Nine Eleven

Where Were You




Most Americans probably remember exactly where they were on the morning of September 11, 2001. I am no different.

I had just made it to the West Campus Library which is the library right next to the May's College of Business at Texas A&M University. People used to say that you went to Evans (the main campus library) to study, but you went to West Campus to hang out. I'd say that was about right. I was a senior at Texas A&M and pretty much had a routine down at this point. I would bus to campus, unless I was running late and then I would drive and park in the pay lot. Then I would make my way to class, backpack casually thrown over one shoulder, thinking more about who I was going to hang out with at lunch than I was about what I might be taught in the classroom.

Today, I was early. That really wasn't so unusual then. When riding a bus to school, you never knew exactly when you'd arrive on campus. So, I did what I always did when I was early and detoured to the library's computer lab to goof off on the net and look for people I knew to say hi to.

Today, I found a group of friends immediately when I walked in, huddled around one computer. This was fairly odd since YouTube hadn't yet taken over the world, so I was instantly curious. My friends caught me up on what was going on, but none of us thought terrorism was in play. The first plane had done its damage. The second was yet to come. We all considered this to be a major tragedy, but an accident nonetheless. I made my way to class and found a seat. And sat.

Five minutes passed.

Ten minutes.

Fifteen.

Finally, my professor came in and informed us that a second plane had hit the second tower. Our government suspects terrorism and there will be no classes at Texas A&M University today.

We were all a little stunned, but we got up from our seats, filed out of the class and dispersed across the campus. I went back into the computer lab and found my group of friends. It was a very weird feeling to be under attack. I was 2,000 miles away from this battleground, but it was my country being bombarded. We had a friend living in New York City, in the Battery Park City area of Manhattan, at that time. We tried to call him, but if you tried to call anyone in New York on that morning, you know what level of success we had.

It turns out that he was outside of the World Trade Center that day. In fact, he was helping a man who had been hit by falling debris and was bleeding when the second plane hit. At that point, the cop who was trying to direct them to a hospital told them to get the hell out of there. He was unable to return to his apartment for several days until the city completed structural checks of the surrounding buildings for safety.

After our unsuccessful attempt to reach our friend, I decided that standing in the computer lab all day wasn't doing anyone any good, so I headed out.

I began to walk across campus at this time. I was pretty certain I could catch up with my close friends at the Memorial Student Center. The MSC had been home base for me for over 3 years now and today was no different. It was not even the first time I made my way here during a tragedy. When I was a sophomore during the fall of 1999, Bonfire fell.

For those of you unfamiliar with the A&M culture, we Aggies had been building a huge fire for the better part of a century which we would burn the week of our football game against t.u., better known to the rest of the country as the University of Texas. The fire is symbolic of our burning desire to beat the Longhorns complete with an Austin city limits sign and a t.u. frathouse (an old outhouse) on top.


The Aggie Bonfire reached a maximum height (and a world record) of 110 feet in 1969. Out of safety concerns it was thenafter limited to 55 feet tall. At its peak height, the flames could be seen from 25 miles away.

Since its inception there had only been one year that Bonfire did not burn. In 1963, President Kennedy was assasinated just before the fire was to be lit. Out of respect for the fallen President, Bonfire remained cold that year. However in 1999 once again, and possibly for good, the Texas A&M-sanctioned Bonfire did not burn.

But that year, the tragedy befell the A&M community directly. Around 2AM on November 18 as the final touches were being put on our Bonfire, the stack suddenly and swiftly collapsed, injuring 27 and killing 12 fellow Aggies.

I didn't know anyone injured or killed in the fall personally, but my wife, who I had yet to meet, did. This time I heard about it on the radio while driving my pickup to class. And I was not surprised when I found out classes were cancelled for the day. As I made my way to the MSC on that day, I remember the campus being eerily quiet. It was as though everyone was holding their breath in unison hoping for the best as we still were unaware of the toll that would ultimately be paid. Even the birds on West Campus, known as much for their squawk as for their unsightly droppings on cars, seemed to know that day was a day for silent vigil.

I thought about that day as I once again made my way to the MSC to be with friends, to wait, to pray. When I arrived, I found projector screens set up in the Flag Room tuned to news broadcasts of the attacks. I also found friends and the opportunity to pray as a group. And we sat and watched for most of the day.

You know the rest of the story. The Pentagon. Flight 93.

Soon after September 11, 2001, we began to get an idea of who was behind the attacks. Once we knew this, my roommates and I turned our dartboard into "Terrorist Darts." We printed out pictures of all the known terrorists (including a huge one of Bin Laden) and began piercing their images with deadly accuracy.

But probably one of the moments for which I am most proud of my school came when in less than two weeks, some quick-thinking Aggies organized a Red, White and Blue Out of Kyle Field for the game versus Oklahoma State. This included getting the word out, finding a screen printer to make over 80,000 shirts in about a week and coordinating a successful salute of patriotism and solidarity with New York City and the rest of America. All of the proceeds went to the New York Firefighters 9/11 Relief Fund.


That's me in the bottom left corner of second deck. I'm wearing the white shirt.

I hope you appreciated this little trip back in time. Those are two moments which I will never forget. One an accident. One an attack. Both tragedies. But what terrorists and tragedies don't understand is that each time we are hit, we huddle closer together. We forget our differences for a while and focus on our commonalities. We show more grace to each other less tolerance for those who want to attack us. I thank God that we've put seven years between us and that day.

Here's to seven hundred more.