Sharon Remembers Where She Was 9/11/01

It was a day like any other. I was working at Kennebec Valley Mental Health Agency, now Kennebec Behavioral Health, as a billing specialist. I actually STILL work there as a Managed Care Coordinator's Assistant. The billing department was in the basement of the billing and my desk was in the back corner of the room. It was ALWAYS cold at my desk. I was in the corner right next to the pipe that brought the water and waste to the street.

When I saw my phone light up just after 9am, I saw it was a call from home.

I never got calls at work. That made me nervous. Little did I know what would happen next.

I answered the phone and my husband was crying. I immediately thought he was in an accident but no. He said, and I'll never forget it, "New York is burning!!!"

WHAT??

He told me planes had flown into the Twin Towers and they were burning and to get to a television. I hung up on him right away and told my crew.

I was the first person to spread the word at work, I believe. We all ran upstairs to the first floor where the fireplace room was and turned on the television.

And our lives would never be the same again.

We both had the same thought: It was just like the song 'Miami 2017' by Billy Joel. If you've never heard it, here are some lyrics:

"I've seen the lights go out on Broadway
I saw the ruins at my feet
You know we almost didn't notice it
We'd seen it all the time on Forty-second Street"

 

"I've seen the lights go out on Broadway
I've watched the mighty skyline fall
The boats were waiting at the battery
The union went on strike
They never sailed at all"

 

"There are not many who remember
They say a handful still survive
To tell the world about
The way the lights went out
And keep the memory alive"

When I watched him perform it at the Concert for New York City I cried. Our hearts will always be with the people of New York City, even though we don't know them. And we WILL keep the memory alive.