tennisnut
Pin collector
- Joined
- Dec 4, 1999
When the WTC was attacked?
As with many historical events, I remember where I was and what I was doing.
The day man set foot on the moon: I was having a slumber party for my 10th birthday.
When the space shuttle exploded: Racing up the stairs at my local tennis club to catch the lift off.
When Elvis died: Packing my car to go to college for the first time.
Oklahoma bombing : sick in bed....watched TV all day.
I think I will remember last Tuesday the most:
Monday was the beginning of the Kentucky International Jr. Tennis Derby
Kids , 18 and under, came from all over the world to compete. 48 boys and 48 girls. These were some of our best tennis players. Monday was beautiful and matches went smoothly.
TUESDAY:
I drive to the site. I have less than an hour to get matches off at 10:00. As I pull in the parking lot the radio news breaks in and announces that an airplane crashes into the WTC. I get out thinking , my goodness, maybe the pilot had an heart attack. Hijacked was the last thing on my mind. I prepare my desk for check-in and Vincent , a NYC player, comes to me and is nervous for his father since he works close to the WTC. He calls ....no answer. He calls his mom who works a little farther away...no answer.
Andrew and Alex from London, England have $1.60 to their name and need an ATM machine. They have pounds but no dollars. I have a little time before matches go on so I take them to the ATM. The radio just announces that the second WTC building has been hit. Andrew and Alex get out of my car and I jump in the back and watch my little TV in my van ( Great for driving to WDW). The boys come back and all of us watch in complete disbelief each building go down. I will never forget the screams that we heard. The boys are in shock and turn to me asking " What will happen next?". I don't know. I am in shock too.
We get back to the site and Vincents' father has called him. Vincent wants to go home but his dad tells him that there is no way to come home at this time. His dad still hasn't found mom yet but assures Vincent that she is fine and to play tennis.
The calls come pouring in from all over the country. Parents are worried about their children. I assure all that we are safe and it is a beautiful day. Many want to hear their childrens voice so off I go tracking down the players. I don't blame the parents one bit.
The tournament committee has a pow-wow. We decide to continue with the tournament. The kids can't fly home and we felt it was better to keep them busy and play some tennis.
I put Vincent on the court. He wins, but I don't know how. His dad calls later and mom is okay. His dad tells him to play hard and keep winning. They will work out the flight details later.
Five Russian players ( who arrived by Greyhound ...17 hours!!!) wonder about their flight to Moscow. The Russian Federation fax them and tell them to take the Greyhound to NYC and if they can, to stay at the airport until they can get a flight. It killed me to see them leave yesterday.
We went through the motions of running a tennis tournament and I tried my best to keep the atmosphere happy and optimistic. I tried to be a "mother" to all the players and knew if my child ( some as young as 14) was in a foreign country I would worry too.
My Indian boys , Sunil and Armanjot, just wanted to go home. We called Singapore Airlines and were on hold 45 minutes! They were worried that their private housing wouldn't keep them. I assured them they would but if not, they could stay in my nasty, filthy house. They laughed and kept me company at the tournament until Saturday. I hope they are home.
Antonio, my Mexican boy, got an e-mail from his dad. Antonio was thrilled. He spoke no English and came to the tournament by himself. He sat next to me under our big tent for dinner. Even though we couldn't talk much to each other I think he was comforted just having me there.
The tournament is over but many of the boys and girls cannot fly out until later next week.
I just have some paperwork to do and then I am going to collapse.
What were YOU doing when the WTC went down?
As with many historical events, I remember where I was and what I was doing.
The day man set foot on the moon: I was having a slumber party for my 10th birthday.
When the space shuttle exploded: Racing up the stairs at my local tennis club to catch the lift off.
When Elvis died: Packing my car to go to college for the first time.
Oklahoma bombing : sick in bed....watched TV all day.
I think I will remember last Tuesday the most:
Monday was the beginning of the Kentucky International Jr. Tennis Derby
Kids , 18 and under, came from all over the world to compete. 48 boys and 48 girls. These were some of our best tennis players. Monday was beautiful and matches went smoothly.
TUESDAY:
I drive to the site. I have less than an hour to get matches off at 10:00. As I pull in the parking lot the radio news breaks in and announces that an airplane crashes into the WTC. I get out thinking , my goodness, maybe the pilot had an heart attack. Hijacked was the last thing on my mind. I prepare my desk for check-in and Vincent , a NYC player, comes to me and is nervous for his father since he works close to the WTC. He calls ....no answer. He calls his mom who works a little farther away...no answer.
Andrew and Alex from London, England have $1.60 to their name and need an ATM machine. They have pounds but no dollars. I have a little time before matches go on so I take them to the ATM. The radio just announces that the second WTC building has been hit. Andrew and Alex get out of my car and I jump in the back and watch my little TV in my van ( Great for driving to WDW). The boys come back and all of us watch in complete disbelief each building go down. I will never forget the screams that we heard. The boys are in shock and turn to me asking " What will happen next?". I don't know. I am in shock too.
We get back to the site and Vincents' father has called him. Vincent wants to go home but his dad tells him that there is no way to come home at this time. His dad still hasn't found mom yet but assures Vincent that she is fine and to play tennis.
The calls come pouring in from all over the country. Parents are worried about their children. I assure all that we are safe and it is a beautiful day. Many want to hear their childrens voice so off I go tracking down the players. I don't blame the parents one bit.
The tournament committee has a pow-wow. We decide to continue with the tournament. The kids can't fly home and we felt it was better to keep them busy and play some tennis.
I put Vincent on the court. He wins, but I don't know how. His dad calls later and mom is okay. His dad tells him to play hard and keep winning. They will work out the flight details later.
Five Russian players ( who arrived by Greyhound ...17 hours!!!) wonder about their flight to Moscow. The Russian Federation fax them and tell them to take the Greyhound to NYC and if they can, to stay at the airport until they can get a flight. It killed me to see them leave yesterday.
We went through the motions of running a tennis tournament and I tried my best to keep the atmosphere happy and optimistic. I tried to be a "mother" to all the players and knew if my child ( some as young as 14) was in a foreign country I would worry too.
My Indian boys , Sunil and Armanjot, just wanted to go home. We called Singapore Airlines and were on hold 45 minutes! They were worried that their private housing wouldn't keep them. I assured them they would but if not, they could stay in my nasty, filthy house. They laughed and kept me company at the tournament until Saturday. I hope they are home.
Antonio, my Mexican boy, got an e-mail from his dad. Antonio was thrilled. He spoke no English and came to the tournament by himself. He sat next to me under our big tent for dinner. Even though we couldn't talk much to each other I think he was comforted just having me there.
The tournament is over but many of the boys and girls cannot fly out until later next week.
I just have some paperwork to do and then I am going to collapse.
What were YOU doing when the WTC went down?