finish the six-pack on an empty stomach.) Then I remembered--"this is a pretty small problem, considering..."