09/11/2026
25 years ago I was just starting my first full year of teaching at Hackensack Middle School. I recall walking in that morning making note of how gorgeous the day was, zero humidity a little early september cool and not a cloud in the sky.
My job early in the morning was the attendance coordinator for 7th grade. Back then we still did attendance on paper cards and we did not have any online record keeping programs, so we had to do it all manually.
Just after 845 or so I had to go into our main office to ask a question and remember a few people saying a plane hit the WTC. With limited info, we shrugged it off and kind of thought it was a small plane or even a prop plane that had flown off course. But in the back of my mind, I thought with how good the visibility was, it was unlikely - but I carried on and did what I had to do. About 10 - 15 minutes later, I had to go back into our office, and heard the news a SECOND plane had hit the WTC. At that point, ALL OF US went into action.
Our cable was not hooked up in the building because the adjoining 5/6 school had just been built, but we were able to get some news through a snowy screen. (Bear in mind cell phones then were PHONES, iPhones or androids weren’t around yet!)Some people had some decent internet access on their computers and were able to find a few stories - one of which noted that the planes were LARGE passenger planes.
Our VP ran out to his car and got an old plug in transistor radio, and for whatever reason, it was on 770 WABC when he plugged it in. I will never forget what I HEARD when that radio came on - pure carnage panic and chaos. It was horrible and blood curdling, and seemed surreal.
I had to teach 2 classes that day, which were long blocks, one for 7th grade the other for 5th grade. Kids were a mess, as many found out through the grapevine, and many of them eventually saw the towers fall on TV. All of them were horrified as were we.
When we found out the pentagon was hit, and another plane was hijacked, many of us really started fearing for our lives. I was a 25 year old rookie teacher who didn’t even receive my first paycheck yet and I was beside myself. My mom, god rest her soul, who worked as a para at our school, got my head back together and in her amazing way with words, told me to “calm the f**k down” and focus on the kids and the task at hand. Many of us had to keep it together; it was very hard.
I'll never forget watching tower 2 fall on live tv with many of our teachers in an empty classroom - it was brutal. All of us were speechless and felt helpless.
Later on in the day, in the classroom I shared, we were able to look out and see the smoke over lower manhattan - many went up onto our roof and saw it all first hand.
But, that afternoon, seeing F-15’s and F-16’s roaring over Hackensack, and seeing people that night flying their flags, gave everyone a sense of “we’ll be ok”. I’ll NEVER forget the silence that night - no trains, planes, cars, etc. it was eerie.
Absolutely a horrible, unforgettable day. May god bless EVERYONE who gave the ULTIMATE sacrifice that day. May you all NEVER BE FORGOTTEN!!! And to all the first responders, and those that have suffered post 9-11 illness, and have passed, you too WILL NEVER BE FORGOTTEN and we have your backs!
God bless you all - this is a very tough day for many. All of you are in our prayers!
🇺🇸 🙏 💙❤️💙❤️ 🙏 🇺🇸
