Big Chuck Remembers Where He Was on September 11, 2001
September 11, 2001.
Started routinely. At the studio at 5:30. On the air at 6:00 AM at WDOS in Oneonta.
Coffee. Bagel, with light cream cheese. Put the weather in rotation. Chat with my news guy, Jeff Bishop right across the glass from me in the news studio. Say hi to Doug and Leslie Ann down the hall at WSRK. Get my morning show prep ready. Prepare my 6-in-a-Row music contest. Check out my in-studio guest list for the morning. Play country music and tell stories. Routine.
Kim, office manager comes in and gives me my commercial work to produce that morning. Sales staff wanders in, coffee in hand, Brian, Michelle and the others. Here comes the boss. Jan Laytham always stopped for a chat in my studio.
Tick. Tick. Tick. Clock getting close to 9:00.
Miss Tracie came in to WSRK. Jeff prepares his 9:00 AM news report and I give him his cue sign and off he goes.
Don't even remember the news stories from that day.
There was a TV in the newsroom. Always was. On CNN, muted. Just in case something happened we needed to know. At 8:55, as the morning crew was getting ready for our final hour on the air, something that we needed to know happened. On TV. We saw it all.
We stayed at the station into the night.
I will never forget that day.
Where were you?