I was working in Lexington, KY at WLEX. I was standing at the green wall waiting to do a weather cut-in for the network morning show. When the time for the weather cut?in passed we knew something was wrong and then soon after the network ran a special report bulletin and I watched in awe as the coverage started. This was when the first tower had already been hit and was burning. The anchor was doing a phone interview with a woman on the street and she was recounting that a plane had hit one of the towers. Still standing in front of the camera and watching the feed, I, like many others watched as the second plane hit the second tower.
I was stunned, scared, worried and immediately thought of my family. Of course, I then called my mother, Lorraine, in Dallas and asked where she was and if she was safe. She said she was watching right now and was also stunned. There is nothing like sitting in silence on the phone with your Mom, being miles away, and being so closely bonded over a situation. She then said she needed to call my Dad, Rick, who works for American Airlines. She told him that the World Trade Center has been attacked. There is a World Trade Center in Dallas so my father?s first thoughts were to that area and if my sister was OK.
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Scott Padgett
Since the weather center at WLEX was in the studio, I was surrounded by TV sets and watched the coverage of the attack. I was on the phone watching with my friend Darlene Brooks and I said casually, ?The Pentagon is next.? I just had a feeling. Darlene and I were talking of major points of America including the Pentagon and the U.S. Capitol. Soon after that statement we heard of the next attack at the Pentagon. The feeling was simply surreal. I was angry that we were being attacked. Growing up in a military family and being proud of our brave men and women, I was mad that we were being attacked on our own soil. I even debated with some colleagues about if this was an accident or an attack. Forecasting the weather and doing cut-in weather segments for the "Today" show didn?t happen the rest of the morning. There isn?t much a local weatherman can do at that time for the news department.
Like many Americans learning of the attack, I couldn?t stop watching the coverage of the buildings burning. I questioned God many times especially when seeing footage of people jumping from the burning floors to their death. Many theological questions came to mind and I pondered this question: if a person jumped from burning building to avoid dying from a raging fire that would kill them, does that equal suicide and ultimately purgatory? I then thought of what I would do in that situation. Would I jump or would I take my chances? Then, the buildings fell. I have no words for what I was witnessing and was very grateful to know that all of my friends and family were safe.
I wish I could say that day was the day I changed my patterns of behavior and called my parents every day and told them that I loved them, wrote to all of my family members and didn?t sweat the small stuff but that day wasn?t the day. Don?t get me wrong, I did feel those feelings and did make those calls but as life showed up I let those thoughts fall aside. I can now tell you that I call my parents almost daily and tell them that I love them. Each morning and night I thank my higher power for all of my blessings in my life and take the time to note my gratitude for a life beyond my wildest dreams.
How did September 11th change me? It made me swell with pride for our military and for my father, Ret. Air Force Colonel Rick Padgett, who served our country for 27 years. To this day, when I see a member of our military, I say thank you. It is the least I can do for being free today.