Remembering 9/11

Ten years ago I was teaching fourth grade in Howard County, Maryland.  My oldest daughter, Emily was also at that school working in the preschool special education class for her off term of her junior year of college.  My daughter, Sarah was a sophomore in high school and Dan was working in Baltimore.

That morning started like any morning at school with the preparations and set up, students coming in, getting settled, copying homework, having their homework checked, settling into the routine which was still fairly new to them since school had just started at the end of August.  I began that day oblivious to what was occurring.  Staff who had no homeroom responsibilities came around and drew homeroom teachers aside to tell us the devastating news.  It was unfathomable and I went on uncomprehending the magnitude of what they described to me.  No word of the events of that morning were communicated to the students from the school administration.  They were left in the dark.

Shortly after hearing the news, an exodus began from my class.  Parents were coming to the front office as they heard the news and signing their child out of school for early dismissal.  As more and more students were told they were going home early, other students started asking what was going on.  We had been told not to tell any students about what was transpiring outside their school world and if they asked to say their parents would tell them. I imagine that made them a bit more scared, curious and frustrated with us as more and more of their classmates departed.  They knew now it was something serious when more than half their classmates eventually departed for the day.  I don't have any recollection as to how many remained and what we told them for the rest of that day or what we did with them.  I imagine I went through the motions of teaching, but can't recall any of that.

When I did get a break later in the morning after taking students to music or PE or art, my first wish was to see and hold my daughter, Emily.  She had of course heard and probably seen the scenes unfolding on the TV before I had.  There was no way to reach Sarah at school and if I attempted to call Dan I don't recall, but with the phone lines tied up I imagine I wouldn't have been successful.

For the rest of that day, and in the days that followed I was numb.  I cried to and from school and cry now recalling that horrible devastation and loss of life.  It was the personal stories that tore me up and still do of family members searching and searching for loved ones.  The scenes of the twin towers being hit and crumbling were shown over and over and I watched trying to understand how could that happen.  The stories of the heroism where in attempting to save lives, the heroes and heroines gave their lives.  The clean up that followed that tried to bring closure and the body count that climbed and climbed.  I watched and listened and grieved.

For those who ask, did 9/11 change our lives?  Yes, it did in so many ways but one tops the list: we went to war and we are still at war.  But was that the right response?  Has that made our lives safer, better?  We will never know.

Those students in that 4th grade class are now 19 years old, in college or working.  What do they remember from that day?  What do you remember?  Let us all remember always.

My World After the Storm

Looking down into the wetlands you can see where the flash flood waters flowed free of the banks of the creek. I caught the deer investigating the water soaked grasses.

Another smaller creek that's usually a trickle was considerably wider during the height of the flooding.

This tree has been slowly encased with tent caterpillars. Even the trunk has the netting around it. I don't think it will survive this attack which means it will fall on our driveway, probably in a winter storm!

The glen is dark and dreary. Every trunk is blackened by the moisture of the storm.

A bring spot along the driveway is this Jack in the Pulpit seed head.

Here's another getting ready to drop its seeds.

Is this coleus? Have I started an invasive species? I found this growing along the rip rap next to the driveway.

Maybe it's a wildflower that mimics coleus.

Another bright spot are the marigolds in the vegetable garden. I'll take seeds from these for next year.

Back at the house the grasses are almost flattened by the rain. As I type this looking out that window at them, they are slowly raising up their fronds.

It's a very wet world. We are 11 inches over the amount of rain we usually have by this time in the year. Wish I could send some to my friends in Texas.

Flash Flood!

Yesterday I was returning from JHU hospital where Mom got a second opinion when the rains came down. Mom fortunately was not with me as my sister, Bonnie was driving her back to Chambersburg. Once I got off the Baltimore Beltway and tried to come down Dogwood Rd from Rolling Rd I was stopped by a police cruiser. Road flooded ahead. I took a detour around to try to come in Dogwood from Old Court going through high water on the way and came to a stop by a raging stream across Dogwood. Tried a side road to skirt it but stopped again. Returned to Old Court then Rt 99 in Howard County and tried to come in by way of Old Frederick Road but police cruiser stopped me there because the road was flooded at the railroad tracks. I reached Dan by pay phone (my cell phone was dead!) and he said join him at his office. One hour (instead of 20 min) later I got there because rt 29 was closed to flooding and I had to detour through Columbia with everyone else trying to go south. We left my car in Dan's parking lot and I accompanied him to his rehearsal in Taneytown. We returned home in driving rain not knowing if we were going to be able to get down Dogwood Rd. The flash flood had subsided and we made it home. This morning we made it out so I could get my car but the streams are very high again and I'm staying put for the rest of this day and evening!

The following flash flood photos courtesy of my neighbor, Laura Espey.

The bottom of the lane which our driveway comes off. Our driveway was on this side of this flood.
Below is the same creek today.

This is one stretch of Dogwood Rd. I saw it from where those people are standing.

This was the road I tried to take to get around the flooding. Of course, I was on the other side of this.

My last attempt would have meant driving on this road. I'm glad I didn't.

Harvest Such As It Is!

The last tomatoes for the season I'm afraid. See why below.
Green beans and green peppers are all that's out there now.

The stink bugs have come and they are spoiling the tomatoes that remain.

See other harvests at Daphne's Dandelions.