We all have stories about where we were when we first heard the terrible, frightening news. We all have stories about how we coped during those sad days right after 9/11. And, we all have stories about how we remember those events on 9/11 as the years go by.
My grandchildren are too young to have lived then, but the oldest ones have heard some stories. My children lived through it. In fact, my oldest daughter's birthday is on 9/11. For years after, she didn't celebrate her birthday on 9/11. Then, as time went by, we all figured she should enjoy her day, just as other 9/11 people would do for their birthdays, anniversaries, etc. - happy events.
That day made our nation "come together as one" again; strong in our convictions and patriotic once more. Flags were flown everywhere. People thought about how vulnerable we could be, even right here in the US.
Every year around September, documentaries are shown about that day and the days following. I still watch and cry. I watch how some people survived and how air traffic over the US was closed for days. I remember going outside and how eerie it was not to hear any sounds of airplanes.
I'm grateful that my brother-in-law was in a building next to the Towers and not in them that day. His account of what he saw and did is a reminder of how fate controls our lives. As part of a photography group, he took pictures and some video footage with his group and some were broadcast on various networks. He's changed since then; grateful he survived the horror and more willing to do things now that he wants to do instead of always "saving" for retirement and the future.
We have to remain vigilant; those that hate the US will never give up. Are we safer now than before 9/11? I hope so. It's up to us to remember what happened and be "watchers" for suspicious people/activities. Our military and government agencies can only do so much...every American needs to help.
I took the photo in 2002 when my brother-in-law took my husband and me to the 9/11 site. Never forget that day and how it changed our lives...and pray for those who suffered and died.
Where were you on 9/11/2001?
11 comments:
Thanks for your tribute, Marianne. Nothing has ever been the same again since that fateful day.
Nice tribute, Marianne. Such changes it wrought around the world. In Chicago or hours away, I've always lived in the flight path of the busy O'Hare airport. I remember the skies being empty for days after. Notably empty of commercial traffic. After a lifetime of seeing it otherwise, I found it rather chilling to see military fighter jets making rounds.
Horrible, horrible day. I was at work. Got there very early, so I didn't know what was going on. When one of my coworkers came in (hours later), she said, "Did you hear about the plane crashing into the building in NY?"
I looked it up and was stunned. It seemed surreal. Then, the second plane crashed and the third.
Just horrible. It seemed as if the world had come to an end. Those poor people.
What a nice tribute, Marianne. That's a day I'll never forget. I worked for AIG Insurance at the time, and one of our clients was AON which was headquartered in the second tower. Minutes before the first attack, I'd faxed something to my AON contact, Laura Ragonese Snik. I'd gotten close to her through our business dealings. She was killed in the attack. It still upsets me. I have the confirmation of my fax. I've saved it all these years. Now, I'm sad again thinking about her and her young son she left behind.
On that day, I was getting ready for work with the TV channel on the Today Show. I watched, stunned. Tears still form when I think of that day. Thank you for the tribute.
Thank you for sharing, Marianne. I was folding clothes in front of the TV and a reporter came on saying something about a plane hitting the tower. I thought sorta like the one hitting the Empire State Building. Then he said they had reports of another hitting. I phoned Handsome who was in another state on business and we were stunned. My heart hurt. Months later, we went to NYC for business and to the site. I sobbed.
I lost a cousin in the Twin Towers. It made me very sad and very angry.
Thanks for not letting us forget.
I was in between two music rehearsals, stopped at the woman's fitness center to get in a half hour workout. TVs, brand new installments at this facility, were on in front of the treadmills. Someone in the room screamed.....Like millions I saw the images but didn't comprehend them. Exactly what happened to me while working at a hospital when the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded in January, 1986. Stunned disbelief. Thank you for your words, Marianne.
I was teaching on that day. It was my second year of teaching at the school I'm still currently at. We didn't really know what had been going on. Parents were arriving and taking their children out of school. A field trip was canceled that year because parents were worried about their children going to a city that had many Arabic families. Fear fueled everyone's days.
Thank you for sharing, Marianne.
I was a "new" 911 dispatcher for LAPD. (18 months on the job at the time) I was scheduled to go to the Museum of Tolerance that day for training, but it was canceled due to what happened. I was also 3 months pregnant with my 1st son. I remember sitting in front of the TV, mesmerized wondering what kind of world was I bringing him into.
I think it's a day we'll always remember. Now Andrew is 12. He's a boy scout and in National Junior Society. He'll help to make the world a better place, but terrorism is always something we as a nation have to be diligent about now.
Smiles
Steph
Marianne, I'm sorry to be so late. I was watching CNN when it happened. I was horrified. For days, I watched it happen over and over again.
We must never forget because it could happen again. I don't believe we're safer because where there's a way they'll find it.
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