I live about 10 miles from the Pentagon. I was at work. My husband was home at the time - watching the news coverage on TV. He heard the plane crash - a noise louder than a normal airplane passing overhead or a thunderclap - he describes it almost as something felt rather than heard - then a few minutes later saw on TV that the plane has crashed into the Pentagon.
I work for the Federal government in downtown DC (Dept. of Housing and Urban Development). First we were permitted to go home early, and I hung around with a couple of coworkers, because I knew transportation to Virginia on the Metro would be disrupted past the Pentagon, where I had to go to get to where my car is parked.
But then the guard asked us all to leave the building. So I took the Metro with a coworker to a different part of Virginia not affected by the Pentagon situation, he had a friend meet us, and he drove me to where I could get the Metro in Virginia to my car and I got home without incident, though it took a while.
I think the actual number of casualties here in DC is nothing close to what happened in NY, though I sure the situation is grim for the folks working in the Pentagon in the vicinity of where the plane hit it. I'm glad my father retired from the Pentagon eight years ago!
Some of the school systems are shutting down today, others are still open. But all the colleges are closed for the day. This is a disturbing and frightening situation. My heart goes out to folks in NY City, and my thoughts and prayers are with you and your families.
I imagine all performances at the Kennedy Center are cancelled this evening, and I read on the opera list that a musician who was to play at The Washington Opera tomorrow night was called and told that Wednesday's opera performance has been cancelled.
Peggy
-- Margaret Harrison, Alexandria, Virginia, USA "Music for a While Shall All Your Cares Beguile" mailto:peggyh@i...
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