Looking Back at the Twin Towers, 25 Years Later

It was mid-afternoon in Rome, Italy on September 11, 2001 when dramatic scenes captured by CNN broke into regular afternoon programming. My husband and I were with a tour group and many folks were having a quick snooze between outings. I was relaxing in the lobby, a small needlepoint project in hand and one eye on the Italian show on TV. Suddenly, the screen switched to horrifying CNN footage of a World Trade Center tower rammed by a plane.Quickly I found the tour guide to translate the Italian announcer's commentary and together we gathered the rest of the guests around the TV. As we watched in disbelief, the second jet rammed the Twin Towers and our guide kept translating what the news anchors were saying. We sat numb and devastated as the first Tower collapsed.Many tour members rushed to call friends and relatives in New York City, even though we'd already heard that the lines were jammed and calls weren't getting through. My hubby and several others sprinted to the nearest…