Brad Marley

For 30 days, I will be sharing random stories from each year of my life as the big three-oh looms. Consider it my way of coping.

I suppose it would be an exercise in futility to even try to remember anything else that stood out in the year 2001, so let's just go with the obvious.

It's pretty amazing, when you think about it, that you still can't go one day without hearing Wolf Blitzer or Bill O'Reilly mention about 9/11.  Makes you wonder what they would talk about if it never happened.

Like everybody else who lived through it, I will always remember where I was: sleeping.

I had been out late the night before watching Monday Night Football with some friends.  Looking back, it's such an eerie feeling to think how unprepared and oblivious we all were to what a group of men were planning to unleash upon the world the very next morning.

At around nine o'clock on said morning, the incessant vibrating of my cell phone woke me and, when I glanced at the caller ID, I saw that it was my cousin calling me at an especially early time.

As soon as I flipped open my phone, everything changed.

"Dude, turn on your TV. We're being bombed."

What?

I turned on the television just as ABC showed a replay of one of the planes hitting the towers.  Any lingering effects of the night before were gone.  While my cousin had been exaggerating, his description was not completely off.

As I watched the news anchors in complete disbelief and, for once, at a loss for words, my stomach started to churn and a sense of panic set in. I kept asking the same questions to myself that everybody else seemed to be asking: What was coming next? Would I be affected?

It was, literally, pandemonium.  I took a quick shower, hopped in my car, and drove around with no destination.  I had no idea what to do.

I think I finally hooked up with a friend and we went to Applebee's for lunch, but nobody was eating.

That night I drove to my girlfriend's house when her classes were let out, and I remember seeing abnormally long lines at the gas stations.  You have to remember we were still in speculation mode.  Nobody, not even the government, had an idea of how this could have possibly happened.  So a lot of people just assumed that we were going to war, which would lead to higher gas prices.  I guess those were the priorities.  It was, if I can think of the right word, bizarre.

***

A few days later I was talking to my Mom about the events of the past few days.  The morning of the attacks, Good Morning America had been interviewing Michael Jordan about his comeback when the planes hit, prompting the show to switch to breaking news.

She remembered thinking about the Michael Jordan interview, "This is the most important news of the day?" 

A few minutes later, she was wishing it was.