5 years ago I was working at a local Pittsburgh radio station. We were a music station but for days we didn't play a single song. In an instant we became all news and we learned as we went live on the air.
I remember the vast amount of information coming in from every possible source. Some was true, some was not. I was not sure what to report.
I remember seeing "Pittsburgh" come across the wire. What was going on? A US Airways plane was highjacked from Pittsburgh the first report read. I looked out the window and to the sky. I saw nothing.
That report was not true but as I wondered, word came of a crash outside of Pittsburgh. The radio veteran I was working with that day stopped mid sentence. He was silent, but we were still on the air. He began to cry, whispered "I can't do this" and walked out of the studio.
There I was, alone in the studio. I wanted to be home with my family. But I picked up the paper and began to read. I wasn't supposed to be on the air but so many things happened that day that should not have.
5 years later, so much has changed, yet in many ways that day seems so close. I've spent days listening to audio clips and reviewing material for the show. It's not old. It's still too real. It can and does bring a tear to the eye.
While grief fades with time, it always lurks in the shadows......
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