On the morning of September 11, 2001, I got up and made coffee. I sat at the computer sipping my first cup while I checked e-mail and played a couple games of Free Cell before leaving for a doctor appointment. I did not have to be at work until 11 AM that day.
That morning was atypical in that I did not turn on the TV. I also did not read any news on the internet. These were things I did every morning without fail yet, for no reason at all I did not do them that morning. So, when I left for my appointment around 9 AM my time, I had no idea what was going on in the world.
Once in the car with the radio on, I heard a story of planes crashing into the World Trade Center. I listened with no emotion at all because I did not believe what I was hearing. The DJs on the radio station I had preset in my car were known for their irreverance and controversy. Everything was a big joke to them and it was pretty much assumed by all that they would stop at nothing to get attention. So, hearing their words that morning really didn't do anything to me at all. I just drove along listening to their comments, their faked somber tones and their attempts to make it sound like they were choking back tears.
After about 15 minutes of it, I started shouting at the radio. Shouting for them to "stop it already." Shouting that jokes and irreverance are OK by me sometimes...but "some things just are not funny!"
But they did not stop. They kept ranting about murder and mayhem and terrorism. I could not take it anymore. I changed the radio station to one with normal people at the mics.
And immediately I knew that nothing would ever be normal again.