9/11: Where were you when the world changed?

On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, I was driving on I-295 in Washington D.C., listening to the radio. I was on my way into work at Potomac Tech Journal, which shared space with the Washington Business Journal in The Rosslyn section of Arlington, Va.

The cheerful morning DJ was chatting with musician Ben Folds, who was in the studio that morning, when they stopped to relay a news report about a plane having hit one of the towers of the World Trade Center in New York. Details were lacking and they assumed it was an accident involving a small plane ... until the second one hit.

I was passing by the Pentagon right about then. The radio crew were realizing that there was more going on than an accident, but there was still little more than speculation to relay. And then I arrived at my office and had to conduct an interview over the telephone almost immediately.

My workstation was situated so that my back was to the floor-to-ceiling windows that looked south. I was focused on my conversation and taking notes, and only dimly aware of some commotion in the office behind me. Until I hung up the phone and turned to see the billowing plumes of black smoke rising into the air from the Pentagon.

It's a day that is indelibly stamped on our memories, and the tenth anniversary is coming up this year. Where were you on 9/11? Leave a comment to tell your story.