Six Years Ago Today - 09-10-01
No. . .the date is NOT a typo, but it does serve as a reminder of the next morning's horrific happenings for me:
I was working that afternoon, making deliveries and happy to be nearing the end of my work day, when it happened. To this day I'm still not sure exactly what I did or how I did it. I'd just finished my last stop at Jefferson Pointe Mall, and hopped into my work truck when I slipped and felt a brief moment of discomfort as my shin struck God knows what on the door frame. I took a second to recover, continued on into the vehicle and thought "Man, THAT'S probably gonna hurt tomorrow".
That was right before I looked down and saw my shin bone where I expected to see nothing but a bruise or possibly a little blood. Now, if you've never experienced an injury in that area, let me fill you in on the particulars. There are very few blood vessels or nerves there, so there's little pain or bleeding. On the flip side of that, there's a high chance of infection for the very same reasons. I was looking at a 3" gash. . .
I grabbed some paper towels and duct tape (Tim Allen woulda been so proud of me) and bandaged my exposed wound before returning to my terminal. When I arrived, the assistant terminal manager was conducting safety inspections on returning vehicles, and inquired about the tread on my tires. I replied that I was more concerned with the lack of tread on my shin and explained the situation to him.
After filling out some required paperwork, I was off to the clinic for stitches and meds - a nearly three-hour adventure. I had lost my Mom 19 days before, and had one of those "arguments" with my wife the night before, so when I finally got home, after 8 PM, it had been one hell of a long day. After a pain pill and a couple of beers I slept like a baby, clueless as to what the morning held for me and the rest of America.
I enlisted a "helper" for my route the next morning, and we set off to complete our work for the day, oblivious to the news that we'd hear within the next two hours. After servicing the Jefferson Pointe and Apple Glen areas, we proceeded to the medical offices along West Jefferson, where Keith at LabTec filled us in on what was transpiring in NY. We tuned in to the local news station and tried to follow along with the morning's events as they unfolded, unsure, as were most of us, exactly what the hell was going on.
No need to report the rest of the story that day back in 2001, you have your own memories of when and where and what. These were mine, and the slight scar (GREAT Doc at the local clinic) on my right shin serves as a reminder to me of the events of that awful day. I remember feeling relief that Mom had passed away nearly three weeks ago, and wouldn't have to endure this - that was my one small comfort on that clear September morn.
posted by John Good @ 9:50 PM
5 Comments:
Wow. You have a great memory. Of course, you have a scar to help you. All I remember is watching television on 09/11/01 (I go to work at 9:00), and everything before that day was quickly forgotten and never returned to current memory again - at least not the way I used to remember it.
wow..so striking what we remember....and how detailed....I want our country back.....I also wanted to thank you for saving peace chick's blog....thank you for all that you do....
I had a similar injury on my left shin -- wrecked riding my bike to driver's ed (not a good sign.)
It's a pretty disturbing thing to see a grey-white color where you expect a more traditional red or bruisey purple or something.
No national tragedies took place after mine.
Stan - I remember everything. Watch out, buddy!
E4E - It IS amazing - often down to even smells triggering a memory. And the VERY least I could do for Mary - I hope we all see her again!
Doug - I had a bike injury when I was six that required stitches. Do you remember bikes with cast frames? I had one, and when I went up a curb, the damned thing snapped in half, and I landed on my chin.
I remember being on vacation from work that week. I never watched the news or cared that much about politics. I got on the computer and was talking a chat room and people were chatting about the towers being hit. I honestly thought they were talking about some bad network TV movie. They told me to turn on the TV and there it was.
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