9.11.01 - Where Were You?
This post is to honor those that were lost, those that saved the people in danger of being lost, and those that united this country in a time of panic and fear.
To my American readers, where were you when you found out about the attacks on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon as well as the crash of Flight 93?
If you're not from the US, when did you hear about it? What was your response?
I was in 9th grade, and I was sitting in Study Hall when my Math teacher from 8th grade came in, her face grave, and turned on the overhead tv, explaining that the Two Towers in New York City had just been hit by two planes in attack against The United States. The country was in a state of panic and crisis, and I was, I admit this shamefacedly, calm. I wasn't in New York. I wasn't in Washington, DC. This didn't affect me.
It wasn't until, in front of our very eyes, the south tower collapsed. The reporter that had been talking in the background of the program cried out as the building crumbled, killing the people inside as well as those out in the underlying street.
But the point of this post is not to dwell on the past. Yes, it happened and was horrible, but focusing on what happened doesn't help anything. It's how you move forward, how you respond and grow.
Americans across the country banded together, joining to create a united front.
Once again, I salute those affected, the souls that were lost, and those who went to the site to help. You're all amazing people, and our country wouldn't be the same without you.
Peace.
Stef.
P.S. To see today's writing exercise, go to the previous post, "Sprinkle in ze French!"
I salute you.
To my American readers, where were you when you found out about the attacks on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon as well as the crash of Flight 93?
If you're not from the US, when did you hear about it? What was your response?
I was in 9th grade, and I was sitting in Study Hall when my Math teacher from 8th grade came in, her face grave, and turned on the overhead tv, explaining that the Two Towers in New York City had just been hit by two planes in attack against The United States. The country was in a state of panic and crisis, and I was, I admit this shamefacedly, calm. I wasn't in New York. I wasn't in Washington, DC. This didn't affect me.
It wasn't until, in front of our very eyes, the south tower collapsed. The reporter that had been talking in the background of the program cried out as the building crumbled, killing the people inside as well as those out in the underlying street.
But the point of this post is not to dwell on the past. Yes, it happened and was horrible, but focusing on what happened doesn't help anything. It's how you move forward, how you respond and grow.
Americans across the country banded together, joining to create a united front.
Together we stand.
Once again, I salute those affected, the souls that were lost, and those who went to the site to help. You're all amazing people, and our country wouldn't be the same without you.
Never forget.
Peace.
Stef.
P.S. To see today's writing exercise, go to the previous post, "Sprinkle in ze French!"
Comments
I support remembering and honoring the victims and the heroes of that day. I do NOT support governments or other organizations using the tragedy as propaganda towards their own political ends.
From a British perspective, you heard about it everywhere you went for weeks. The atmosphere completely changed and news crews found person after person who had family in New York that had been killed in the attack. There's been a documentary on the anniversary every year and most people participate in the moment of silence.
It was a tragedy and it shook the entire world.
I know it certainly must not get any easier as the years pass for the families involved, including of course the families of the firefighters and policemen who were lost because every year the tragedy is publicized, and every year they have to be reminded via other outlets other than their loved one just not being there.
Of course I feel we as a country should remember, and it should be a day to remember those souls and their families. I just think it's a shame that politicians and extremist groups are using the day for their own personal propaganda.
Bless those lost nine years ago, may they find peace, and bless those left behind to deal with this tragedy for the rest of their lives.
http://liferealized.blogspot.com/
I grew up in NYC, worked one summer near the World Trade Center and still had family there. I knew at least two people who worked in the vicinity.
By then my job had set up TV's (where they came from I don't know) in our cafeteria and we gathered to watch. I joined live coverage in progress about 10 minutes before the second tower fell.
When it fell the only thing I could think of was "how many people I know did I just watch die?"
At lunch I went outside. The downtown of my small city was swarming with police-I guess they were there to protect the county and state courthouses. The sky was so blue.
When I got home I found that my husband had started to call my friends and family, trying to find out if they were OK.
One of the two friends, it turns out, had been on vacation and was stranded when the planes were grounded. The other friend had been evacuated, and watched the North Tower fall from the Manhattan Bridge. He walked home with a co-worker, which took about 4 hours. When he arrived home, haggard, still covered in dust, his wife (another good friend) cried. But his day wasn't over yet; he drove the co-worker home. He told me the highways were deserted.
13 alumni from my high school died that day.
I had nightmares for months. But I am the lucky one. I was not there.
Ramblin with AM ramblinwitham.blogspot.com
I'll never forget driving past the smoking Pentagon. It was like driving into Armegeddon.
I had visited NYC soon after the WTC bombing, and had seen the reconstruction going on at that time. During that same trip, we visited DC.
Seeing what had really happened, hearing that it wasn't just there but at the Pentagon & then learning there was a third hijacked plane, I couldn't even fathom the scope. I wondered if we would go on lock down - I was working near a military Arsenal.
Scary scary day. Scary 9 years since, with the wars that we're still fighting, still sacrificing our ppl in. :( The families affected then & now continue to be in my prayers.
I remember seeing the second plane hit the second tower, and we knew this was no accident.
I had class that morning, so I went to school. When I got there, every single tv was on, professors and staff were going around not sure of what to do. They closed campus at noon (California time), and we went home, still in shock and not sure totally at what was going on.
I watched CNN at home the whole day, and my sister called from Italy to know what was going on. I remember the anger in my voice, as I told her what I knew. I had lived in NYC for a year, before moving to CA, that day my heart bled as if I was still there.
We will never forget, because we CAN'T forget,or we would render meaningless the sacrifice of many.
We all went to the cafeteria to watch the news. We saw live how the second plane crashed. It was so surreal. Even as far away as we were from that place, we were absolutely shaken. I don't think anyone, no matter where they were, will ever forget about that day.
I salute to all those brave people who help save lifes that day. They are real heroes.
Anyway I was expecting my twins at the time and maybe because of the pregnancy was extra emotional but it took me a long time to stop waking up at night in horror at the sound of an overhead plane.
The world changed that day.
People who weren't there don't grasp, I don't think, the level of sheer chaos and fear...most of it coming from the complete lack of communication.
(Yes, I am one of the people who thought for a while that a plane had also crashed into Camp David, but I didn't hear the 'explosions' that shook the Capitol...which I'm pretty sure were sonic booms and if I HAD heard them, I could be sure. I've heard both a sonic boom and a bomb and I understand how most people can't tell the difference...but if you've heard both, believe me, they're not the same).
My mom was in panic mode as at the time she worked for the military's insurance company. She was on the phone with a man who was on site. He literally told her "I think that plane is flying in the wrong direction..." 5 minutes later he called again and all she could hear was screaming.
For me, teachers were running around in terror, neighbors were begging me to take them home because my father was here and listed on their emergency card. Their parents worked in D.C. It was the most confusing time of my life. I was twelve, I understood death, but death on such a scale seemed impossible and it didn't sink in for years.
I went to NY to see ground zero when I was 13 and I could not connect the total chaos, death and destruction with the gaping hole and rubble. I have a picture and all I feel, to this day, when I look at it is numbness. I don't think I ever had a reaction. I think I was too young and now that I am of an age to really mull it over and comb out how I feel, it seems like I missed my chance. My window for fear, outrage, emotion in general has passed and I am left in a state of numbness.
I spent this year's September 11 with my significant other and his friend--a new father. We spent the day discussing life and newborns and it was the first September 11 I felt something. It was nice.
side note to the talking heads and politicians out there: We should be remembering those lost and celebrating their heroism, not fighting and using their sacrifice as some political talking point. Don't cheapen it.