MY MOST MEMORABLE MEDIATED EXPERIENCE: 9-11

We always hear about wars taking place at the ends of the earth. We never see our towns or our cities as the battleground. On that day I woke up just like I did on any other Tuesday morning. I was off to High school as a sophomore. The school year had begun only a few days ago. It was during my second period class: 3D sculpture. . Our teacher was young. Well in his thirties but, he really had a young soul. He joked around about everything and promised to grade very generously if we played along. Everyone wondered how he could be in such a great mood this early in the morning. Every morning. I guess it was just his way.
I was working away at my sculpture, drifting into the land of an artist's dream when my teacher received a phone call. Since we are all working individually on our projects, he is usually supervising and/or giving helpful advice on how to make it “work better”. He usually does answer his phone in class. Students were forbidden to, but teachers had special privilege. A privilege he shared with any student who would be careful enough to conceal it when another teacher walked into the room. the caller told him what had happened and to turn on the news.(we had a small AM/FM radio in the studio that he turned on from time to time).
He announced, “I just heard a plane flew into the twin towers, it was probably an accident”. Everyone started saying the same thing. How bad a pilot must someone be to fly into a skyscraper? No one thought of terrorism. And definitely no one thought of the human casualties at that time. We saw no pictures and we didn't understand the gravity of the situation. We thought perhaps a helicopter or a small private plane. No explosion. No crash. The pilot probably ejected from the aircraft before the plane “flew in”. It was a big studio. Although the radio was playing, it definitely was not on the highest volume as this may have distracted us further from our work. Only the teacher, and those directly adjacent to him could even make out what was being said on the radio. Then he made another announcement: “listen up guys, another plane hit the other tower.” that is when everyone started to really pay attention to the radio. We listened in as the news radio anchormen painted a picture of the breaking news.
Our teacher, a usually happy, relaxed and easy going individual looked shaken. If you weren't afraid, after taking one look at him, you would be. He started pacing back and forth around the area with the radio. We couldn't even believe our ears. Next we heard the the 2nd tower has just collapsed. How could this be happening? What is going on?The loudspeaker creaked. Everyone quieted down, hoping the orator had some news to tell us. As the news unraveled, people began peering out of windows, producing cellphones and trying to contact loved ones. Many of us never knew that America had enemies. Life is hectic but its definitely not war- like. People do not usually die as casualties of war in Manhattan. And my school definitely didn't have a built in bomb shelter in the basement. We really didn't know. Thinking back on the experience, I know that hearing the radio newsman is definitely not the same as seeing it on screen. I grew up in an age of technology. The fastest and most efficient way for me to grasp the situation would have been through television. Listening in on the radio, we feared what we didn't see. But we believed. We had no other means of contact with the media except through the radio. And we believed. The media did not paint a rosy picture. There was no amelioration of the situation. When classes ended around 3:30, we were able to go home and see the destruction on screen. That is when we couldn't deny it.