I couldn’t sleep. The first time in my entire life, that I was awake all night long, unexplainably unable to fall asleep. I wasn’t sick. I wasn’t drinking, just wasn’t tired. Finally, around 5:45 am, my phone rang. It was my boyfriend’s mother, in a panic. She was crying, and telling me to turn on a TV. I couldn’t quite understand her, something about being New York and planes. Possibly the word attack thrown in there. I told her I was going to turn on the TV and I’d call her back. When I did, I saw the Twin Towers, only a minute, two at the most, after the south tower was hit. I was speechless. I watched, and then realized I had two other people in my home fast asleep, oblivious that our nation was under seige. I went to wake up my mom, and then my boyfriend. We watched in horror. I remember feeling cold, and numb. My boss called that morning, wondering if I still wanted to have work that day ( I was a chair of a student activities board) and I told him yes. I couldn’t imagine staying home and dealing with the news coverage all day long. It was also my 19th birthday. We went to the school, and everyone shared their stories. We waited. We heard there was another plane headed for the west coast. We heard a plane may have crashed in Pennsylvania. We heard LA may be a target. We just didn’t know. My uncle lives on Long Island, and is a frequent traveler. I tried to get through, but only recieved a busy signal for much of the day. Later, we found out he was on a flight from JFK to LA, and had passed by the twin towers as they were smoldering. His plane was diverted to Atlanta, and him and his business partners rented a car and drove back to NY. My aunt was 100% sure her husband was gone for hours…brutal hours. My best friend was in New York…Manhattan…visiting a friend. I couldn’t get through. I called her mom and was assured she was fine, but that they were driving to NYC to pick her up….from Washington State they made it there in 24 hours. I went to a very quiet dinner that night at the Outback. There was a solice….a quietness in the air. I will never forget that day, and my prayers are with the families that lost loved ones, and the souls that were lost that day. Never, ever stop asking questions. I won’t.