Remember?
Do you remember where you were and what you were doing that fateful morning ten years ago? I do.
Do you remember knowing instinctively that the world had changed forever? I do.
Do you remember the feeling of indignation, the "this can't happen here, not to my country" feeling? I do.
Do you remember the sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach as the second plane hit, as the towers fell, as the cloulds of ash and dust rolled down the streets? I do.
Do you remember mourning the loss of all the lives that were snuffed out that day? I do.
I remember another feeling too, and that is "We are America, you can bend us, BUT YOU WILL NOT BREAK US."
G-d bless America.
Comments
Mashie 12 years ago
Sorry Lady this is so late. I didn't read it until last week because I wasn't ready to deal with it actually.
The morning of 9/11 I woke up and started to get ready for work. The TV was on. At first I thought it was some sort of movie, it wasn't long until I realized that I was watching one of the darkest moments in American history happen right before my eyes. At this point the second plane had not hit yet.
Being 40, I am in the generation that really hasn't been up until that point effected by a war. My generation grew up totally free, peaceful for the most part. And never have we been attacked on our own land.
I love history, thought about being a history teacher for a long time. I had some of my senior pictures taken with an American flag proudly hanging behind me and I was holding a copy of the constitution in my hands. I told you I am a nerd, I wasn't even joking, lol. It actually is my favorite one.
That day changed my life, along with any other proud American's. I, and I'm sure most of us do, still think about it frequently. Since that happened, every year on that date, a week prior and a week post tends to still be a very solom time for me. I am having a lot of trouble getting past that, getting past the fear, the sorrow, and the hate.
Two years ago just about Doc took me to go and buy my new puppy. We were picking her up out of Brooklyn. That was a trip I will NEVER forget.
Remember, I grew up in Amishville USA, so seeing New York City was a huge deal for me. The date was December 18th. He did a lot of his residency in New York City so he was very familure and knew his way around. We took a left coming out of Lincoln Tunnel and he drove me right through the center of Times Square, at Christmas time. I can't even begin to tell you how beautiful that was. I was in total awe and don't think I shut my mouth the entire time. But that's an entirely different story, lol.
It was starting to get dark as it was pushing 6pm. As we were driving around he would point out different things to me, Grand Central Station, Yankee Stadium etc, then he said, okay, to your right is ground 0, where the twin towers sat.
I can't tell you the feeling of panic that suddenly came over me. The morning of 9/11 suddenly came rushing back to me. Even though it was getting dark, I was still able to see everything. As I looked to my left I could see the river and was finally able to picture for myself the grandure of that fateful morning.
Apparently he could tell I was starting to ramp up and was heading for a huge panic attack. Being right there and that close to something that had effected me so deeply for so long was more than I could handle. As we drove up a little more, there was a huge sign hanging on the construction fence around what is now the memorial. The sign said, "Merry Christmas from 9/11, May We Never Forget". And then I wept.
In a way, going by there and being able to finally mourn, not so much for all of the people that parished there, but more for the part of my precious country and all it stood there died for. A little part of every American died there that day, and by driving by there, I was finally able to properly grieve for my part if that makes any sense?
ladydocisin 12 years ago
Johnny, I'm so sorry about YOUR loss. I've lost a lot in my life, but not a child. I'm not sure I could recover from such a thing. You are a strong person.
Eleutheros 12 years ago
I was watching with horror as events unfolded on my TV from my home in KwaZulu-Natal. For us the drama began in our afternoon and continued into the choking night.
America was my son's adopted country, and he had full blown leukemia then. He was being prepared for that last deperate resort - a bone marrow transplant. We were only awaiting the word from his wife to come to them, either to celebrate new life or...
The call came 17 days later, and he died while we were in the air en route to Florida. We came to the States to mourn our son's passing; but instead found ourselves comforting many, many others still in shock who had lost loved ones in the Twin Towers.
Oh, yes, I remember! He was 31.
Johnny
ladydocisin 12 years ago
Woodpecker, you make a very good point. I confess that I still see everything from a very narrow, American frame of reference. For me, and those of my generation, and my daughter's as well, 9/11 is a sentinel moment.
n/a 12 years ago
i think everyone will remember where they were that day. I know i do!
Dr Marcus Welby 12 years ago
Well said Doctor...
May God Bless America, this ~ and every day.
woodpecker 12 years ago
Yes I do remember - I was sitting on a plane at Toronto airport waiting for a take-off which never came. Instead we watched aircraft after aircraft diverted from US airports coming into land, and then disgorging their passengers into a terminal that even more crowded than usual.
Like you I mourn the loss of life, but did the event change the world? Not for me. The world has long been a violent and often tragic place, and terrorist attacks were certainly nothing new in 2001. 9/11 was undeniably a momentous event, but its magnitude has to be weighed against other human tragedies such as the holocausts in Europe (World War II), Cambodia and Rwanda, and most recently, the unexplained disappearance of 50,000 Libyans imprisoned by Gaddhafi and his henchmen.