twin towers

i can still remember where i was on this day eight years ago.
sitting in a third period, junior high school social studies class.
i can still remember the look on my teachers face when she recieved a call on her classroom intercom;
stating that the school was entering a state of lockdown meaning students and staff members would have to remain in the room they were currently in (doors and windows locked) until further notice.
i can remember the giddy, nervous chatter of the other students in the room as they each began to tell their own version of what may have been going on...
another bomb threat made to the school? a fire?
i remember a girl leaving the classroom crying because she recieved a call on her cell phone that her uncle had just been involved in a fatal plane crash.
our teacher finally disclosed to us that two planes had allegedly been hi-jacked but nonetheless crashed into the 'twin towers' in nyc, the world trade center.
my mother left her government job early to come home,
and my father picked my younger sister and i up from school
...he was told the school was in lockdown state and as a result he would have to wait on
a long line full of frantic parents and guardians going through security before being
able to retrieve their children.
as he opened up his wallet to take out his license before taking place in line,
the security guard spied his pba card and police pin (given to him by a close relative) and
let him enter the main wing of the school immediately.
it wasn't until later on that evening that i fully understood what was happening to america,
to new york. and virginia.
the next month in school consisted of writing papers on our thoughts about terrorism,
our feelings toward what had happened, and making collages of patriotic symbols in art class.
i even remember what the assignments looked like.
        all of it is unforgettable.
september 11th, 2001.