9/11 story

By Steven Neuenschwander: I was living in Oklahoma City at the time, a freshman in high school. I remember walking back from marching band practice to the band room, and my band director got a phone call from his wife, who was watching the news at home, and said that something terrible has happened.

Then the band director got all of our attention when he said, "Something terrible has happened. Two planes have hit the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center."

We did not, however, cancel classes, but the rest of my classes did not do schoolwork. Every television in every classroom was tuned into the coverage of the attacks. During the lunch hour, I also looked into the sky after hearing that all airports nationwide were closed. There was not a single vapor trail in the sky. It was as blue as I have ever seen it.

As a former Oklahoma City resident, who felt and heard the Oklahoma City bombing on April 19, 1995, I, as well as the rest of my neighbors back in my hometown, can already understand terrorism after hearing about the 9/11 attacks. On our tragic day in Oklahoma City, New York City sent a message to Oklahoma City by posting on a Time's Square billboard: "OKC, our hearts are in the Heartland."

On 9/11, Oklahoma City sent back that same message by donating a firetruck, a 9/11 edition that said on the truck "New York City, your hearts were with us on our tragic day, now our hearts go to yours."