Kids With Bush on 9/11 Recall the Moment

In the let-no-stone-go-unturned spirit of 9/11 coverage, AP catches up with the Florida second-graders who were sitting around President Bush as he read My Pet Goat and got the news about the World Trade Center attacks. Samples:

• "It was like a blank stare. Like he knew something was going on but he didn't want to make it too bad for us to notice by looking different," recalls Lenard Rivers, now 17.
• "One kid described his face as (like) he had to use the bathroom," says Chantal Guerrero. "That's how we saw it in second grade. He just looked like he got the worst news in the world."
• "I was too young and naive to fully understand the gravity of the situation," says Lazaro Dubrocq.

• Teacher Kay Daniels: "I had 16 little ones sitting in front of me, the media in the back of the classroom, and I had to keep going. Emotionally, (Bush) left us, but he came back. He did come back into the lesson, and he picked up the book and for a moment he stayed with us."
• Bush himself (stated previously): "I made a decision not to jump up immediately and leave the classroom. I didn't want to rattle the kids. I wanted to project a sense of calm."

(More 9/11 anniversary stories.)