I was just a kid and school was dismissed early and we were sent home without knowing why, but the rumor was that there was a terrorist attack (somewhere).

I got home being glad school was cancelled, and was shocked to see my dad and Mom both home from work (very unusual) and both very serious and scared, watching the TV of the building on fire. And then the second plane crashed into it on live TV. And then one collapsed. And then the other. And all those people died. There was a special service at our church. Lots of people came, lots of people were upset. Our pastor gave a sermon about tragedy and how God gave us strength to get through. Suddenly American flags were everywhere, with slogans like “Pray for America” and "Freedom isn’t Free. People were making magnets, tshirts, even 8½ x 11 color printouts we got from our school. I had it in my room for a long time.

And then our country was going to war with a completely different country that wasn’t related. And then with the country that was related. And there were anti-war protests at the high school. And the Patriot Act, and Bush/Cheney reelected…

I’d say it was the biggest world event of my childhood. COVID topped it in scale, but they’re the only two world events in the same category for me.