McGee: Where were you on 9/11?

Tuesday, 11 September 2001. Nine years. Hard to believe those attacks on our homeland were nine years ago.

When I think of that day I often think of the Sept. 11 song by country singer Alan Jackson, “Where Were You When The World Stopped Turning?”

Where were you when the world stopped turning? I was in Arizona living in a small town near the Mexican border and working at a weekly newspaper in Tombstone. I remember moving through that day was like walking through molasses, stunned by the attack on our homeland, wondering what was going to happen next.

Over the next few days as things returned to a routine I had a thought: Did we sense something big was about to happen to all of us?

I should explain before you think I’m too weird.

Back then my day started with a walk, me and my dogs. Many a morning it’d be just us on the hilly streets of Bisbee, Ariz.

Monday, Sept. 10, I found it interesting that some new folks had joined me, taking a stroll as the sun came up. Later that day at work and around town I heard more than one person comment that they had trouble sleeping that night, that they were restless.

Tuesday, Sept. 11 dawned bright and clear. I hooked the dogs up to their leashes and hit the streets for my morning walk. Even more people were out for a stroll than the day before.

When I returned to the house the television was alive with the news from the East Coast. You know the rest of the story.

Sometimes when I get to talking to folks about that day I ask them if they sensed anything was about to happen. It’s just something I ponder. I won’t ever prove anything, it’s probably all just coincidence.

But sometimes I wonder.