Have you forgotten?

Today is a sad day for me. I think in some ways it will always be a sad day. Seven years ago on September 11th, something truly devastating happened. We have all seen the pictures, and videos and while yes I lived on the West Coast at the time, the 9/11 tragedy struck very close to home.

My mom once told me that every generation has a defining moment. A moment where everyone who lived through something and will never forget where they were or what they were doing. For my Mom is was the day JFK died, she will never forget what she was doing at that moment. I thought for sure the Challenger exploding while we watched it on TV in grade school would be our moment. I was so very wrong. 9/11 will be my moment that I never forget what I was doing on that day.

I was a Resident Director at Santa Clara University. We hadn't started school yet and we were finishing up our training of the housing staff. I was in the shower and my husband tells me I am needed on the phone. I was a little ticked off as I was tired and cranky from the week but the whole training program depended on me and my coworker and she was the one on the phone. All she said was turn on the TV and call her back. I was confused but standing in a towel I did just that. What I saw I will never forget, I sank down on the bed and cried. Over and over the images of those towers falling down were played on TV along with news of the Pentagon and a missing plane. I have never seen something so awful in my life and I hope I never have to again.

At that moment I kicked into overdrive. We had a huge presentation scheduled for the morning with a bunch of college kids who were going to be scared and unsure of what was going on. Some had family members living in New York or working at the Pentagon. Our presentation as relevant as it seemed 2 weeks prior was so not important at this moment. I called my coworker back and we talked with Campus Ministry and our Director. We decided to round up the staff have an opportunity for prayer and reflection and cancelled all remaining activities for the day. The staff had a bulletin board project they were working on so we gave them a quiet work day and offered any support we could while we tried to maintain our composure.

By 10am we were all glued to the TV trying to understand what just happened. Lots of tears were shed and questions asked. By this time, the missing plane had crashed in a Pennsylvania field and no one was sure if it was a related event or not. If only I had known to prepare myself for another crushing blow.

My boss called and said she would like all of us Resident Directors to get together with the Dean of Students to figure out a game plan for the following weeks. We had students moving back into the dorms in less than 5 days. There was bound to be a lot of emotion and late check ins given the flying nightmares that followed.

We show up at this meeting in which the Dean announces that a Santa Clara student was killed on Flight 93 that when down in Pennsylvania. We were shocked. We are talking about a school that has 4000 undergraduates. More shocking for me was that this student had been one of my residents the previous year. I saw her almost every day in and around the halls and sometimes in my office. When I heard this I bolted out of the meeting. I needed a few minutes to process. Then I started thinking about her friends and how they would respond. Her RA from the previous year was close to her. How could this be happening??? We are talking about a 20 year old girl with her whole life ahead of her, big dreams that would never be fulfilled. She loved to read and tutor children and thought about being a teacher.

The next days brought lots of tears, hugs and prayer services. I did what I could to offer support to her friends and in my downtime cried to myself. It was devastating. She was a sweet girl and will be dearly missed by friends and family alike. I think that is what I said in one of the many interviews I gave after it was announced that she as on the flight.

So in response to the question, have you forgotten? No, and I never will.

http://www.cmt.com/videos/darryl-worley/26304/have-you-forgotten.jhtml