We Will Always Remember

Taking a brief step away from the Disneyness of this blog to talk about what today is all about, remembrance. 

Where was I ten years ago? I was in my second week of 7th grade. I was in a new middle school building and was still trying to figure out where everything was. My morning had been normal, went to my first few classes. I remember hearing only one or two people talking about a building being blown up, but I didn't know what the building was, just knew that it was in New York.  It quite honestly didn't sound like a big deal to me, I didn't understand that terrorists were involved, I just thought some kind of accident had happened in the building. I really thought nothing of it.

I had my band class over lunch that day, which meant I had the last lunch, the 3rd one.  I loved those days because it meant a full hour of band, my favorite. Near the beginning of class, a couple students were called out for an early dismissal. Seemed pretty normal, didn't really think about it.  About ten minutes later, four more students had dismissal, and then a few minutes later, a group of three or four more. Every five minutes or so groups of people were being called for early dismissal.  This is where I started to get confused; there was no way that many people had doctor appointments and would be pulled out at the same time. This is when the rumors started swirling.

Being in the band class, you had students from all over the building in the same room, so while none of my teachers had the televisions on in the morning, others had and some of the students had seen some of the news footage.  There was talk about planes blowing up, buildings blowing up, the Pentagon being blown up, I remember even people talking about the White House and Capitol. Everyone kept saying "blown up" because we hadn't known how the planes were involved, they kept seeing buildings with smoke so they figured explosions. 

After band we went to the cafeteria for lunch, where rumors continued to swirl.  About five minutes into lunch, my principal walks in and gets us all to stop talking.  He tells us that the school was to have early dismissal and the natural reaction from a group of 12 and 13 year olds is to cheer, as some students did.  Remember, we really had no idea what was going on.  The principal freaked out at this reaction, telling us that something terrible was happening to the country and we were to go directly home to be safe.  This sent a hush over the room, we finally knew that something serious had happened, though we still really didn't know what. We were given a few minutes to finish eating and were told to go to our homerooms to await dismissal instruction.

Walking in the halls to our rooms was surreal.  I saw teachers and students in groups, some crying. We got our bags from the locker and waited for the announcements.  I remember hearing people talking about schools being threatened, which was why we were told to go home.  I had a Columbine type situation pictured in my head, which didn't seem to make sense with the other news I had heard.  I remember emptying my locker and taking all of my books home even though I didn't have much homework by that point; since I wasn't sure what was going on, I figured that if I had everything with me I would be prepared.

Everyone was dismissed and people started getting on their buses to go home.  I was a car rider, carpooled with a friend of mine, so we met up and stood outside.  We didn't have cell phones so we were hoping that my mother or her aunt knew to come get us.  We figured it would be her aunt because I knew my mother would be taking care of my little sister first because she was only in third grade.  After waiting a few minutes, we went inside to ask the office if we could call one of them to make sure they were getting us.  They told us that cell phones weren't working because towers were down, so there was no use in calling.  We walked back outside and sat on the steps, a little nervous. All the students were gone at this point except for us and while we sat there we saw teachers starting to rush to their cars and leave, none of them really paying much mind to the two of us sitting on the steps.

It was at this point that I started to believe that this was the end of the world.  Buildings blowing up, schools being threatened, communication down, to a 13 year old the end of the world seemed like a logical explanation.   I felt completely cut off from everyone and everything and I really could not figure out any other way to explain it.

After talking it out, my friend and I decided that the most logical thing to do, since we could not get a hold of anyone, was to start walking to her aunts house.  It was a good 5 mile walk and would have taken us a few hours, but since we didn't know what was going on or what to do and almost the entire school was emptied, we decided to take matters into our own hands. We started walking along the path to her house, walking along the road where her aunt or my mother would have seen us if they did end up driving to get us. I think it was at this point, while we were walking and everything was so quiet that I started wondering if anyone was left on Earth.  We didn't see a car or anyone else walking along the sidewalk and I remember specifically looking at the sky and not seeing any planes either, which would be a normal thing to see and hear being only about 20 minutes from the Philadelphia airport.

