I Remember 9-11

I don't usually post mid-week. But I was just reflecting today on what happened on this day 17 years ago and decided to write it all out because, well, that's what I do. So here is my 9-11 memory. If you have a memory, I would really like to read it and experience with you everything you went through. Please leave a comment with your 9-11 memory or link to where you have it typed somewhere. This is why writing was invented, so that people could share with one another. Please share with me.

Everyone remembers where they were when the terrorist attack happened on 9-11. I too remember. I was in jr. high, first hour, in the choir room at Moore West Jr. High when the first plane struck. An announcement came over the intercom that teachers were allowed and encouraged to turn on the news if they happen to have a TV or radio in the room as there had just been a plane that had crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City, I do not think it was known at the time that it was a terrorist attack. My choir teacher’s face went pale and her mouth dropped. She flipped on a radio and we heard the garbled voice of the news anchors talking about the crash. It was during that time the words “possible terrorist attack” were mentioned. There was little emotion, everyone was just in shock. It was near the end of the hour, and we soon heard the bell ring for time to change classes. Students quickly and quietly went to their next class. My second hour language teacher was staring glued to a TV in her room. The students just filed into our desks quietly and watched in horror as the camera captured a second plane hitting the second building. My language teacher put her hand to her mouth and gasped. After a few minutes, the principal came over the intercom with this news also and informed students that parents would be called and school would be cancelled for the remainder of the day and that all students should head to the cafeteria to await their parents for pickup. My mom was one of the first few parents to arrive. She probably started making her way to the school before they began calling parents. We picked up my brother from the elementary school. When we got home, we turned on the TV to find that the first building had fallen. They replayed the footage over and over. And then we watched together as the second tower fell. And again, every scene in vivid detail was played over and over. There was even grainy footage from the first plane hitting the tower captured by tourists. 

I can only describe my emotion as shock followed by sadness. And then as the news played the same footage for days and days, I began to feel, still shocked and sad, but also a bit numb. I think my mother knew that watching too much of it just wasn’t good for her children, so she had us keep the TV off for a few days. We talked about it a lot though, especially if we heard new bits of information about what had happened. They cancelled school for the rest of the week but it resumed the following Monday. And that was all anyone could talk about at school too. But… it wasn’t all bad. We began to see that nation come together. People began to wave their American flags with pride. We all had a strong sense of community with our entire country. And the stories of heroism began to emerge from the chaos, stories of ordinary people who, during those minutes that the buildings were still standing, saved hundreds of lives, sometimes while sacrificing their own. So while I witnessed some human beings at their very worse, it also brought out some of the very best human kindness in others. Not that I can say I am glad it happened, of course not. But it just goes to show that even when things seem so hopeless, they are not. 

I am sad to say that it often seems like the hatred in the hearts of Americans today towards fellow Americans may be greater than that of the terrorists that day. It is no wonder they mostly leave us alone anymore. All they have to do is just sit back and watch us destroy each other. It should not take an act of terrorism to make us feel compassion for one another. Red, yellow, black, or white, we are all precious and equal in the Lord’s sight. I hope someday we will feel a sense of unity despite our differences once again, only this time without it being the result of great tragedy.