Terror Hits Home - September 11, 2001

There really are no words to describe the mood in Washington on the morning of Tuesday, September 11th. I was on my way to work in the District when the World Trade Center tower in New York was hit by a plane. Soon I could actually see the smoke rising from the Pentagon, the result of a second attack by terrorists on American soil this day.

Later, the full extent of the terror became clear, as news reports revealed that another plane had hit the landmark towers in Manhattan, then that the first damaged tower had fallen... then that the second tower had also collapsed. In one horrific hour, the skyline of our nation's greatest city, along with a portion of the very heart of our nation's defense and security, had been reduced to mere dust.

At Children's Hospital, all managers and directors were briefed on details, as the institution went into a "mass casualty phase" and prepared for the worse, although all Pentagon burn victims had been adults so far and were taken to nearby Washington Hospital Center. Then the reality of the attack hit home when we were told, amidst the chaos and escalating terrorism, that institutions like hospitals, like even ours, could actually be considered targets to the kinds of people behind this sort of thing.

Eventually they let all non-essential personnel go home. However, getting home to Baltimore was another story. In fear of a land transportation attack, Union Station was closed to trains, eliminating my regular MARC commuter train. Luckily, MARC provided buses to Camden Yards... But the mood of confusion and despair was evident there downtown. Harborplace and other places had closed early. The Orioles game had been cancelled, as with all other major league games. As I got on a nearly empty bus at 5 p.m., it was clear that many people had been allowed to leave for home early too, even in Baltimore.

Now, after watching the headlines and the video of the unprecedented disasters, it's still hard to comprehend -- especially thinking about the World Trade Center. How such a symbol of United States commerce and power, not to mention the thousands of innocent lives lost, could be crumbled so easily and so quickly like this is devastating to all of us, in every way.

But life goes on, as we become stronger, both in our defense against such horror, and in our resolve to overcome this fear and attack on the freedom we now cherish so much more.