I was supposed to meet a friend to take them on a nature walk on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001. They never showed up so I headed home. As I pulled out of the road I heard about a plane flying into one of the World Trade Towers. I thought it was an accident of some sorts. I got home and turned on FOX and watched as smoke poured out of the building. Then as if coming out of nowhere another plane flew into the other tower. I had the most uneasy feeling I have ever had in my life. At the moment the second plane hit I knew what what was happening, terrorist have hit us.

I went to wake my wife up and tell her what had happened. Together we watched the events unfold. The one of the towers fell. I sat there growing numb, not believing what I was seeing. My mind instantly went to wondering about the people that had to be inside that bulding. Then shock hit us again when the second tower fell.

Not a word was spoken. A numbness filled the room, then rage set in.

All while this was going on we learned planes had crashed in Washington D.C. and even more chilling, one had crashed into a field only 80 miles from where we lived.

My wife Leslye went to our daughter’s school to pull her out of school. We just wanted her close to us. To know she was safe.

I raced to the local Red Cross to donate my blood. It was all I could do to help at that time.

Now I know what my grandmother,grandfather, and uncles felt when they learned of Pearl Harbor.

Now I know, now I know