That morning dawned like so many others. We had no clue what was to come. It was a beautiful day here in the bay area, and blue skies also on the East Coast. Chris and I were here in the KFOX studio watching the TV monitor (with the sound off) that we used to have in the control room. I happened to look up and glance at the TV just as the first plane hit the tower. There followed moments of confusion as we tried to make sense of it. Was it an accident? Then the second plane hit and we realized with a shock that our country- the United Sates of America- was under attack!
Then the news reports began to come through. Things began to happen at an increasingly alarming rate, one nightmare after another- the Pentagon, Shanksville, more planes missing. They were trying to hit what? The White House? You gotta be kidding. The FAA shut down the skies that day. All flights were grounded. That ban lasted several days. I remember sitting in my back yard that night and looking up and realizing how eerie the empty skies felt. There are always a few planes in the sky when you look up- except for those few days, it was like before the Wright Brothers. There was absolutely nothing in the sky.
We stopped playing music. The entire staff came in and went into emergency mode. We were all news all the time- everybody pitched in. The morning show melted into the afternoon show and that melted into the late afternoon drive time show. I was on the air for 12 hours straight that day, from 5:00am to 5:00pm.
911 changed us all. I will never be the same. I must admit I was pretty upset in the days that followed. I had blood in my eye. I wanted revenge. I wanted to nuke the entire Arab world. I know it’s a horrible thought but that’s the way my brain was working that day. I couldn’t believe that any religion would condone that kind of senseless slaughter. I wondered what kind of hateful mind could conceive of such a cowardly act. The anger eventually passed. But, the heat from that fire still burned in my belly. It took a very long time to get over it, and truthfully, some of it never went away. Perspective comes slowly. Time has healed some of the wounds, but there’s no way in hell I will ever let it go.
Never forget.
Amen, brother.
Amen as well brother…
Greg, your show was how I found out on my way to work that day. You were yelling and maybe even crying and so upset it took me a while to try and figure out what was happening, if it was some joke or for real. You were talking about more planes in the air. I didn’t know if I should go back home or keep going. When I got to work, everyone was just standing in a huddle. I’ll never forget your voice that day.
I remember Greg’s voice that day too!
Greg,
I was awoken by my radio alarm going off and hearing your voice talking about what was going on that dreadful day. I thought i was still asleep and dreaming….but the more i listened i knew it wasn’t a dream. It scared me, should i let my kids go to school or not? I called my husband at his work, he and his co-workers were watching the TV. I still remember how i felt that day even after 11 yrs. Like the Clarkie Clark said “I’ll never forget your voice that day.”