(Scott Adams ended up putting in a long day—and then some—at WNUA on 9-11-01. I asked him to reflect on the day none of us will ever forget.)
As I look back at WNUA’s 25 years of radio excellence, many memorable moments spring to mind for me – from my discovery of the radio station as a fan in 1988, to my desire to become part of it a few years later (did you know that I had originally named my show “Lights Out Brazil?”). Ultimately, none compare to the story below.
Here’s how I remember September 11th, 2001.
Tom was calling. I answered the phone quickly, as my visiting parents were sleeping in the next room and it was my wife’s birthday. She had taken the day off and I wanted her to sleep in. “A small plane has flown into a building in New York. Turn on the TV,” he said. I clicked over to Fox News and like everyone else, began to follow the thread that would forever change our lives.
When it became apparent that the plane crash was perhaps something more than an accident, I woke my wife and parents and moved downstairs. When the second plane came, I grabbed a notepad and called WNUA to see how I could help.
It turned out that my role at WNUA that day would be to provide live news updates throughout the afternoon – every 20 minutes or so – as we struggled to comprehend the improbable consequences of terrorism at our doorstep. Our station was at its absolute best that day, even as our comfortable sense of normalcy was slipping away.
The studio was different place, too. Gone was that ‘spirit of smooth,’ the creative baseline we announcers usually wrapped ourselves in. Instead, there was uneasiness as everyone stepped up their game, trying to deal with the reality of events as they unfolded.
Every news update brought something more to process: the aftermath of events in Pennsylvania and the Pentagon. Is the President safe? Air traffic grounded. ‘No Fly’ zones. Los Angeles and San Francisco took their turns as possible targets.
Then, reports of a ‘credible threat’ against the Sears Tower. As ever, our station was a refuge against it all; I’ll never forget listeners calling to share their thoughts, their feelings. Their prayers.
WNUA’s full time staff trickled home as evening approached. I was asked to stay, to continue my regular reports until midnight. Companies had been ordered to close early and to turn off their lights. An armed curfew had left downtown Chicago deserted. By nightfall I was the only personnel left at the station: one of only three people in the entire tower at 444 N. Michigan. No street traffic. The city was dark.
At around 10:00pm, I heard a banging on the heavy security door at the end of the programming department’s hallway. I ran to the door’s peephole to glimpse a dark-clad figure move around the corner, out of sight. My call to building security went unanswered. It was eerie.
Several long minutes later, the studio phone rang. Security advised me that a bomb threat had been called in for the “immediate area” and that police were canvassing the building for evacuation. I was asked why I still was in the building, and I explained my role.
Soon, another series of persistent knocks, and this time the figures of two Chicago Police bomb squad experts appeared in the fisheye, kitted out with blast shields and body armor. “We have 30 seconds,” one said. So I quickly grabbed my coat, put the station into automation and headed for the lobby.
I never made it, and what happened next still amazes me. These two threw a heavy protective vest over my head, picked me up by my elbows and with incredible purpose hustled me down several flights of stairs, through the lobby, out the door and across the plaza near the Michigan Avenue Bridge before setting me down.
They told me to wait and then they were gone. That feeling of isolation in a threatening situation is something I’ll never forget.
Awhile later, they returned with an ‘all clear’ report. The bomb threat was a hoax. “We’ve been getting them all night,” one of the officers said. “But just to be safe, let’s check out your car.” So they escorted me to my car, where we were met by other bomb squad members who made a thorough sweep of my vehicle with an under carriage mirror and a bomb sniffing dog before sending me on my way home.
I’m proud of the small role I played on that day; humbling in the face of the heroism and tragedy which affected tens of thousands of us as a result of those terrible actions.
A brown, corrugated box in my hallway closet contains every note, every newswire story, every report I made on WNUA that September Tuesday. Even the playlists for the station; margins filled with comments and key facts. I look at them occasionally, but not today. Recalling those events with this story is more than enough to reflect on the unique sense of community that WNUA brought to us all.
~Scott Adams, The Sounds of Brazil!
Our Smooth Video of the Day: One of the most famous Brazilian bossas of all-time, performed by the late Stan Getz.
That Scott was both bearer of news, and then later bourne out of 444 by others, reminds of the flip-flop that happened all day on Sept 11th! For hours, we sought out people with whom we were comfortable to give us updates as events unfolded. There had to be so many who relied on WNUA here in the city. Yet, hours later...it changed! My memories of the one occasion that I was lucky enough to meet Scott are of a man who pretty much towered over me...and yet....to save him, well-practiced Bomb Squad members whisked him away like a feather! Scott was also making notes when I met him...but they were the happy, unfettered kind, I bet....not sure even my curiosity could bring me close to looking over his Sept 11th notebox....
Posted by: Cyn Cooper | 09/10/2012 at 11:40 AM
Hey Guy's! 9/11! Sould be a Holiday just like Veterans Day and Memorial Day! A very significant day in American History!!! Thanks to all our Heroes everywhere who put our lives above thier own!!! All the Armed Forces, Law Enforcement, Fire People and anyone else who keeps U.S. safe!!!
Posted by: Frank | 09/10/2012 at 01:20 PM