We were only walking a few minutes when my friend's aunt came down the road. Wow was she upset with us for starting to walk, telling us how unsafe it was, but she calmed down quickly when we explained to her why we did it. She drove towards my house, telling me that my mom and sister were already there (my mom had went to pick my sister up from school as I had suspected and had woken my friend's aunt to come get us) and then proceeded to fill us in on what was really going on.

The rest of the day is a blur to me, I don't even remember getting home. I just remember images of me sitting with my mom and sister crying while we watched the television.  The images that we all associate with that day flashed on the television over and over again and I tried to understand what was happening.  While I knew the hard facts, I could not understand why.

So much has changed in the last ten years, but I think I always will be wondering why, just as I did on that day.


I had seen both Ground Zero and the Pentagon a little over a year later and, if I can find them, I will post the images later for you.  If you would like to share your story with me, I would love to hear it. Feel free to post any comments below or, if you would rather share privately, send me an email at lady_aurora_yensid@hotmail.com.

Weekly DDL Post

This week's article on the Disney Driven Life is all about sailing away! Disney has announced lots of new ports and cruises for 2012 and I have the info on all of it in My Article on the Disney Driven Life!

World of Disney with a Big Apple Twist!

Shopping is the favorite pastime of many people, myself included. This comes into effect even more so when the shopping is Disney related! When I am down in Walt Disney World, there are some stores that I just cannot walk out of without buying something. One of these stores is the World of Disney store in Downtown Disney; there is just so much stuff in that store that even the smallest of Disney fans could find something in that store that appeals to them! And while Chris and I roamed the streets of New York City, it was to my delight (and to my wallet's despair) that we stumbled upon the World of Disney store on 5th avenue!

This store is 3 floors of Disney magic and wow was there so much to see!! Chris and I were in the store for 20 minutes and did not get more than 10 feet away from the door! There is so much to see- from specialty pins to the trademark "I *heart* NY" shirts with a Disney twist! They sell the snacks that you can find all over the property, including Mickey shaped pretzels and delicious shortbread cookies!

Walking up to the second floor, you are greeted by Disney music and movies; lots of different selections from both movies and actual park merchandise. This floor also had different stuffed animals, toys, games, and the ever-popular Mr. Potato Head area, which included some unique New York (say that 5 times fast) accessories- the Statue of Liberty Torch and crown for instance.

Moving up to the 3rd floor brought Chris and I to what would become our favorite section of the store. This floor was filled with pieces of artwork and statues of all kinds! It was like a mini Art of Disney store! There were posters, paintings, statues large and small and even some music boxes that had beautiful scenes from classic Disney films.

We definitely spent a good chunk of time in this store and, if you are a Disney fan and plan on checking this store out, make sure you plan a good amount of time for it because there is really a lot to see here! For your Disney fix away from the world, World of Disney NYC is the place to be!

Check out the World of Disney website here.

Lion King on Broadway- A Must See!

I am a huge Disney fan-obviously- so when I walked into the Minskoff Theater to see The Lion King on broadway on August 19th, I knew I would be enjoying the show. I just didn't know how amazing it would be!!!!

The theater itself is fantastic, as is the view of Times Square from the lobby! After looking around a little, Chris and I sat down in our seats, which were really good and settled down to watch the show.

Some of my favorite parts would be at the beginning where some of the 'animals' walked up the sides of the theater onto the stage- including a huge elephant!, the stampede scene that had amazing set design and technical aspects, and when Mufasa appears to Simba in the stars!

The technical parts of this show alone are a must see, they have done some amazing things with the theater to really create a unique experience! All of the actors were amazing and the costumes were so intricate! I have never seen anything so cool!! If you are looking for a show to see in NYC, or in its other locations around the world, I would definitely give this show a look! Make sure to purchase your tickets in advance though, the shows seem to be mostly sold out and you will most likely not find this show on the discount tickets boards.

For information about the show and to purchase tickets see the Official Lion King on Broadway Website.

I will leave you for now with the view from the Lion King lobby looking out on Times Square.