Can I remember where I was on September 11th, 2001 ?... absolutely ... I will never forget. I was sitting in the Moorefield Office when my husband called. He asked me if we had a television at the branch. He told me that an airplane had crashed into one of the towers of the World Trade Center. As I walked to the conference room I told each employee I passed. About five of us gathered together to watch the news cast. How sad we said.... what could have happened to the pilot to make him hit the tower?... were the comments we were making. As we stood together the news anchor began to yell and get very excited. We watched in shock as a second plane hit the remaining tower. I remember the room was so silent, there were no phones ringing, not a word was said. Several moments later as I looked around I noticed we were now all seated around the table. How did that happen? We were all just standing.

My husband called again. Yes, I told him we are watching the news. He said for us to turn on the radio also. They were beginning to talk about terrorists on the radio broadcast. Terrorists, the word sounded so foreign at that time. I never went far from the conference room and the television that day. The funny thing is, as I try to recount the activities, I can't remember the phone ringing more than a hand full of times the entire day. I don't remember a single customer asking to see a loan officer, causing me to have to return to my office. My co-workers seemed to need to leave the room very seldom also. We watched together as the Pentagon was hit. We watched as flight 93 crashed. Several employees were crying but I can not remember now when I first cried myself.

I will always remember the phone call I did receive from a customer who had children living in New York City. We talked business briefly and she began to cry. She apologized and told me she had been unable to reach her children by cell phone as service was jammed. I know I cried with her. I am a mother. I felt her fear and I prayed for her that night. She was and is the only person I know who was directly connected. We talked later. Her children are fine, thank you Lord.

I will never forget the stories of the families of the flight 93 passengers that broadcasted for weeks. I will never forget the lines of people looking for information on their missing loved ones from the Trade Center. I will never forget how we prayed together as a nation for the heroes who gave their lives to rescue others, the lives of innocent victims from the crashes, and their surviving families.

I find it so sad that the churches were full for weeks surrounding this tragedy, and look at them now. How quickly we forget the things we promise to NEVER forget.

Michele Greenwalt, age 27
First United Bank and Trust

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