This past Friday morning, my friend Larry Yeatman sent this very poignant email:
Later at Buzzy’s Country Store, I asked my Buzzy friends “Where were you and what were you doing on 9/11?”
Most folks reported how they were at work when someone called to tell them that a plane had just flown into New York’s World Trade Tower. They then joined their co-workers in a conference room to watch the events unfold. When the second plane hit, everyone reacted accordingly with the realization that something very crazy was going down.
Here is a sampling of some of the other responses I heard from my Buzzy folks:
Kevin Adkins noted that he was living in Sarasota, Florida when he heard the news and then recalled seeing President George Bush’s motorcade heading from the Sarasota school. David Norris was working in D.C. and saw the smoke from the Pentagon as they were told to go home. He told a follow-up story of how his boss wanted him to take some guys to Baltimore. David not-so-politely informed the boss that he preferred to be heading south which is what he proceeded to do.
Kim Wiley was getting her Mom settled into the nursing home after having been hospitalized. When Kim heard the plane/tower news she called her brother in New York to see how he was doing. She caught him in a car on his way to the World Trade Tower for a meeting and had not yet heard the news. Kim advised him to turn around.
Duncan Lepper relayed how he was working up the road in Mechanicsville when Ben Forrest drove up from Ridge to tell him the news. Ben told Duncan “Motha-fusa, we’re being attacked. You need to get back down the road.”
Jennifer Adkins was attending a realtor’s convention in Ocean City. When they arrived at the Convention Center that morning, they were advised that the convention was over. They were also informed that the Chesapeake Bay Bridge was about to be closed and if they wanted to get across it they needed to do so asap. She said they packed their things and left immediately.
One story told to me involved someone trying to break up a fight between two of his friends who were arguing and fighting over a woman. The two of them started fighting in the van they were riding in after one of the guys informed them that he had asked the lady to marry him. When the other fella divulged that he was also getting it on with the would-be fiancé, the fight was on.
How all this led to what my Buzzy friend was doing on 9/11, he informed me that when he tried to break up the fight between the two fellas, the van’s side door came open and he fell out, hitting and busting open his head. He then landed in the hospital where he spent 9/11 convalescing and watching the events on T-V. (Note – there is a lot more to this 9/11 tale, so drop in Buzzy’s sometime and as Paul Harvey would say – I’ll tell you the rest of the story.)
Music-wise, Alan had one of the better 9/11 tunes with this one titled appropriately enough Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning.)
Barbara Sopato on the Buzzy Podcast tomorrow. To view that now (click here.)