If you haven't seen the film "102 Minutes that Changed America," watch it the next time it is on. It will make you remember where you were that day. For me, I got to school early because my Business Law professor will not open the door after 8:00 AM. So, I always got there early at 7:30 AM. I sat in my assigned seat (yes, some college professors are that trivial). I got out my book and notepad preparing for yet another long, boring lecture from a mean, monotone professor.
It was 8:01 AM and the classroom door was slammed shut. I notice a few people weren't in class, but I started mentally preparing for this lecture. My friend Nima was sitting beside me. We both gave each other a look of disgust as Dr. Reynolds started in on some ridiculous law that we would never apply in real-life. Then, there was a tap at the door. A very annoyed Dr. Reynolds stopped talking and went over the door. Outside was a small group of our fellow students. They were crying and others looked like they heard really bad news. He talked briefly with them. We figured he would have told them to scram like he usually does when someone is late. Sidenote: He had a very strict attendance policy and that is why anyone would ever come to class when something was going on.
NYC Love Monument
So, these five students came in and took their seats. We were all concerned and started asking what was wrong. Dr. Reynolds tried to get the class back on track, but that was next to impossible. We learned that one of the Twin Towers in NYC was on fire and they thought a bomb went off or an airplane flew into it. Normally upon hearing this type of news would have been tragic and we would have gone on with class. However, one of the girls' brother worked in that tower and she couldn't get a hold of him.
Dr. Reynolds shrugged off this girl with an explanation that small planes fly into buildings all the time and he was sure that everyone was being evacuated. Well, that just set that girl off. She wailed and then her phone rang and she told us that another plane hit the second tower. She said they think that we are under attack. She started for the door and Dr. Reynolds went into a tirade about how if anyone leaves that we will be deducted a letter grade. Did I mention he was mean?
Ground Zero Cross
Therefore, he left the class no choice, but to band together and walk out. We all dispersed as soon as we got to the lobby, but a majority of us headed over to the Woodmore Cafe. As soon as we got there, they started replaying the second plane impact. It went silent in rather busy cafe on any other given day. We couldn't talk. Some started crying. Others started dialing loved ones. I just stood there. It was like we were in a Jerry Bruckheimer film. We saw the President give his speech from Florida. It was surreal. Then, I heard my phone go off. It was my mom. She said that I needed to get somewhere safe. There were rumors that Oak Ridge was a likely target.
I will have to tell you that this is when it got real, very real for me. I asked Nima to walk with me to my car and we would follow each other home. He lived a mile from me. As we walked, across campus someone shouted at him to go back to the Middle East. We didn't think it was directed at him at first, but it was soon realized that we was being mistaken for some other culture. Nima is a Persian-American. I felt angry, not just at the ignorant student but at everything. I freely admit that from then on, I too looked at Middle Easterners differently. We didn't know who did this to America on that day, but I think we all knew where they derived from. I'm not condoning group blame, but I think my guard was raised. Even when I flew after 9/11, I think I looked at everyone differently.
It was truly the first time in my life where I thought violence was the answer. I wanted President Bush to drop the A-Bomb on them. But who was the them? I didn't know. All I knew was that I was angry and this was my generation's Pearl Harbor. I got home and stayed in front of the TV for the next few days with my roommate. When my parents felt it was okay to drive home to Jackson, I left for home listening to probably every song about American-pride that was out there. When I got into West TN, I remember every bridge was covered with huge flags and signs that read God Bless America. My heart swelled with pride.
Many perished that day and many have perished since, but I hold tight to the fact that through it all God was there. He was the people on the planes. He was holding the hands of those who had no other choice, but to jump from the skyscrapers. He was with all of the police, rescue workers, firefighters, and first responders who gave up their own lives to save the lives of others. I have tried many times to put myself in each of their shoes through the years. What would I have done? Would I have been calm? Would I have stayed behind? Would I have jumped? Many unanswered questions, but one thing I hold dear and steadfast is that I know God would be with me through it all. Never Forget.
"The world breaks everyone, and then some become strong in the broken places."
I am speechless by the recent devastation of my home state. Tennessee has been flooded from the East to West. With the death toll rising and the rivers finally subsiding, the total destruction is just being realized. Even with all of this going on, you would think the National News would report on the story for more than 15 minutes or at least send one of their anchors to the area, but again I'm reminded why we are called the Volunteer State by Patten Fuqua's recent blog post (posted below) that captured what we are all feeling during this difficult time.
Allow me a moment to step away from the usual voice of this website. What I am about to write has absolutely nothing to do with hockey. If you live outside of Nashville, you may not be aware, but our city was hit by a 500-year flood over the last few days. The national news coverage gave us 15 minutes, but went back to focusing on a failed car bomb and an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. While both are clearly important stories, was that any reason to ignore our story? It may not be as terror-sexy as a failed car bomb or as eco-sexy as an oil spill, but that’s no reason to be ignored. The Cumberland River crested at its highest level in over 80 years. Nashville had its highest rainfall totals since records began. People drowned. Billions of dollars in damage occurred. It is the single largest disaster to hit Middle Tennessee since the Civil War. And yet…no one knows about it.
Does it really matter? Eventually, it will…as I mentioned, there are billions of dollars in damage. It seems bizarre that no one seems to be aware that we just experienced what is quite probably the costliest non-hurricane disaster in American history. The funds to rebuild will have to come from somewhere, which is why people need to know. It’s hard to believe that we will receive much relief if there isn’t a perception that we need it.
But let’s look at the other side of the coin for a moment. A large part of the reason that we are being ignored is because of who we are. Think about that for just a second. Did you hear about looting? Did you hear about crime sprees? No…you didn’t. You heard about people pulling their neighbors off of rooftops. You saw a group of people trying to move two horses to higher ground. No…we didn’t loot. Our biggest warning was, “Don’t play in the floodwater.” When you think about it…that speaks a lot for our city. A large portion of why we were being ignored was that we weren’t doing anything to draw attention to ourselves. We were handling it on our own.
Some will be quick to find fault in the way rescue operations were handled, but the fact of the matter is that the catastrophe could not have been prevented and it is simply ignorant beyond all reason to suggest otherwise. It is a flood. It was caused by rain. You can try to find a face to stick this tragedy to, but you’ll be wrong.
Parts of Nashville that could never even conceivably be underwater were underwater. Some of them still are. Opry Mills and the Opryland Hotel are, for all intents and purposes, destroyed. People died sitting in standstill traffic on the Interstate. We saw boats going down West End. And, of course, we all saw the surreal image of the portable building from Lighthouse Christian floating into traffic and being destroyed when cars were knocked into it. I’m still having trouble comprehending all of it.
And yet…life will go on. We’ll go back to work, to school, to our lives…and we’ll carry on. In a little over a month, I’ll be on this website talking about the draft. In October, we’ll be discussing the new Predators’ season with nary a thought of these past few days. But in a way, they changed everyone in this town. We now know that that it can happen to us…but also know that we can handle it.
My prayers go out to all the families affected by the storms last night. Especially, Jackson, TN. We can't seem to shake the Tornado Alley curse that has been given to the city. Three major destructive tornadoes in 9 years. The following pictures are from my mom. She went to Union University and North Highland near North Side High School. There is so many pictures, but here are the ones that stood out to me. Please pray for the 52 people who have lost their lives and all of the families who are trying to pick up the pieces after one scary night.
