Weekend Assignment #128: 9/11, Five Years On

Weekend Assignment #128: Share your thoughts about 9/11. You can remember back on what you were doing on the day or give some thought to how we think about it today. Thoughts personal, political or philosophical are all up for consideration. Tell us all what you think about when you think about September 11, 2001.

I live on the west coast, so when 9/11 happened, I was getting ready for work.  I was single, living in my little condo with my two kids.  The kids were eating their cereal, when one of them shouted to me across the room that something "crazy" was happening on T.V.  I ran over, and I was in shock.  I couldn't believe what I had just seen.  They had shown what was once the Twin Towers on fire. 

It was surreal.  While driving to work, after letting off the kids at school, I listened to the radio in total shock.  It was unbelievable, and I couldn't comprehend what was happening.  At work, people seemed to work in slow motion, and there was a lot of silence in the hallways.  My supervisor kept me up with what was going on.  "People are jumping out of the Twin Towers!"  she exclaimed.  It was so unbelievable, as if I was hearing of a movie or a story someone had written, or of an occurrance that was happening in some distant country, far, far away...

Distance can really make you feel immune in a way.  You can feel unattached to it, but it wasn't until I came home that day, did I realize how close, and how small the world is.  I heard of stories of terror, and a coming together.  Yes, there is a lot of hate in this world, but there is hope, and there is love--I could see it in the faces of the brave firemen and policemen,  on TV, and I could see it on the faces of the victims, their loved ones, hoping to see their husbands, wives, children, sister, brother, friend walk out of the building.  At the end of the day, it was a bit emotional, and I had a good cry.  I felt a little vunerable, and scared, and alone, as I sat with my kids that night on the couch.  They had questions, and my youngest no longer wanted to travel on a plane.  How can you explain what just happened to a 7 year old?  I worried about my parents who were vacationing overseas as well.  I think they were more worried for us.

Do you ever remember seeing so many American flags waving that year?  I don't, and I don't ever remember feeling more proud of being an American either.