NORFOLK, Va. — It was the day the world changed.
The combined horror in New York City, at the Pentagon, and in a field in Pennsylvania was felt in every state, city, and home across the country.
Twenty years later, we still feel it.
The deadliest terrorist attack in our nation’s history made it easy to forget everything that was happening before that day.
Making sports headlines on September 10th: Barry Bonds had just blasted his 63rd home run on his way to breaking the single-season record. We were tracking the first hurricane of the 2001 season, Hurricane Erin.
Here in Hampton Roads, it was a routine news day. The city of Chesapeake had just launched a new anti-tailgating campaign with signs posted on Volvo Parkway. At Maury High School in Norfolk, teachers became the students with a spin on the popular game show "Who Wants to Be A Millionaire."
And in Portsmouth, it was something we can all relate to right now: a viral health concern for parents at a city school. Parents were worried after learning a fourth-grader at Churchland Academy Elementary tested positive for meningitis.
Of course, perspective is everything, because just hours later, at 8:46 a.m. the first plane would hit the North Tower.
Life hasn’t been as simple since, but we are still working through it.
Still learning.
Still living.
Still remembering the day the world changed.