J1 Reporter Liv Duncan

The world was changed in a matter of minutes in the United States on Sept. 11, 2001. Almost immediately, Americans’ mindsets shifted from worries about everyday life to a shared concern about their beloved country. Accounts often point to the same experience of the days unraveling after the 11th— watching the news, checking on loved ones, grieving over the loss of a nation, feeling angrily confused, wanting answers and justice, and coming together to feel all of those emotions as a country. 

Not all Americans had this prompt experience; many were dealing with personal traumas and losses, working to prevent more damage, or weren’t even aware of or home to experience such a pivotal moment in modern American history. 

Mrs. Jill Thomsen, an attorney and Marian High School’s new assistant speech coach, has a different perspective from many Americans because of her location. Thomsen was in Italy for what was supposed to be the best week of her life: her honeymoon. Thomsen and her husband, Mike Rogers, were married on Sept. 1, a little over a week before the attacks occurred. On their honeymoon, they visited multiple Italian cities. By Sept. 10, they reached a small destination in Tuscany and were preparing to spend the day in the nearby city of Florence. That’s when Thomsen specifically remembers the first time she heard of the tragic events. She was blow-drying her hair, and asked her husband to go to the concierge for directions to the city. When he was downstairs, Rogers began speaking to the concierge, who had a sad and confused look on his face. The concierge cut him off from speaking, and asked him if he was doing okay. “You’re an American, aren’t you sad?” Rogers had no idea what he was talking about. Instead of trying to explain anything, the concierge handed Rogers a newspaper, with the front cover picturing the two burning, falling towers he had once known to be the World Trade Center.

Thomsen still had the blowdryer on when her husband began to tell her the news. “I thought I had misheard him, because I didn’t believe that was even a possibility.” That evening, the two stayed at the hotel and watched European  coverage of the attacks in shock. Instead of witnessing the events unfold one after another like many did that day, they were swept up in the events right at once and were left trying to piece together what little information they had, and with a seven hour time difference. Later on their trip, the two learned they would not be coming home as early as they had thought. With travel restrictions heightened, international flights were delayed for weeks. The couple came home five days after they had planned. In fact, they were the first European flight to land at Chicago O’Hare. 

 Thomsen’s story proves that Americans, no matter when or where, all reacted to the attacks in shock. Everyone grappled with the details of the day and its effects. When Thomsen and Rogers returned to the United States, however, they immediately felt their country’s reaction and unity.

They had come back to a completely different country.

Thanks for sharing, Mrs. Thomsen.
Never Forget