Remembering 9/11 in Tri-Cities

It was a beautiful day in New York City, the kind that songwriters would mention in lyrics about love and romance in one of America’s greatest cities.

And it was a beautiful day here, as summer was making its move toward autumn.

But the weather was going to be an afterthought very quickly on this particular Tuesday morning in September 2001.

I had just returned home from my 7 a.m. service club meeting to grab my briefcase and glance at the newspaper before heading to the office.

My wife told me what the rest of the world was quickly finding out. She said the fellow doing some landscaping in our yard got a call from his wife to tell him “a plane had just crashed into the World Trade Center.”

Maybe it was a small plane gone astray? When I turned on the TV news, the reality was far different. Knowing this would be the longest and most important day of my newspaper career, I told my wife, “See you in a couple of days.”

Sept. 11, 2001, was a long day for all Americans after attacks at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon changed our way of life. It is hard to grasp that a decade has since passed, but it is not hard to remember what went on locally as the horror of that day unfolded.

If you were in the Tri-Cities when the news broke, you may have:

Ÿ Joined others in flocking to the gas stations, as rumors began to fly that our oil supplies would become limited because full-scale war in the Middle East seemed possible.

Ÿ Been told to leave the Fermilab grounds if you were a visitor, as U.S. government operations became off limits across the world.

Ÿ Seen armed guards in front of Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert’s office in downtown Batavia.

Ÿ Spent some time in your church or at outdoor candlelight services, as large groups throughout the area participated in vigils to combat the fear gripping the nation.

Ÿ Gone to the Fox River Chapter of the Red Cross to donate blood, as the agency put out the call early for needed blood supplies.

No matter what you were doing that day, it stopped. The country shut down, and the things we took for granted for decades would never be viewed the same way again.

Eerie feelings: Five years after the terrorist attacks in New York City, my wife and I flew into the city for a convention in early September.It was again a beautiful September day. It had to be quite similar to Sept. 11, 2001, and the city looked spectacular from the air.Because my flights into New York are rare, especially around this time of year, I couldn#146;t shake the thoughts about what it must have been like for people in those hijacked planes, with this same view, but with a very different fate at hand.Quiet reflection: The 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks provides a perfect time for quiet reflection, and what better place than the American flag pavilion at Mount St. Mary Park in St. Charles?If the weather cooperates today, this park offers a scenic setting for our nation#146;s colors. Renovations along the riverbank give the park a sparkling new face, compared with the eroded shoreline and hundreds of geese dirtying up the nearby walkways just a couple of years ago.Donating your blood: The call for blood donations was loud and clear during the terrorist crisis in 2001, and the St. Charles VFW Post 5036 remembers that.The post, at 119 N. Third St., will conduct a #147;Remember 9-11#148; blood drive from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday.Walk-ins are welcome, but those scheduling an appointment can call (630) 723-2550 or visit heartlandbc.org.Those who donate will receive #147;Remember 9-11#148; T-shirts and a pair of flannel lounge pants.Look behind you: I#146;ve written about so many closings in the past few years it never dawned on me to look over my shoulder to make sure the store hadn#146;t opened someplace else.That simple process would have served me well last week when I made note of the boarded-up DG Hardware Store, saying it had closed in the east side Butera grocery strip mall in St. Charles.Well, it had closed #8212; at that spot. But I didn#146;t think to look around the rest of the mall. I would have seen that DG Hardware simply moved to the west side of the parking lot, in a space once occupied by Walgreens #8212; before Walgreens moved across Main Street near Sweet Tomatoes restaurant. Now that move, I remember.My apologies to the folks at DG Hardware.