Monday September 10th 2001… I was sitting at Strickers Auction with my friend Tammy. We were talking about nothing, and everything just like we always do. That Monday night wasn't significant. We were probably talking about how high or low the stuff was selling that night. Or maybe they were auctioning off a mattress, and there was a bullet hole in it. Or maybe someone was bidding something up SO HIGH we were craning our necks to see who could possibly be paying that kind of money for whatever it was. All I really remember about that night.. is how wonderful everything seemed. I didn't know that a few short hours later I would never see the world the same again.
Tuesday September 11th 2001 I woke up thinking about all the things I had to do that day. I needed to get 3 kids dressed and ready to be in Topeka, Kansas by 10:00am, which is an hour or so drive away from where I live. I woke up to the Today show.. and was watching that when the first tower was hit. I was putting on #2's shoes when the second tower was hit. I was shocked, and freaked out when I loaded up my 16 year old, 6 year old and 3 year old into my car and headed toward Topeka. On the way there I heard when each of the towers fell.
If you've never been to Topeka, it's a busy capitol city of Kansas. I've been downtown on many times, and was use to the traffic and people everywhere. (It's not New York City or nothing.. but it's busy for Kansas) When I got downtown.. it was a ghost town. NO one was walking in the streets. There were only a few cars driving around and almost NO cars parked on the streets. I went to the parking garage and there were National Guardsman standing at the entrance of the parking garage in full army gear.. with guns. They told me that I couldn't park in any of the structures, only on the street. He also said that most all of the government buildings and almost all of the office buildings had been cleared, so my appointment most likely was cancelled. I parked on the street, and went right into the building. NO ONE was there. I remember standing in the lobby and thinking; "what is going on here? Have I entered the twilight zone?
I received a phone call from my dad that morning. He said he'd been trying to call me, at home and finally got me on my cell phone. He even joked I was probably standing in the tallest building in Kansas, instead of being at home safe on our little piece of land.
Normally we make a day of it when we go to Topeka, but that day all we wanted to do was be home. Our hour ride home was sad, we prayed for the people of New York, Washington DC and Pennsylvania. I'm not sure what happened when I got home I'm sure I watched the news all day long and well into the night.
