The Day That Shook The World

Tuesday September the 11th 2001 is a day that will be etched into my memory forever. The time was 2.20 pm, I live in the U.K. My husband had just driven home from work. He asked if I had heard the news of a plane crash in the U.S? I replied that no I hadn't. He said a plane had crashed into a building. At that point I thought it was tragic, and intended watching the news when I came back from walking the dog.

However, when I returned putting on the television there was film footage. It showed how another aeroplane had flown into the second tower of the World Trading Center. The scene looked like a disaster movie of the worse kind. It made me feel sick to my stomach. I could not believe what I was seeing. It was then it dawned on me that it must have been some sort of terrorist attack. We were to hear of four hijacked aeroplanes in total. Further death and destruction as the Pentagon was hit by one of the planes, and another crashing in Pennsylvania. A senseless loss of innocent lives.

The last time I felt this way was the day Princess Diana died. My friend, Linda, in Missouri, when I wrote to her told me she understood exactly what I meant. She had felt similar when President Kennedy was assassinated.

I recently joined a writing group, and was reading through the messages members had posted up. So many people felt the way I did - shock, horror, disbelief, and sick to the stomach. The world no longer felt safe. So many in the group were touched in some sort of way. Some had friends and relatives they could not contact and were worried out of their minds. Instinctively, mothers spoke of how they felt like removing their children out of school, taking them home and hugging them tight.

Are these normal reactions?

Yes they are. Mostly when a tragedy such as this occurs, initially there is a sense of shock and disbelief. Some people are physically sick. It's the adrenaline rush, fight or flight. We feel fearful. We worry for our children, as well as for ourselves. Apart from our safety, what do we tell them especially if they are very young? It's natural to feel we want them with us, to protect them no matter how far away they are from the danger. Children need to talk about their concerns too.

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