
I wore my favorite pair of pants. They were from Abercrombie and Fitch, beige with a green stripe up each side. Zippered pockets and a flannel lining. They were new, and I was proud of them. I wore the matching green t-shirt with the A&F logo emblazoned across the front.
I walked to Osmond Lab for my 9:15 logistics class. Osmond Lab is a science building; as a business major, I rarely entered this building. In four years at Penn State, this was the only class I would have there.
At the start of class, our professor told us a plane hit a building in New York. He didn’t act like it was a big deal; he probably didn’t think it was. I don’t remember if he said it was an accident, or if I assumed that. I imagined a little prop plane clipping the side of a building, maybe breaking off a wing.
I didn’t give it another thought.
After class, I walked across the street to the HUB, Penn State’s student union building. It was my habit to study there on Tuesdays before my next class.
A huge television screen greets you when you walk into the HUB. It was there I realized that this was not a story about a prop plane clipping a building.
They opened up the HUB Theater, and I funneled in with a swarm of students I didn’t know. I watched replays of the planes hitting the towers on a movie screen. They talked about the Pentagon, they talked about Shanksville, but what I remember most are the towers going down again and again.
I went to my dorm room and found my roommate cross-legged on the bed, watching the footage. I didn’t want to watch anymore, so I went for a long walk through campus. It was a gorgeous day, sun shining and lovely. I wanted to be alone with my thoughts.
That’s where the movie in my head ends. Whatever happened after that walk is blurred into all my other college memories, stored in my brain in a disorganized jumble.
I do know the next morning I picked up copies of the USA Today, The New York Times, and the Daily Collegian. I cut out all the articles and slid them into a mailing envelope. I still have those articles. I read them this morning and cried.
Never forget, they say. As if we could.
Make the next generation understands, they say. As if we do.
Never again, they say. As if we know how.
Without ever really meaning to, I never wore those pants again.
A few years later I packed them in a box of old clothes and donated them to GoodWill.
Love the Blog. I had a similar reaction too. I went to a Jazzercise class after working 12 – 8am. It was a class I had subbed at and sometimes visited. It was south of the city, Bethel Park area. When I got there someone had heard a plane had hit the Trade Tower and like you thought it was a small plane accident and didn’t give it a second thought. When I got into car to head home I had the radio on and realized this was so much more. My intended ride home was to take through Pittsburgh via the Liberty Tunnel. I decided to back a longer way avoiding the city. Good thing, all the tunnels were closed and many of the tall buildings were evacuated. When I got home I watched the news footage over and over, I still see it in my minds eye sometimes when I see large airplanes close to the ground. Never forgetting….. PS: I never went back to that Jazzercise class Love Poppy
From: Melanie Novak To: jzzbill@yahoo.com Sent: Sunday, September 11, 2016 8:39 AM Subject: [New post] It Was A Tuesday Morning #yiv7070787379 a:hover {color:red;}#yiv7070787379 a {text-decoration:none;color:#0088cc;}#yiv7070787379 a.yiv7070787379primaryactionlink:link, #yiv7070787379 a.yiv7070787379primaryactionlink:visited {background-color:#2585B2;color:#fff;}#yiv7070787379 a.yiv7070787379primaryactionlink:hover, #yiv7070787379 a.yiv7070787379primaryactionlink:active {background-color:#11729E;color:#fff;}#yiv7070787379 WordPress.com | Melanie Novak posted: ” I wore my favorite pair of pants. They were from Abercrombie and Fitch, beige with a green stripe up each side. Zippered pockets and a flannel lining. They were new, and I was proud of them. I wore the matching green t-shirt with the ” | |
Once again, very well said. We will never forget. Praying for those who died and for the family members who are reliving those moments today, 15 years later.😂🇺🇸❤️