I had just finished knocking off a piece that morning. My arm was killing me. The phone rang so I answered it with my left hand, which is awkward since I'm right handed.
I was actually pulling into the parking lot of my law school, getting ready to go into class. I had been listening to a sports talk show out of Montgomery all the way in and they were signing off just as I parked. The last thing they said was, "And here's a strange story. A plane just hit the World Trade Center in New York." That was it. I thought the same thing, as Sani referred to, that somebody screwed up. I pictured a Cesna losing control and clipping a building. That was about it.
Walked in the building and the library was immediately to the right and I saw people gathered around a TV in there. I could see smoke rising on the picture and thought I'd better see what this is about. We all kind of stood there watching the story unfold, wondering how this could have happened. Terrorism simply didn't enter anyone's mind....until we watched the second plane hit. Now, it was total disbelief, which was reinforced when the reports of the Pentagon strike and the plane going down in Pennsylvania came in. It suddenly got real.
I think most spent the day wondering how wide spread this was and if our loved ones were in any danger. This had never happened before. Not in America. The eeriest feeling was driving home that night and seeing every gas pump with lines around the block. You kind of got that sense that everyone felt the same. Not enough information to be mad yet and not enough to know the scope of what was going on or if it was over.