9/11 Anniversary

I cannot believe it has been six years since 9/11. I can still distinctly remember where I was when I heard the news of the first plane being hijacked right before it crashed into the first tower--granted that at the time no one really knew to what extent or how the events on that day would escalate.

I was in a study hall/free period with some friends that morning and when we heard about the first plane being hijacked, I followed a crowd of girls going to watch it on the news on a TV in the school's athletic center. The image of one smoking World Trade Center tower left everyone speechless.
At the time, I lived in Greenwich, Connecticut...30 minutes away from the destruction that was happening in the city that day. Not only that but my dad worked in New York City every day. He was in the city when the first plane hit.
An hour after the first plane hit, all the students were called into the auditorium for a quick assembly and we were told that classes were canceled for the rest of the day. What came next was chaos. There were lines for the phone because many people didn't have cellphones at the time (at least not the way everyone does today.) I tried calling my dad to make sure that he was okay and safe and the response I got was "All circuits are busy. Please try again later." After a few calls with this response, I realized there was no chance I was getting through to him. I can't even begin to describe the fear and confusion that came over me.
I went to an all-girls school and within minutes there were groups of crying girls everywhere...It was total chaos. It seemed like everyone's father or mother worked in NYC and no one could get through to them. My dad worked in Midtown and the Twin Towers were downtown. Unfortunately at the time I was unaware that those two areas were far enough apart for him to not be too close to the towers. One of my friends was crying next to me because both of her parents worked in one of the World Trade Towers. Looking back now, she was extremely lucky because they both got out safely.
The rest of the day was pretty much a blur--I don't remember the times of the events that day--don't remember watching the second tower be hit by another plane..DOn't remember hearing about the planes or anything..
Turns out my dad (and everyone in his building pretty much) left and tried to get out of the city right after the first WT tower was hit. He takes the train in and out of the city every day..so he immediately went straight to Grand Central and got on one heading back to CT. However, about 10 minutes after being on it. It was shutdown and he was sitting in a train tunnnel underground in pitch black darkness for two hours before someone was able to open a hatch in the tunnel and everyone in the train climbed up the ladder on to a street..still in the city unfortunately. He eventually found someone in a car heading back to Greenwich and they gave him a ride..It took him all day (8 hours) to get out of the city that day and it usually only takes 30 minutes. He was very lucky that he was able to get home eventually. Whenever I ask him about that day..he describes sitting in the train underground in darkness with all of the other passengers...none of them knowing if they were ever going to get out of that train or of the city. None of them knowing what was going on on the streets right above their heads or what was going on in the city above them--whether the city was being attacked or bombed or whether they were ever going to get out alive. I'm sure it was the longest two hours of his life.

I can't believe how lucky I am that my father got out alive-one of my classmates father didn't. It was an awful event for the city, for New York, for the families involved and for the nation. On the other hand, I think it made us, as a nation, stronger and more united. That is, if there is something good that can come out of such a horrible event.