C. Zach Hidalgo - Flagstaff, AZ

September 11, 2001: The Day Begins
I was just waking up in bed when I turned on the radio on that fateful day. You see, I'm allergic to caffein and have to watch TV or listen to the radio for about half hour before I get out of bed just to wake up.

Side note
you folks get the advantage of using coffee or soda to help you wake up--I don't.

No Television On Such A Day
Anyway, I had recently moved into the house I was sharing with three other (cool) roommates and didn't have cable TV (yet). To boot, Flagstaff Arizona has about three channels that barely come in, so if you don't have cable and are used to watching TV regularly, you're out of luck in Flagstaff. That's why I was used to turning on the radio right when I wake up...to try and wake up.

News Radio?
The regularly scheduled tunes I usually listen to at that time of the morning was replaced with news by the same DJ's that were supposed to play music. That alone made my "wake-up" process jump into high gear. I hate it when someone messes with things that are supposed to be there when you want and expect them there, ya know?

Disbelief
After the disgust I was feeling I began to tune into what I was hearing. "What?" I thought to myself. "New York's twin towers have COLLAPSED? Yeah right!" I began to think this was some sort of joke like the "War Of The Worlds" routine back in the early day of radio. But as I continued to listen, I wanted to verify what I was hearing.

Suddenly I had all the energy I needed to face my day. I immediately got out of bed and went to USA Today.com to see if it was actually true. Unfortunately we all know the answer to that question.

Taking Action
I realized I needed to get to a television as soon as possible and called my buddy Scott to find out if he knew what was happening. "Dude, you aught to see this!" was the first thing out of his mouth after the traditional greeting.

I told him I'd be right over and I took off toward the University. When I got to Scott's house, I didn't know what to expect; fear, anxiety, potential chaos, evacuation, panic... I knocked on the door and needless-to-say, Scott nor his roommate wanted to leave the TV to answer, so they just screamed "come in!"

Transfixed
For more than two hours we were glued to the television watching the same scenes over and over just waiting to see what would happen next. The room was silent for most of the time I was there. We were in awe. The time finally came when I had to go to work (at a local hardware and lumber company).

Dealing With Reality At Work
After I got to work 15 or so minutes late, we realized business was going to be especially slow for obvious reasons. People were listening to radios at work just to stay up-to-date with what was happening.

Freedom Fever
Then, what I thought was strange at first but later understood, people came in looking for flags or anything they could make to resemble a flag. After a while, we sold out of all flags and things that could resemble flags. Then the next phase took place, people looking for pipe, poles and anything else they could use to prop-up their flags or make-shift flags into the air as high as they could. Cement became scarce as well (to hold the poles in place).

We sold out of plumming pipe, plastic (pvc) pipe, rods, dowels and you name it, if could hold up a flag, chances were we sold out of it that day or the next. We were also low on red, white and blue paint, both spray cans and buckets.

"Freedom fever" took over the nation, and I saw it first hand in our hardware store.

Everyone's Different, That's For sure!
I think one of the weirdest things I witnessed was one of the male employees running through the lumber yard yelling "gas is almost $5.00 in some states now," and it was only 4 p.m. (Sept. 11). He stirring up enough fear and anxiety that it convinced the managers to close early, just in case things got weirder allowing all the employees to be with their families.

It was definitely one of those days you never forget.