It doesn’t feel like seven years has gone by and yet it feels like a century has passed.
I doubt there is anyone reading this who doesn’t remember where they were, and what they were doing, when the horrific news started coming in that day – September 11th, 2001. I was sitting at a desk in my home office, working away. A television was on behind me, but muted – just images on a screen. I didn’t see the smoking and fatally wounded World Trade Center tower until a co-worker IM’d me and asked if I was watching the news. I slowly turned around in my chair, and watched in horror as smoke poured out of a hole in the side of the building.
I wasn’t too worried for the tower or for downtown NYC. After all, the WTC had survived a bombing many years before, and who knows what else, and yet it still towered over everything else at that end of the island. There was speculation about the size of the plane that hit – anything from a Cessna to a small jet. None of the commentators were ready to say it was a large passenger jet. Nobody was ready to say “terrorist attack” – I mean, other than our own, since executed, home-grown terrorists in Oklahoma City and Atlanta, it hadn’t happened on US soil. Rather, it WOULDN’T happen on US soil, right? Right?
All news cameras available in downtown NYC were focused on the smoking hole and all of us watched in gap-mouthed horror as a huge passenger jet plowed into the other WTC tower. Then we knew. We KNEW. We all knew what we didn’t want to know: that the US was under attack.
I remember the newscasters all sitting in stupefied silence for a few seconds. The enormity of what we were all witnessing was mindboggling. And suddenly it was like the gates opened and all this other information came rushing out – more planes had been hijacked, other buildings were targeted, reports on something I had never heard before “dirty nukes” and all sorts of bits and pieces of disinformation.
These two huge towers were burning and we saw what looked like flags or something coming out of the windows. We’re told later that that was office workers and others who decided to jump rather than burn. I later saw a video of firefighters flinching under a portico at the foot of one tower – they were flinching at the sound of another body hitting the roof of the building as one of these poor souls hurtled into it.
Then we weren’t just watching two huge towers burning, we were watching them falling. And falling. And falling. It seemed to go on forever. All I could think of were the people still in the tower, the emergency workers who responded, the people on the ground. I was horrified. I cried and cried and cried. It would be years before I could see another photo of those towers and not have that gut-clenching sorrow hit me.
Sadly, some of it was true: just minutes later, we heard of another jet plowing into the Pentagon. Later I discovered it flew just feet over a roadway I was on every morning in my D.C. commute, driving right past the Pentagon helipad. That really brought everything home to me. Made me wonder how many people I knew had been killed so far. Wondering how many more were to come.
Suddenly all air traffic around the nation was grounded. There was NOTHING in the air for days and days. I remember that for months afterwards I had an adrenaline spike and would break out in a cold sweat whenever I heard the sound of a low-flying jet. I remember calling all of my family and friends, just making sure everyone was safe and accounted for. I remember the phones being down for hours with the overload while everyone in the nation did the same thing.
Then we heard of several other planes being unaccounted for, and rumors of one crashing in Pennsylvania farmland. Rumors were flying in all directions of buildings all over the country being targeted. For weeks we were barraged with these rumors.
Then the anthrax attacks started. It got to where you didn’t go anywhere and were afraid to touch your own mail. It felt like the world was ending. We knew the world as we knew it was gone. That certain “innocence” the US had felt at being one of the few Western nations left who had never experienced an attack on our shores or a terrorist insurgence was no more.
I remember thinking that I was so thankful that my 26-month old daughter was too young to know why Mommy was so upset, and too young to be bothered by being asked to play outside so much. How do you explain such craven, animalistic behavior to an innocent soul like a child? How do you explain something you yourself cannot even begin to wrap your own thoughts around?
So in memory of that day when all of our lives changed, in memory of the people lost that day, of their friends and families, in memory of the men and women who have lost their lives since then keeping another attack from reaching our shores, I write this post.
Rest in peace. We will not forget.
Let’s roll.
