My remembrance of the day:
I worked close to Green Airport in Warwick, RI at the time so it was commonplace to see helicopters and airplanes overhead and hear the noises they made. It was a gorgeous day. Comfortable without a cloud in the sky.
I got a call from my wife telling me what happened. Then everyone else in the place did too, from people in the office to all the people on the manufacturing floor. There were lots of requests to go home early as families were scared and panicking.
I remember running out for lunch and noticing the complete silence everywhere. Traffic was non-existent. The skies were open, blue, empty and eirily quiet. The silence was deafening
I did nothing that day but try unsuccessfully to get on an internet news site and talk to my wife. I just felt shocked, anger and remorse and wondered where all my loved ones, friends and family were.
I didn't see any video until I got home after work. Then we watched it all night. My thoughts went to the fact that we now would live in a very different world. War was coming. My oldest son was about to turn 15. Would there be a draft that he would need to be a part of? How would this affect business that had been great for years?
So much was about to change and yet we were still wondering if tens of thousands had died, while they showed video of thousands of people leaving the island walking over the bridges.
It was all surreal.