My City September 2021

WEREMEMBER to come home immediately. He was worried about me and our daughter but would be unable to get a flight home for several days. Our daughter was in 10th grade and they sent all the kids home soon after both towers had collapsed.My sister worked near my office, so we met for lunch at Bubba’s, knowing they had many TVs there.The place was packed, everyone staring at the screens watching silently in disbelief. I was on the airfield at PIT park ing planes that were ordered to land. Flight 93 flew through PIT airspace before it crashed. Nino Sapone CEO Bishop Airport I was 22 years old and had just graduated college that May. I was living at home and working at a credit union in Oscoda, MI prior to beginning gradu ate school.The credit union opened at 9:00am but I had to report for work at 8:30am. I remember my mom calling me at work when the first plane hit the World Trade Center at 8:46am. I thought it was probably an accident involv ing a small, private plane.This was dispelled when the second plane hit at 9:03am. We turned on a TV in the boardroom at the credit union to watch the Sherron Barden Managing Editor My City Magazine

I was in the airport meeting with a radio sales rep when I learned about the attacks of 9/11. Pat Corfman On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, I was working for the local newspaper as a reporter and I was busy writing my stories to meet the 10am deadline. One of my coworkers came to my desk and asked if I had seen the news. She told me a plane had crashed into one of the towers at the World Trade Center in NYC.The entire staff gathered together in the publisher’s office with our eyes glued to the television screen, watching in horror as the second plane hit the other tower. As the events of the day continued to unfold, I was worried about my family who lived in the suburbs of Washington D.C. Phone lines were jammed but I was finally able to speak to one of my broth ers who was in shock but assured me everyone was safe.My sister, who lived about 60 miles away from Shanksville, PA., was clean ing the barn when she heard a thunderous boom that was so loud she ran outside, wondering what had just happened. She did not know at the time that it was the sound of United Airlines Flight 93 crashing to the ground. The events of that day will always linger in our minds. Cheryl Dennison Director of Marketing Flint Bishop Airport

something bad had happened because of the way the teach ers and administrators were acting. Around mid-day, my mom came by the school and picked up both my brother and me. She was extremely nervous and we could both tell, but we didn’t know why. She took us back home and we stayed there for the day. Years later, I learned she was so scared because not only had we experienced the shock of having our country attacked as Americans, but we were also Arab and she was terrified of our family be ing imprisoned, deported or attacked because either the government or the American public would hold us responsi ble. Forever after, I’ve lived my life as an Arab child of 9/11. For the rest of the decade and a half I spent in school, I was repeatedly harassed, bullied and targeted because I was an Arab. I was frequently called a terror ist, camel jockey, or “Osama.” I had to hide my identity and my culture for years to blend better and was repeatedly forced to “never forget” the attacks of 9/11 while I witnessed those same students hold people like me and my family responsible. It forced me to confront the misinformation and lies told about my family and my peo ple. It also forced me to learn more about my own identity as a Palestinian Arab American. Devin Bathish Executive Director Arab American Heritage Council

I was on my way to work when the news came over the radio. I hurried in and turned on the television and the office staff huddled over the screen, aghast. Ironically, my daughter Flo, who was in Israel (which some people associate with rocket and bomb attacks on civilians) called us to make sure we were safe! Steven Low Executive Director Flint Jewish Federation The day before, I had just returned from Toronto, having attended the Toronto Interna tional Film Festival. I was all happy and giddy because I had such a great time.The morning of 9/11, I didn’t turn on my ra dio or TV and I stopped at my favorite coffee house, “Good Beans,” for my morning java, and Ken told me about a plane that crashed into the Towers. My initial reaction was, “Oh, my! How could something like that happen?” Leaving the coffee shop, I proceeded to a morning meeting and dur ing that meeting, we got word about the plane crash at the Pentagon.There was a person present who had a son who worked at the Pentagon. It was a roller coaster of emotions that day ... a really dark day. Phyllis Sykes Co-Founder International Center of Greater Flint I was quite young, still in el ementary school at St. Pius X. I had a general awareness that

events unfold. I remember standing there with my boss and seeing both towers fall.

MCM Staff Writer t

Dr. Christopher Douglas UM-Flint

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We Remember

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