i saw skies of blue

twin towers
Originally uploaded by kristalynn.

i was in the dentist's chair the morning of september 11th. he had just finished with my mouth and handed me a tissue to clean up. i was wiping my face when he popped back in and told me that a plane had hit the world trade center.

i ran home and turned on the tv but it showed me that the pentagon had been hit. needing answers, i ran to my coffee shop. on the way, i ran into A and his brother. the day was sunny and they were smiling.

"a plane hit the world trade center."

"i bet it’s afghanistan," said his brother.

while at the counter at the coffee shop the first tower collapsed on the television. i remember the news people didn't know how to handle it. i met the eyes of who is now a good friend but at the time was a stranger. i then turned to A and said, "there weren't people in that building, were there?"

i watched some more tv and saw the second tower fall. i met my boyfriend back at home. he was heading out to pick up his best friend's daughter from daycare, because they had sent their employees home.

"why don't they look after their own kid?”

"because they're staying at work. why don’t you come with me?"

i held the phone up to him. "i have to call my friends." i was yelling.

i knew his phone would be down, so i started by calling my ex-boyfriend's mother in ohio. she had heard from him about 15 minutes before. he dodged the falling people as he left work.

i called another friend who lives in columbus circle. our running joke was he never ventured further than a 7-block radius of his apartment. and he never did. but that morning he had been called for jury duty, of all things. he got off the subway at chambers street, saw the buildings on fire and turned around to walk home. 70 blocks. on the way, he stopped at a starbucks.

"i walked in and nobody was there. i ordered a coffee and 'what a wonderful world" by louis armstrong was playing."


my sister eloped a few years ago. she made a slideshow and set the music to "what a wonderful world" by israel kamakawiwo'ole . my parents viewed the slideshow over and over on the computer and cried.

against their better judgment, my sister and husband had a post-elope wedding party in the remote hills of british columbia. i could not make it because i was working on a contract in new york. instead my boyfriend came to spend the weekend with me. we happened to be gaily shopping at j crew when they played "what a wonderful world" by israel kamakawiwo'ole. i hung up what i was looking at and ran downstairs (upstairs girls, downstairs boys) to find my boyfriend. on the way down, i started to cry.

my boyfriend charged out of a change room looking for me. "we gotta go call them. let's go call your sister." the sales guy handed me a kleenex.