We Remember: The women of Skirts and Scuffs remember September 11, 2001

Credit: Todd Warshaw/Getty Images for NASCAR

Today marks the 10th anniversary of the September 11th attacks on the United States. Regardless of age or location, everyone alive that day was effected in some way by the events that transpired in New York, Washington D.C., and Pennsylvania. The women of Skirts and Scuffs look back and remember where they were that day and how the events impacted their lives.

Summer Dreyer:
I came home from school and my mom told me what happened. I didn't really understand the significance of it at the time. I had never heard of the World Trade Centers. 

Amanda Ebersole:
I was at home...waking up and watching the morning shows as usual. I just remember seeing it, but not processing what was happening. Seeing the planes hit, the people leap from the buildings in an effort to escape, and later hearing that planes also struck in PA and the Pentagon made me fearful.

The aftermath on the country, how we united as one, was beautiful. Sadly, day to day, most have forgotten that and we go on. Many people will never forgot and never move on, remember that spirit we had after 9/11 and honor those who lost their lives.

And lastly; thank our men and women in uniform! Not just the military, but all first responders, someday you may need their assistance.

Lindi Bess:
I remember distinctly the day that the world as we knew would take on a different appearance. It was like living in a world where time stood still and days and night were one in the same.  I found myself in a daze just watching the news as it unfolded with every hour that passed. My phone in one hand and the remote in the other, I found myself just wanting to wake-up from a horrific nightmare that I can only describe as Evil.

It began for me with a phone call from my late sister, hysterically crying and trying to explain to me what she had been witnessing on television that morning. I had gotten off work early that morning and was asleep. My sister was a very emotionally charged woman who felt things very deeply,  At first I could only imagine what had brought her to this point. It wasn't at all what had passed through my mind.  My family was okay, or were they? At first I was glad to hear that everyone, family and friends, were alive and unharmed. But then to find out that our very soil had been the location of an event that would change our way of living, I too began to cry.

The adults in the family began to gather and we mourned for those who lost there lives that day. But our thoughts quickly turned to the kids in the family and the desire to make them feel safe. How this would effect them? They were in their early teens when this happened, and this event would have an impact on them for the rest of their lives.  It violated their innocence in a way that we couldn't understand ourselves.  It is our jobs as the adults to make sure they are safe each day when they wake up until they fall to sleep; But if the government couldn't keep us safe, what in the world do we say to them to provide them with a feeling of security as we all move on and pick up the pieces.

We, like many families, dealt with putting our children as well as each other, at ease.  We chose to watch television when the kids were not around, for the most part, but for 1 hour in the evening we would sit and watch it with them. It was too easy to become 'one with the tv' and we needed to try our best to be normal. We felt they needed to see how we came together, as a family and a nation, to grieve and rebuild.  Watching for 1 hour was our way of paying tribute to those that were lost and it gave our kids a chance to 'get the real story' with our guidance.

We talked, we mourned and we became closer.

God Bless America, and may we never forget those that have been taken from us in the name of Freedom!


Lacy Keyser:
I was 8 years old. I remember I wasn’t fully awake, but I could hear my grandma and grandpa they were very frantic waking me up. I remember their faces and the look they had. I wasn't sure what was going on. They had us all sit down as I saw the one tower on fire. I didn't know what happened  then grandma told me a plane hit it. and that everyone thought it was an accident. The one thing that will never leave my head was that moment on live TV we were watching when all of a sudden the second plane hit the tower. My little eyes widened, my grandma, grandpa, and uncle all were shocked  and that’s when we all knew it wasn’t an accident. I then was told I could stay home. That whole day I remember learning so much and yet being so sad. Then I got news that changed my whole outlook of that day, my baby cousin was born.

Debra Ross:
I was at work. We had no internet and no radio. The news came from others that did. We ran down to the TV in the cafeteria on break, in time to see the first tower come down. By lunchtime, we were all in agreement when someone asked "WHAT IS GOING ON???". It was the end of the world as we knew it. 


LJ Cloud:
Our corporate recruiter was a Marine sniper who had just been discharged...he knew he'd be recalled quickly. One of our human resources people was either National Guard or Army Reserve and she was scared.

