Remembering
Seven years ago, at approximately 9am, I was doing laundry. I was a sophomore in college, and at my apartment folding some clothes before I headed off to class. I happened to have the TV on in the background. The normal babble of morning television turned into a much serious tone, and I found myself turning up the volume to hear what was going on. About this time, the second plane crashed into the World Trade Center. I watched it live. I fell onto my bed and the tears were immediate.
I pulled myself away from the TV and made the short drive to class. But as I pulled onto campus, I realized that it wasn’t going to be a normal day. Students were huddled in small groups in the parking lot, in classrooms, and by the flag that flew on campus. You heard the sound of crying. The “Canteen” was a student lounge that was rarely used on campus. But on September 11, 2001 you could hardly get through the doors. All of the TV’s were tuned into the news. Hundreds of fellow students were glued to the screens, all in complete silence. It was a sight and (lack of) sound that I will always remember.
I have a hard time believing that it was seven years ago. The terrorist attacks now linger somewhere between a conscious part of our lives, and comfortably removed into the distant past. It no longer happened yesterday, but I don’t feel comfortable calling it history. Our lives have changed in response to that day. We are obviously now fighting two wars because of the events. But in other small ways… we now take our shoes off at the airport. The “new normal” is now just normal. Is that OK?
I, like so many, watched the news coverage of the anniversary this morning. I was amazed at how my feelings and emotions that I had seven years ago came flooding back so easily. Hearing children speak of their lost fathers, and husbands that lost their wifes… My heart breaks for them, and for their continued pain. I am sad not for just what happened to them on September 11th, but for the reality of what September 12th, 13th, and 14th brought.
Let us, as a country, continue to support and love each other the way we did seven years ago.
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