Remember 9/11
 

9/11 - don't forget. Don't ever forget.

Yup, I was just talking about it with my daughter as I drove her to school today. It happened right about the time I was standing up at the school bus stop with her, sending her to Kindergarten, and now she's in junior high. Doesn't seem that long ago.

I came back from the bus stop just in time to see the second plane fly into the tower, and experience the incredulous reaction from the news anchor - who was it? "This isn't an accident!"

I just realized, after I dropped her off this morning, that the college students I'll be sitting in class with today were 11-12 when it happened. My daughter's age.

I'm not sure what that means to me yet; I think it's important, though. Maybe something about life going on, or maybe the college kids having grown up in a world we older folks always hoped was a temporary concern.

May our children live in peace.

I was at work when the secretary came in and told me, "We'd better all turn to chanel 7----- a guy came into the clinic and said a plane flew into the World Trade Center,"

I remember being so confused. "What!?"

We all were stuck like glue to the tv that entire day at work---no one came to the clinic that day.

I remember lots of things. The panic and gridlock in DC as I walked several miles home (I was afraid to take the metro underground.) Cops cars all over the place like angry hornets. The smoke rising up from the Pentagon as I stood taking in the panorama of DC from various bridges.

And then later in the afternoon, the silence everywhere and the beautiful day outside when we went to the park. Save the sound of the occasional fighter streaking overhead every half hour or so.

One of our delivery drivers came in and told us about a plane crash in New York. Half of us had been there, and of those all had been up the Twin Towers. By the time we switched the news on we knew it was a terrorist attack.

We were a telephone helpline department, so took it in turns to go into our Director's office to watch the news. By the end of the day, only one person was needed to man the phones - sales dropped off rapidly as people stayed home.

There were rumours that Canary Wharf was going to be hit, and people worried about getting home - we worked in West London and all but one of us lived in East London, so it was a good hour on the Underground. I was annoyed at people trying to borrow trouble, and the fact that some of the secretaries were crying because they knew people in America (none of them anywhere near the places targeted). The idea that hours later the terrorists were going to strike again just seemed like scare-mongering with everyone already on Red Alert.

To be honest we found it all quite exciting. The reality didn't hit home for quite a while. It seemed like something out of a film to start with.

I will never forget watching Bryant Gumbel (is that his name?) being SOOOOOO flip -- "we've had a report that a plane has hit the WTC, but, haven't confirmed anything just yet" and he moved on to other matters. It was his delivery that - in hindsight - bothered me most.

I will never forget being unable to reach my brother who works in DC, lives in VA, and the look in his eyes when he FINALLY made it home to Central PA - he decided that he didn't need to ever go back. Or the argument between him & his wife that we can't let terrorists dictate how we live our lives. (she won...)

I saw a military plane fly over this morning coming in to work. I don't know if it's heightened security or just a normal run (we're not that far from Wright-Patterson AFB.)

I was working at the Country Club that summer, so I didn't go in until later...my ex turned on the TV and said "you're not going to believe this." I watched and all I could say was "Why?" At that point it was all still confusion; no one was sure what was happening.

Then some golfer came in to the Club for lunch and said "who'd we piss off now?" I wanted to smack him, did he not see the horrific events that were unfolding?

Talked to one of my best friends this am - He worked in the North tower on a weekly basis for a company on the 90 whatever floor - He was there the week before and had appts scheduled the following weeks as well. It was pure fate that he was not there on 9/11. He worked with/knew about 175 people that perished that day. I am thankful for him as a friend and that he wasn't there when it happened. He will never forget, nor will I.

I hope that those that lost members of their families on that day have recovered and are enjoying life again.

http://www.newsday.com/sports/column...2284636.column

:'(

I remember my husband calling me from work, and saying turn on the TV something terrible is happening, and just sitting in front of the TV, stunned. Even this morning I was in tears, had to leave the room, ven the news coverage still upsets me. I live about a mile from a military base (literally) the size of Delaware, and I know they are on heightened security. My school district has red white and blue day for the kids. Mine were 5 and 1 when it happened, so they really don't remember when it happened, but we talk about it every year. It is still so painful to think about.

I remember when I was in elementary school and the space shuttle blew up. The teachers were absolutely beside themselves...but I guess it's harder for the full gravity of an event like this to pop the bubble of a child's blissful innocence.

When you're a kid, things blowing up is something that happens in movies, so it's usually pretty cool. The reality that things blowing up can be a bad thing...that's a hard lesson.

Plus, we're conditioned as Americans to expect that we will be the ones doing the blowing up of stuff, not the other way around. Our default reaction to something blowing up is to cheer. It's especially confusing to a child--to not cheer when something blows up.

I was instant messaging with some online friends, when one of them started telling me what was happening on the news he was watching. I didn't get the scale of it at first. He was a New Yorker, living a long way from NY. I watched his heart break in 3 text messages.

Juniper, a similar thing occurred to me today. For us this was an event, with smaller or greater repercussions depending on how personally affected we were. For the youngsters approaching young adulthood it is one of the foundations upon which their modern world is built. It is part of the ground on which they tread.

Like the Cold War. I don't know anybody who didn't have nightmares about nuclear missle attacks.

I wonder what kind of nightmares are making the rounds these days?

Edit: The important difference being, on second thought, that the nuclear war never happened (unless you're Japanese), whereas we're talking about an event here which did happen. What's worse, as far as "nightmare material," the suspenseful build-up, or the actual event?

I remember the rage I felt. Still feel, really.