I called my husband, who was home, and he thought I was crazy at first but once he saw the news he was upset because he knew that his brother, an Airborne Ranger, would be going into harm's way first, because that's what Rangers do.

The world changed forever that day...we all knew it at the time, but had no idea how much. 

Rosalie Thompson:
I was working in my home office with the TV on when I first saw the news and photos of the planes hitting the towers.  The importance of family began to unfold when my phone immediately rang and my younger daughter, who had married a soldier a few weeks before, was on the line.  Since I had been a military wife, I knew her life would be the one most impacted by the events of that day.  

My other daughter called next and then my sons.  Although they were all grown and had kids of their own, they needed the security of making contact with their Mom--and so did I.  Although my Mother was suffering from Alzheimer’s, I got in the car and drove to spend the rest of the day with her—knowing she did not understand the events of the day but, like Mom’s everywhere, she understood me.

Kristin Weaver:
This day will forever be edged in our minds as the worst incident on American soil. I will always remember 9-11-01 like it was yesterday. I was a senior in high school, getting ready to take the 2002 Class Photo. We were in Mrs. Blossom’s American History class, just gossiping when the principal came in and told us to turn on the TV. It all happened so fast. I remember hearing the 1st plane at hit the World Trade Center in NYC and I started to cry. I have family in Brooklyn and Queens. Luckily, none of them where in harms way. Shortly after our class picture, we came back to the news that the Pentagon had been hit. Our school system ended up dismissing school at noon so that we could be with our families. We even had all athletic practices and games cancelled for three days. On September 12th, my boyfriend(who would later become my husband) signed up for the United States Army. He and one of his friends decided they needed to do something. They wanted to protect our freedom and this great country. So many people were donating blood and being patriotic. I never understood why it took a tragedy for people to start flying the American flag in their yard. A week later, my dad was issued a Bomb Detection dog and started going to the Alabama Crimson Tide football games to sweep the stadium for bombs. I reiterate what Amanda said, please thank our men and women in uniform and not just the military but all first responders. They too put their lives on the line everyday to protect us.

Katy Lindamood
On September 11, 2001 I was a 21 year old college student working two jobs. One of my jobs was working the morning shift at a dairy bar and pizza place. I was making an early delivery to an employee at a nearby nursing home when I noticed that all the residents were crowded around the big screen television in the meeting room. I knew something major must have been going on because usually that early in the day the residents were involved in some type of activity. I was able to make my way through the residents and for the next 10 minutes I stood there in awe as I watched the devastation on television unfold. As I was processing what was going on I looked around at the residents and the tears in my eyes were reflected in theirs. While many of them didn’t quite grasp the severity of the situation they all understood that we were under attack. That day the world seemed to stand still and as a nation we united.

The events of September 11 prompted a young man from my home town to find his purpose in life. As soon as he was old enough he singed up to join the Marines and went off to battle. He was killed in a helicopter crash two years later. On September 11th, I honor Jonathan Etterling, the brother of one of my dearest childhood friends, for his bravery and courage.

Rebecca Kivak
On Sept. 11, 2001, I was a sophomore at Penn State University (its Wilkes-Barre campus). I was in a Spanish class from 8 to 10 a.m. and I had no idea what was happening until my class ended and I made it to the student lounge. A few of my friends were sitting around the TV and explained to me what had happened. Together we watched the second tower fall down. I called my parents and all my friends, just to make sure they were OK. Shortly after, we found out about the plane that went down in Shanksville, Pa. This was especially hard to take in, as our student government, which I was a part of, had gone on a trip to the nearby Somerset area barely a month before.

I've never felt more vulnerable, as an individual or a nation, in my life.

That afternoon, a friend and I went to a local church, and we lit candles and prayed. I prayed for all the victims and their families. I prayed for all the rescue personnel and responders aiding them. I prayed that we'd wake up tomorrow and not have another attack somewhere else. I prayed for our nation to stick together and not crumble, like the terrorists wanted us to. I prayed for our military forces and whatever they'd be required to do next. And I prayed for the same things the next day, and the day after that, and so on.

The world was never the same after 9/11. But 10 years later, we're still here.