I was reading another friend's blog about her memories and feelings of September 11, 2001. It reminded me of how it felt that day listening to the radio and waiting for every tiny new detail. I feel like that was my generation's Pearl Harbor. I can still feel the shock I felt that morning. I was on my way to work and stopped at a stoplight. I punched the power button on the radio and the voice was saying that planes had hit the Twin Towers. I thought it was a movie advertisement. The next part happened in slow motion: I glanced left and noticed the man in the car next to me. His mouth was hanging open in shock and he was shaking his head. At the same time, the voice on the radio said the station name and that this was a special announcement. The Twin Towers in New York City had just been hit by airplanes. No other information was available.
The light turns green and the cars start moving. I couldn't get to work fast enough. Those of you who worked with me at Boulevard Home Furninshings during that time will remember that everyone was gathered around the big screen TV in the middle of the store. No one spoke. We just watched. And then the towers fell.
What a scary and out of control day that was. Everyone was in a daze. No one knew what to think. Everyone seemed to know someone who was flying that day. There were about five of us in the office who were young, newly married women. I remember the older people telling us that we would surely go to war and that the draft was coming. Would they send our husbands to fight? I also remember the terror we felt every time they announced that an airplane wasn't landing or wouldn't respond to controllers. Most of them were false alarms...and then they weren't.
The Pentagon. The pentagon, too? It was surreal. This was something out of a movie. I just wanted to go home and be with Jade. I wanted to understand what was happening. For my entire life I had believed that I would never see an act of war in my own country. The Gulf War hit close to home, but this was closer. And then Shanksville, Pennsylvania. I remember thinking that itmust just be a rumor, until I saw pictures of that one, too. Too much, now. I was "for real" scared. Not just scared because everyone else was and it was the appropriate emotion for the situation. This was real and I didn't understand it. And we were all at work and we couldn't call our loved ones and we couldn't make sure everyone was okay. I think those feelings lasted a year.
On 9/11/2002 we all watched the footage again and realized how we had triumphed over adversity. We took a breath and realized we are the United Stated of America, and if nothing else, we have that in common. As strong as my fear was, my patriotism was stronger.
Yesterday, I was prepared to talk about what happened on 9/11. I wasn't prepared NOT to talk about it. I must have spoken to two hundred people yesterday and not one person wished me a happy Patriots Day. No one wore a flag on their lapel. No one said, "Wow, has it really been eight years?" Was I the only one who felt like this was an important day in American history? I hope not. I hope we never forget what happened on 9/11/01, and I hope we never forget who we are and what we stand for!
