Where were you seven years and one day ago?

I was at a training in St. Cloud as I had just started my job at UMMHC. It was a little after 8:00 AM and I was sitting at the back of my class trying to wake up as it was the last day of a five day training and I was a little tired of listening to speakers. Someone came in late, sat down a little to the right of me and said that they heard on their car radio that a plane had hit one of the world trade center buildings in NYC. They said authorities thought it was a freak accident; possibly a small plane that lost control. Someone else came in a little later and said a second plane had hit the another building and now people were alarmed and unsure as to what was going on. Those of us in the back made our way out of the class and went into the lobby where the TV's that usually displayed commercials and conference schedules had been switched to the national news. Twenty of us stood together in a hotel lobby and watched the scene unfold. The training organizers attempted to continue the rest of the day's classes but after the towers fell and news reporters were speculating that the number of lost lives could be in the tens of thousands, people started calling loved ones and packing up their things and left. I stayed for the next few sessions, eating my lunch at the hotel restaurant so I could be close to a TV. I called Andrew a few times to talk about what was going on and became more than a little afraid after hearing the Pentagon was hit. After the last class of the day was cut short I headed home and during the whole three hours back I kept the car radio on a news station so I could stay in touch with what was going on. When I made it back to Bemidji I had to drive by Perkins and I remember tearing up when I saw the huge flag at half staff. The rest of the night was spent in front of the TV soaking in the news coverage as it came in. Definitely a day I will never forget. The history channel will be airing a special called 102 minutes that changed America tomorrow in honor of that day. http://www.history.com/minisites/9-11