8:44 a.m.

      On the morning of September 11, 2001, this somewhat typical Tuesday morning, my life would drastically change.  The clock on my desk showed that it was only 8:44 a.m.  The morning already seemed to be dragging along.  I had no idea how the entire world and I were going to change in the next minute.

      At 8:45 a.m., I over heard a co-worker say that an airplane had just crashed into the north tower of the World Trade Center in New York City.  I began looking on different news websites to find out what had happened.  On the CNN website, I found a live video feed showing the events as they happened in New York City.

      The video feed showed the World Trade Center burning.  The reporters were debating what type of airplane had actually struck the building.  There were reports of people claiming it was just a small single engine plane.  Still, other reports had witnesses claiming that it was a large passenger jet.  Hearing this, I could only assume the worst.  The scene on the video feed changed to show terrified New Yorkers trying to process what had just transpired.

      I could not believe that such an accident could happen.  Then the unthinkable occurred.  At 9:03 a.m., as I watched the scene on the live Internet video feed, another plane crashed into the south tower of the World Trade Center.  I was stunned.  I knew then that this was no accident.  This was an attack of some kind.  Both towers were now burning.  I could only hope that the towers were empty.  I began to pray for the passengers on the planes, the workers in the towers, and their families. 

      All of us in my office started gathering around our computers to watch the coverage of the terrible events.  I remember wondering who could have done this and why.  Then I heard someone say that another plane had hit the Pentagon in Washington, DC.  I watched through tears as the World Trade Center later collapsed to the ground.  My fellow co-workers and I were anxiously watching and wondering what was going to happen next.  A few minutes later the obviously shaken CNN anchor announced that another airplane had just crashed southeast of Pittsburgh, PA.

      People began leaving work and going home to be with their families.  Most of the people in my department decided to gather at a co-workers house and watch the news.  None of us really wanted to be alone during this tragedy.  We all gathered around the television trying to learn as much as we could about what was going on.

      I later went outside and looked up into the sky.  It just did not seem real to look up and not see even one airplane passing overhead.  I remember looking around and seeing the terrified faces of my co-workers gathered around the television, trying to make sense of the morning’s events.  We all knew that our world would never be the same.  I knew that I would never be the same, as I was that morning at 8:44 a.m.