Aloha Friday – 9/11 Where were you?

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So, for this week’s question:

Q: Do you remember where you were when the planes hit?

A:Sadly even though it was 8 years ago I remember it well. I guess for how my mother remembers when JFK was killed I will always remember this.

I was 20 years old. I was working full time as a Senior Teller at a bank. Johnny was in full time daycare. A regular customer came in and told us that a plane had accidentally hit one of the Trade Buildings and it was all over the news. We were all in shock thinking ‘How could a plane hit a building like that on accident?’. Shortly later a part time employee (also celebrating her wedding anniversary that day) came in with tears down her cheeks stating the other Trade building had been hit and we, The United States of America, were under attack. I remember the shear terror that went through my body. I remember calling the daycare to see what was going on and that my child was okay. I remember the day standing still. Standing still in front of a TV watching in terror as people fled for their lives. I remember the Pentagon being hit. I remember the plane that went down in a field to save others from dying. But what I remember the most from that horrifying day was this:

We had many regular customers. However, we were more of a business bank then a personal one. We had many clients that were stuffy and rude. We also had some that refused to give us the time of day.
I remember a Mr. Smith (who shall remain nameless) coming in. He was a regular. He using was rude when he did bother to speak to us and we all thought he was a complete a**. However, today he was different. When he came in his face was red and puffy. He was still sobbing. None of us spoke. Not many came in once the news spread. Mainly companies that had to have deposits were the only ones present. So when Mr. Smith came in it was empty except for us employees.
He walked up to my teller station. Since I was the senior teller I usually dealt with the higher income clients. As he walked towards me you could see he was trying to fight the tears. His hands shook as he tightly grasped his cell phone in one hand and the deposits in another. Half way through his transaction his phone rang and he practically dropped it trying to answer. All he said was “Still no word?” and hung up the phone. Tears began to stream down his face again. He looked up at me and apologized. Shocked, I told him it was okay. That it was hard to see what was going on and take it all in.
Then he spoke his story.
His daughter worked on 102nd floor of the South building. No one had heard from her. The planes hit below the floor she worked on and he knew her chances were slim. He was a mess and I just simply couldn’t imagine or even try to begin to feel what he was feeling.
In that moment it became real.

On a good note. He returned the next day. He walked up to me smile from ear to ear. The boyfriend he said that was good for nothing had messed up her alarm clock and she woke up late. She was stuck on one of the bridges when the buildings were hit. Cell phone usage was close to impossible and she was unable to reach a landline for hours. Most importantly, she was ok.
From then on he was friendly and we knew him a person, not a client.