I will never forget that day. I was sitting on the couch reading while my 26 month old son was eating breakfast. I had the TV on as background noise while I was reading. Hubby came in and said “what’s going on?” and pointed to the TV. I looked up and said, “Looks like a building is on fire”. Then we watched in horror as the second plane hit. I’ll never forget that. I sat in horror hugging my 2 year old to me and holding my hand over my 6 week pregnant stomach wondering what was going to happen in the next 8 months before this little one made his appearance.
My grandma spent her morning trying to call my uncle’s work as he travels a lot for work. The switchboard operator must have gotten a lot of calls like my Grandma described. “Hello, Johnson Controls, how may I help you” Grandma: “Yes, is Chris K***** at work today?” Operator: “yes he is. I’ll connect you to his office.” Grandma “No thanks, that’s all I needed to know” click. Goofy woman! She was so relieved he was at work she just hung up instead of talking to him.
My kids have dress in “red, white, and blue” day today at school and my youngest (1st grade) said his teacher explained to them why yesterday. They know the facts, but they just don’t get the true evil that is out there. Do you know what I mean? They don’t have the emotional response that we older people have to it. They will go outside today for a flag raising and a moment of silence so they know it’s important but they just don’t get it. I guess I’m glad they don’t understand what kind of evil is out there yet. They are so young.
Sorry this went so long!
I’m getting some mild criticism about posting photos of the planes hitting and the buildings collapsing. People wanting to know if it’s insensitive to show the moment people are actually dying.
Here’s my reply:
Damn straight it’s insensitive. And you better all know that the people who did this want TO DO THE SAME THING TO EACH AND EVERY ONE OF US. All of us – they want us all DEAD. Don’t ever forget that or let someone tell you otherwise.
Americans have a unique ability to completely delude ourselves over time. Distance from horrific events further cushions us and gives us a false sense of security and safeness from horrific events. (Do today’s teenagers even know what happened at Pearl Harbor?)
We cannot forget what was done to us that day and the months after. We forget at our peril. We are sensitive at the risk of our children.
I agree with you Gwen. People seem to want to pretend it never happened. Pretending they were not out there didn’t do us much good did it? It’s horrifying yes. But we need to remember so that history does not repeat itself! They want to do this to us again, and they will never stop trying no matter what some people say.
okay, getting off my soapbox now.
What a day. My husband, father, sister, father in law and numerous friends were all in Manhattan. I remember the horror of realizing what happened and desperately trying to get in touch with people and then the somber days to follow as reports of the deaths came pouring in . My hometown (where I also work part-time) suffered the largest number of losses in the US. While I didn’t lose anyone close, former classmates, neighbors and parents and spouses of patrons died. As well as family members of friends and colleagues who were putting themselves at risk day after day at Ground Zero.
It’s definitely important to memorialize 9/11, and it’s important to do so in a way that honors the dead, and is respectful to the families of the lost. Images, reminders are fine, but I’d rather focus on remembering the innocent who lost their lives, rather than making it a “wakeup” call for others.
Which is not what the original post was, IMO, but perhaps your subsequent comments may be construed as. YMMV.
Devon – my condolences for your losses.
I don’t mean this as a wake-up. I just don’t want any of us to forget. It’s important to remember how we all felt in the aftermath of 9/11. Time has a way of insulating a person from bad things – otherwise, we’d all be only children.
It’s not important to wake up – it’s just important to never forget. It’s important to remember the people, the way we felt, the horror of that single day and the days that followed.
Otherwise what we lost that day and since is meaningless.
I don’t think the post was meant to be a political statement, Gwen can correct me if I am wrong.
For anyone that doesn’t know Gwen and I are about as far from each other politically as can be and she puts up with me. And where as generally don’t care either way to debate whatever I don’t think that was the purpose of this post and hope no one takes it that way.
There is a time and place for everything and this isn’t the time or place for political debate.
