Never forget
I have no desire to turn this post into a super-long diatribe about what's wrong (or even what's right) in our country. I simply want to reflect on some of the things I remembered from that fateful day ten years ago.
Turning on the TV before work and seeing Tower 1 smoking. Though at this point a lot of people thought it was a strange accident, my first thought was an attack by Iraq.
Driving to work and hearing on the radio about the second tower. Beginning to realize the scope of the tragedy, calling my husband (waking him up) and telling him to turn on the TV. "Which station?" he asked. "It doesn't matter," I said.
Speaking to my Mom and being relieved that my sister, who had been in New York City for a short vacation, had returned safely home the night before.
Watching news coverage with my colleagues and realizing that a good portion of my clients were actually IN the towers of the World Trade Center. My territory was Northeastern US, Finance and Insurance.
Imagining the unimaginable, as so many Americans did. How horrifying it must have been for those victimized by this tragedy. Seeing news coverage of people running for their lives and realizing there is so much more the cameras won't show because it was just too terrifying for the American public to see. Those cameramen and women most likely witnessed horrific sights and they spared us from seeing them ourselves.
Over the following days came more realizations. This was a tragedy that hit all Americans in one way or another. Everyone knows someone who was directly affected by the attacks. In my case, it was Todd Pelino, who I went to school with in Junior and Senior High. Through the simple circumstance of the alphabet, he sat in front of me in High School homeroom for three years. Now he was just gone. Though I never saw him after High School, and never met his wife, I still felt sadness for her. She not only lost her husband, the father of their 9-month-old baby, but also her sister, who worked at Cantor Fitzgerald with him.
Our usually-noisy neighborhood fell quiet. No longer did we have the small prop planes and helicopters flying overhead from the nearby small airport which housed a handful of flight schools. We had been accustomed to hearing them every 15-20 minutes or so on the weekend, but now... simply silence. For what seemed like an eternity.
We learned that one of the terrorist pilots actually trained at one of those schools. That he may have been flying over our house only a few weeks before during a training exercise.
Upon returning to work, noticing the skies were silent from commercial jets as well. There was nothing but blue sky, the sun, and some billowy white clouds. This may seem 'normal' to you, but to someone who was accustomed to seeing five, six or more planes constantly streaming through the air, their absence was certainly noticeable.
No, I will never forget all these things. I will never forget the feelings associated with them. But I will also always remember the way America came together through the tragedy. How people were no longer hesitant about mentioning their faith in God. They seemed to sing "God Bless America" everywhere, and I'm so glad this is still a tradition at major sporting events.
I pray that we have learned from this. That our lives have not simply become more inconvenienced at the airport and group events, and that the precautions that are being taken will truly prevent another attack.
I pray that our leaderswill make decisions that will protect the American people without letting party politics or personal agendas getting in the way.
I pray that the people of America, the people of the world, learned something and will never forget how they felt that day.
They say that time heals all wounds, but this is one that should never be healed, lest we forget the pain that it caused.
Turning on the TV before work and seeing Tower 1 smoking. Though at this point a lot of people thought it was a strange accident, my first thought was an attack by Iraq.
Driving to work and hearing on the radio about the second tower. Beginning to realize the scope of the tragedy, calling my husband (waking him up) and telling him to turn on the TV. "Which station?" he asked. "It doesn't matter," I said.
Speaking to my Mom and being relieved that my sister, who had been in New York City for a short vacation, had returned safely home the night before.
Watching news coverage with my colleagues and realizing that a good portion of my clients were actually IN the towers of the World Trade Center. My territory was Northeastern US, Finance and Insurance.
Imagining the unimaginable, as so many Americans did. How horrifying it must have been for those victimized by this tragedy. Seeing news coverage of people running for their lives and realizing there is so much more the cameras won't show because it was just too terrifying for the American public to see. Those cameramen and women most likely witnessed horrific sights and they spared us from seeing them ourselves.
Over the following days came more realizations. This was a tragedy that hit all Americans in one way or another. Everyone knows someone who was directly affected by the attacks. In my case, it was Todd Pelino, who I went to school with in Junior and Senior High. Through the simple circumstance of the alphabet, he sat in front of me in High School homeroom for three years. Now he was just gone. Though I never saw him after High School, and never met his wife, I still felt sadness for her. She not only lost her husband, the father of their 9-month-old baby, but also her sister, who worked at Cantor Fitzgerald with him.
Our usually-noisy neighborhood fell quiet. No longer did we have the small prop planes and helicopters flying overhead from the nearby small airport which housed a handful of flight schools. We had been accustomed to hearing them every 15-20 minutes or so on the weekend, but now... simply silence. For what seemed like an eternity.
We learned that one of the terrorist pilots actually trained at one of those schools. That he may have been flying over our house only a few weeks before during a training exercise.
Upon returning to work, noticing the skies were silent from commercial jets as well. There was nothing but blue sky, the sun, and some billowy white clouds. This may seem 'normal' to you, but to someone who was accustomed to seeing five, six or more planes constantly streaming through the air, their absence was certainly noticeable.
No, I will never forget all these things. I will never forget the feelings associated with them. But I will also always remember the way America came together through the tragedy. How people were no longer hesitant about mentioning their faith in God. They seemed to sing "God Bless America" everywhere, and I'm so glad this is still a tradition at major sporting events.
I pray that we have learned from this. That our lives have not simply become more inconvenienced at the airport and group events, and that the precautions that are being taken will truly prevent another attack.
I pray that our leaderswill make decisions that will protect the American people without letting party politics or personal agendas getting in the way.
I pray that the people of America, the people of the world, learned something and will never forget how they felt that day.
They say that time heals all wounds, but this is one that should never be healed, lest we forget the pain that it caused.
Comments
Post a Comment