Where Were You on 9/11?
As we near the tenth anniversary of that horrific day on 9/11, each of us remembers where we were when we first heard the news.
I was on the beltway around Washington, D.C. Normally I would have been on the campus of Capital Bible Seminary hours earlier, but this day my schedule was different. Just fifteen miles from the Pentagon, I barely made it to campus before the Pentagon was hit. Within an hour, I was back on the road, headed home, like millions of others that day.
Lisa Beamer, wife of 9/11 hero, Todd Beamer, also recalls where she was that faithful day. In one of my most read blog posts ever, I write about her story.
Let’s Roll! Lisa Beamer, Todd Beamer, and Spiritual Friendship
In a spiritual crisis, what does a spiritual friend look like? How do spiritual friends turn you to Christ in a crisis? Lisa Beamer’s story provides a beautiful portrait.
In Let’s Roll!, Lisa Beamer’s account of her husband, and 9-11 hero, Todd Beamer’s life, Lisa writes:
September 11, 2001, began like any other normal day. Yet it was a day we’ll never forget. The ringing of an alarm clock dragged me reluctantly from a deep sleep at 5:45 AM on Tuesday, September 11. My husband, Todd, rolled over and silenced the annoying noise. I roused slightly, peeking out from under the covers only long enough to notice it was still dark outside (Beamer, Let’s Roll!, p. 1).
Some three hours later, Lisa’s friend Elaine called.
“Hi, Lisa. I know Todd is traveling today . . . and I was just calling to check on him . . . Do you have your television turned on? Have you seen what’s happening?” “Elaine, what are you talking about?” “Turn the TV on,” Elaine instructed. “There’s been a plane crash at the World Trade Center” (Beamer, Let’s Roll!, p. 4).
There would be four plane crashes that day. The United Airlines Flight 93 en route from Newark to San Francisco that shattered upon impact in the fields of Pennsylvania farm country, shattered Lisa Beamer’s life.
“No!” I screamed helplessly at the television. Without a shred of hard evidence, I knew intuitively that Todd was on that flight. Suddenly I felt as though my body weighed a million pounds; it seemed my heart might explode. I fell to my hands and knees and gasped again, “No!” (Beamer, Let’s Roll!, p. 10).
To read the rest of Lisa Beamer’s story, visit my original post at Let’s Roll! Lisa Beamer, Todd Beamer, and Spiritual Friendship.
Join the Conversation
Where were you when you heard the news about 9/11?
Dr. Kellemen,
I was on a turkey farm in Fremont, Michigan. I was with several other men working on installing some prototype equipment for the company I had been working for. We had no access to any kind of news of course. One of the workers had gone to town to visit a hardware store for some parts we needed for the install. He came back and talked quietly with the boss for a few minutes. They called all of us together and they solemnly said they thought the US was at war. We thought at first they were pulling some kind of a joke of course. And then as we watched a black & white TV plugged into a cigarette lighter with a grainy image, we saw the towers already fallen in NYC. It was very quiet at that point. We all tried our cells to reach our families and could not get through. Despite the situation, we continued to work that day. We got to our hotel rooms late that evening and watched the news late into the night. We were able to use a landline at the hotel to reach one of our families and find out they were all okay – keep in mind we were in rural Michigan with no idea what was happening across the country at the time. We debated on whether or not we should go home, but decided to finish the job at the farm due to deadlines. We missed so much of the news – although we listened to the radios in our trucks during every break we took. Thankfully we had driven to Michigan and were able to return to Indiana without any problems.
I was one of the few Americans that did not watch the news events 24/7. It wasn’t until I returned home several days later that I sat in our bedroom with my wife, watching some video clips on TV, that she explained fully what had happened.
I have since watched many clips online to gain a sense of history that I missed.