In Memory 9/11

What a somber day this turns out to be each and every year for the past seven years. Ya know, I understand and have been through the grieving process at times in my life, and this day apparently turns out to be no different. Sooner or later I envision, this day will turn into just another date on the calendar, but that's not going to happen any time soon in our society. As the day approaches, you think to yourself, "Tomorrow is 9-11," and you give it a first or second thought. When the day actually gets here, it's not the same glancing thought.

Every year on 9/11, I'm taken back to where I was and the countless thoughts and reactions I had throughout the days and weeks that followed. It was my senior year at Monroe High School, I was in SRT getting ready to head to my 3rd hour senior English class. I was set to start my co-op position at Monroe City Hall that day after my 3rd hour class. Ms. Cyr, one of our assistant principals, came over the P.A. and asked teachers to turn their TVs on in the classroom, as history is unfolding in New York City. Mrs. Evans turned the monitor on and we saw one of the towers billowing smoke and then within minutes, the second tower was hit. We thought it was a replay of video, but it was live. We then heard many rumors from news reports, that the White House had been hit, the Capitol building was hit, New York was under siege. It was scary to say the least. We were released to our next class and we watched the TV the entire class period. After that class, I was walking down the A-wing stairs and one of my friends grabbed my arm and said, "You're going to war." That was perhaps the worst thing I remember that day, thinking I was going to be drafted or have to go fight in a war. I was only 17, not old enough for the draft. Still, shocking....

I left school around 11:30 that day to go home and get ready for work. Mom was home on her lunch and told me I should call and see if City Hall would remain open. I did, they were, so I got dressed and left. I sat at the switchboard the entire day watching the internet and updated. The Social Security Office on the third floor was evacuated and sent home. I can't remember for sure, but I think the County building closed, except essential personnel. We stayed. Didn't do much work that afternoon, just watched our computer monitors and listened to the radio.

That night, I remember every channel on TV had suspended programming and either had CNN coverage on, or a graphic on the screen instructing viewers to pray. Mom and I went with Aunt Janet to Trinity Church to donate blood, but they were overloaded and closed. We just went home and were glued to the television. Moved beyond measure. I can't imagine being in the shoes of the people who were inside those buildings or on board those airplanes as they knew their fates would soon unfold. Eerie, scary, unbelievable. Not something easy to think about, sitting at your desk and seeing an airliner streaming toward your office. Just a thought that's awful to have, but unable to purge from your mind.

So, here it is, 2008 and seven years later. I woke up about 8, with the fact that it was September 11th on the forefront of my mind, first thing. I flipped on the TV and they were covering the dedication of the memorial at the Pentagon. I was glued to the TV once more, flipping through all the news channels to watch what coverage they had. At about 8:40, MSNBC started replaying the coverage to the minute of the Today Show's coverage in 2001. I haven't turned the TV off yet. I've been watching it as if it were 2001 all over again. I remember it as if it were yesterday, so why do I feel so drawn to watching the commercial free coverage all over again? I really don't know, I was there the first time it happened, why would I want to go through it again. Re-living history I suppose keeps us in remembrance and on guard. The emotions are as if it's happening all over again, but scary to think if something of this magnitude would ever be forgotten or the scale of it would be shrinking.

Knowing now what we didn't know then is what makes it different. Interesting to hear all of the facts as they were coming through unconfirmed and all of the speculation. First reports were that a commuter plan slammed the first tower; now we know it was a 747. A lone suicide mission was first thought; now we know it was a large-scale, carefully planned terrorist attack. How different it was in the moments on 9/11/01, all the unknowns that are now clearly known. First reports were a bomb went off at the Pentagon; yet, it was another suicide airliner. (Sidenote: Katie Couric just said on TV a car bomb went off outside the State Department- just another rumor I referred to earlier).

Who knew seven years ago that our country would be in the shape it is today? Gas not only over two dollars a gallon, not only over three dollars a gallon, but once again approaching the four dollar a gallon mark. There is still no memorial in New York City. A country no longer at war to find bin Laden, but battling in Iraq. I'm still not sure what, if any, connection there was that turned it from a war on terror to a "liberation for the people of Iraq." Today, you can't approach the gates at the airport to say good-bye. There is the Patriot Act, an economy that is just bushwhacked (excuse the pun there), sky rocketing prices for gas and groceries, and countless other policies that affect our every day lives in ways we wouldn't have thought on September 10th.

I walked out a few minutes ago and got my books out of my car. It's another beautiful, sunny September 11, just as it was 7 years ago. Could or will it happen again? I'm sure of it. When will it happen? I have no clue. Things are much different, life has changed so much in the past 7 years. It would be nice if the economy and political scene were as they were on September 10, 2001. But we must accept the fact that will never happen again, sadly. Our world was forever changed on September 11, 2001.



It has been a couple days since I blogged. It has been a very busy couple days. However, it all falls in pale comparison to the facts surrounding this day. I'll update tomorrow.

Romans 12:15
"...mourn with those who mourn."