I remember

I remember the alarm was set for early, because boyfriend was going to be on "AM Northwest."

I remember they called and said, "Turn on your tv right now" then hung up.

I remember the 6 year old girl, waking up and seeing the tv, the people covered in dust, everything beige. "Mommy," she said, "what planet is that?"

I remember going to work, at the newspaper. Boss was saying "Call all the airlines right now, they'll want to buy big ads, condolences."

She was in shock, too.

It felt like the dust was blowing all the way over here, the other side of the country was so close, and none of us could really breathe.

I remember afterward, for awhile, it seemed like more people carried a camera all the time, just like they did after Oklahoma.

As if that little machine was insurance, because if we could be the recorder, we would be more likely to survive.