It's eerie here. Aside from some stray military aircraft that flew high over the city awhile ago, I can't hear O'Hare. Though I'm not particularly close to the airport, several miles away in fact, my three-flat is directly under one of the regular flight paths. Every 2.5 minutes, like clockwork, a plane flies over at a fairly low altitude.

But not today. And the silence is unnerving.

I was getting ready for work this morning when I switched on the TV to catch the weather and was confronted with the site of the World Trade Center, smoke billowing from its upper stories. I was immediately reminded of a day not too long ago, when I did a similar thing--turned on the TV to check the weather, but instead saw someone hanging off the Statue of Liberty. My heart sank, assuming it was a diversion for some terrorist plot. I had this crazy notion he was a plant to lure rescue vehicles and TV cameras away from a larger, more devastating event that was surely about to occur at any moment.

That nightmare scenario didn't pan out, but there were no diversions this morning. Just event after unbelievable event unfolding on my little TV. First one plane crashes into the WTC. Then another. Then a plane crashes the Pentagon. Then one tower collapses. Then another.

The World Trade Center. Gone. 

I was completely unable to process all of it. I missed train after train, half dressed, still thinking I needed a weather report to tell me if I should wear a skirt or pants this morning. I simply could not wrap my brain around what happened. I still can't. 

After the tears I suspect many shed this morning and after about twenty-five attempts to get a dial tone, I was finally able to reach my boss and tell her about my delay. She told me my building had been evacuated and to not bother coming in. I was grateful to miss the mass exodus from the Loop and I put my pajamas back on and sat in front of the TV for the next eight or so hours. (I confess, I did check the joker to see if the Big Brother houseguests were notified, and they were.)

A local paper in San Diego reported three weeks ago:

"Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden warned three weeks ago that he and his followers would carry out an unprecedented attack on U.S."

Some are suggesting the plane that crashed outside of Pittsburgh may have been shot down by the US government. The logic behind that assumption is that had it been under the control of a terrorist, he would have wanted to create the most destruction possible. If his original plan of say, hitting a target in DC was thwarted, at the very least, he would have plowed into a shopping mall or a housing development rather than dumping his payload in an empty field.

It's also been hypothesized that the selection of "American" and "United" airlines (read whatever version of "America United" you get out of that) is significant. 

I suspect we have only seen the beginnings of enormous conspiracy theories. Think Roswell and the death of JFK were out of hand? Just wait a little while on this one.

Finally, I'm infuriated by the media's glowing comments regarding the sophisticated execution of the attack. Don't they fucking realize that the perpetrators are watching and that's EXACTLY what they want to hear? For heaven's sake, don't these savvy media types have ANY education at all regarding terrorist cultures? Report that the attack was ill-planned and did not meet objectives. Tell the public and ultimately bin Laden that he's an idiot who couldn't plan a successful sewing circle, let alone a "sophisticated" strike against the USA. What a bunch of morons.

I tried to get to the Red Cross today, but it was overflowing and I was told to try tomorrow. If you haven't already, do the same tomorrow, okay? Donate blood.

Everything changes now. Everything. 
Don't ever forget this.