Gwen,
I think your post was wonderfully written. It was a horrible day and I still have a very hard time seeing images from that day. My daughter was only 6 days old and my two older children were in school. I didn’t know if I should go pick them up at school (despite the fact that I wasn’t allowed to drive yet) and have them be with me or let them stay there. I ended up letting them stay and when they came home my oldest son told me that the principal talked to each class about what was going on and then we turned on the only channel that wasn’t showing the tragic day. Thank goodness for the Disney Channel.
My husband’s company (parent company) lost over 600 people. We didn’t know anyone personally, but still it was like we lost family. My brother in law’s sister worked by the Pentagon and may have seen the plane hit (she doesn’t talk about it).
I’ll never forget the man being interviewed a couple of days after the 11th who was going into depression because he felt guilty for walking his daughter to the first day of kindergarten while everyone of his employees died. I still t hink about him today, and I will never forget his face or the sadness he had.
I didn’t see any political debate. I didn’t mean to start one, or to sound like one.
Is that what has happened elsewhere as a result of this post? If so, people should just post here and say so. No sense hiding.
May we who are alive today have learned from the courage and generosity so evident and widespread on this day seven years ago.
We won’t forget.
Thanks for this post, Gwen. There’s nothing political about it. It’s all American and it’s beautifully written and brings everything to the forefront, which is where it should be, because you’re right, those cowardly bastards are going to do it to us again. While I don’t think many Americans have “forgotten” September 11, I think they choose to keep it at the back of their minds, maybe intentionally, maybe in an effort to move on, who knows. But I agree we need to keep not only the memories of those lost alive, but we need to keep that entire day alive so all of us are always consciously aware of what happened, talk about it for a few minutes, whatever needs to be done to make folks sit up and remember all the time, not just on the anniversary of that horrible day. We need to see those pictures, however hard it may be. We’ve gotten much too lax in both remembrance and security of our country over these last seven years, and I know when it all happens again we’re going to ask, “Why?” just like we did before. The only way to combat such evil is to come together and stay together, but we don’t seem to be able to do that as a country. It’s only when such tragedy strikes again that we will have those days following 9/11 where we as Americans took care of one another, flew our flags, and grieved together for a short time. It didn’t last nearly long enough, and it doesn’t exist today hardly at all. We’re back to our backbiting, ugly ways. So much for our government standing together singing God Bless America.
I’ve been typing through my tears after reading your post and the comments of others in response. It actually feels good to cry for a bit. Tears do cleans the soul and our soul so desperately needs it.
I live not far away from NYC, so it home even more though luckily I didn’t personally know anyone, though others I do did. It was a crazy day for us though as my niece was working in the building across the street from the Pentagon. She’d driven out of the city just before it happened but couldn’t get through on the phone most of the day, my poor sister was so stressed. I know firefighters and cops in my town who went to help after, No one will ever forget, nor should we.
It is not political to remember . . . but it is inhuman to forget.
Wonderful post, Gwen
I didn’t mean to sound political at all. Sorry about that. I am just passionate about never forgetting what happened that day and remembering those that were lost.
In the UK, our local time was 2.15 pm. I was talking via IM to a friend in Florida and we watched together, disbelieving what we were watching.
Many over here tended to look on it as the day the USA joined the rest of the world, and not in a good way. Up until that day, the US was free of the terrorist activity that plagued the rest of us.
I’ve been there during 3 bomb attacks – the IRA bombing in Warrington, the IRA bombing in Docklands, London, and the terrorist attack in London on 7th July 2005. If it weren’t for the quick action of the authorities, the London attack could have claimed as many people as the Twin Towers attack did. And they caught the people responsible. Not that the London authorities are any better, they’ve just had more practice.
A sad day for sure. Let’s hope there aren’t any more. Ever.
Thank you for your post.
I remember where I and my family was during this time, and what we thought when we found out what had hapened. Then I found out that aclose friend of mine had a niece (she’s a JAG) who was at the Pentagon when the plane hit. They didn’t know for 4 days if she was safe or not. Thankfully she was, she said later she was on her way there, she’d been delayed otherwaise she’d have been in teh building when it hit.