The sky was exceptionally clear and blue when I left my house for work on Sept. 11, 2001. I was employed as the Marshall County bureau chief for The Intelligencer and Wheeling News-Register at the time, and I was happy to be out and about on such a beautiful morning.

Because I live in Belmont, I usually traveled to Moundsville via Jacobsburg and West Pipe Creek Road, making my trip about 12 miles shorter each way than it would have been if I had taken Interstate 70.

I don’t remember why, but on that particular morning I decided to take I-70 to work. That provided me the opportunity to stop at my parents’ house along the way.

Although I had been watching the morning news programs as I got ready for work at home, I hadn’t found them especially interesting that day. So I was rather surprised to find my mom and dad glued to the TV when I arrived at their home.

They told me a plane had struck one of the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center. My dad had always loved to fly and knew a good bit about air travel, and he was already convinced that something highly unusual had occurred.

We talked briefly about the terrible crash and how police and firefighters would rescue people from the building before I went on my way. When I got back in my car, I popped the CD out of my stereo and tuned to a radio station to keep tabs on the situation.

As I was driving, I heard the news that a second plane had struck the other tower of the WTC. I immediately knew that something was really, really wrong.

Fearing that our air traffic control systems had somehow been disrupted, I felt a sense of dread that other infrastructure might also be affected. I stopped at a gas station and filled my car with fuel, just in case.

As soon as I arrived at work, I called the Wheeling Newspapers office to see what I could do to help with coverage of this breaking news. I was told to remain in Moundsville and wait for assignments as the day’s events continued to unfold.

I began to make some of my usual rounds — picking up police and sheriff’s department reports, checking in at the courthouse, talking to people on the surrounding streets. Everyone I encountered seemed to be in shock.

As additional plane crashes at the Pentagon and in rural Pennsylvania were reported, parents began to wonder if they should go pick up their children from school. Some folks left their jobs, and others huddled together around the TV sets in their offices.

I heard nothing from the Wheeling office, as everyone there was too busy to reach out to the Marshall County bureau.

Internet service in Moundsville was not what it is today, and there was no TV in our office. A few reporters were working with me that morning, and we took turns going to our cars to check for radio reports about what was happening across the nation.

In the hours, days, weeks and months that followed, the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, had a tremendous impact on my work.

I spoke with people who had witnessed the devastation. I talked to troops who were being deployed to Iraq, and I met then-West Virginia Gov. Bob Wise when he came to the National Guard Armory at Moundsville to send some of them off.

As casualties began to be reported in the War on Terror, I spoke with the families of fallen soldiers. I also talked with local police officers, firefighters and emergency management officials about what they were doing to keep us safe at home.

I was on hand as new metal detectors were installed at courthouses, and I covered mock disaster drills that focused on a wide variety of dreaded scenarios, such as attacks by gunmen and chemical leaks. I even talked with soldiers who accidentally crossed from Iraq into Iran and were briefly held there.

Fortunately, I also had several opportunities to be present when soldiers returned home to their families — sometimes in large groups and other times for individual reunions.

Today, I continue to cover a wide variety of issues and events related to preparedness. My staff and I have frequent opportunities to talk with first responders about training they undertake. We also see schools and other public buildings taking steps to keep occupants safe. Unfortunately, those measures are often in response to homegrown dangers.

As I look back to that fateful day 15 years ago, I prefer to remember the spirit of unity that followed the attacks. People everywhere offered sympathy and other support for the victims and their families. And residents of our region proudly displayed American flags and banners, expressing support for our troops and the nation as a whole.

For some reason, though, the images that fill my mind when I think of Sept. 11, 2001, are not those of burning buildings and people running through the streets. I always think of that bright blue, cloudless sky.

Where were you on Sept. 11, 2001, and what do you recall?