As I worked through the unread posts in my RSS reader, I came across several posts along these lines today. This one by Kem Meyer touched me the most… particularly the end. I can not say it any better, please go here and read what Kem has to say about the 9/11 tragedy, and the effect it’s had on her.
For the record, here’s my memory of that day: I was still asleep when the first plane hit (I had a pretty sweet schedule my senior year of high school, my first class wasn’t until 11:30). My mother woke me up with the news that: “A plane hit the World Trade Center”. That didn’t mean much to me… I assumed it was an accident, and proceeded to go back to sleep. A few minutes later my mom came back in and said: “They think it may have been terrorists”. In 2001, the word “terrorist” didn’t really mean what it does in 2008, nonetheless, I rolled over, and flipped on the TV in my bedroom. Casually watching the news coverage, and realizing how serious this “accident” was, I was lying in bed when the second plane hit. My mom screamed from the living room where her and my dad were watching the same coverage. Instantly everything changed, my mind raced to the possibilities of the extent of what I might see next. I remember running out into the living room too watch all of this unfold with my parents. We soon found out when the 3rd plane hit the Pentagon, and the 4th crashed into a field in Pennsylvania.
The next few hours went something like this: We prayed, my mom cried, my dad enrolled in the army (just kidding, but he was close), my brother called home from college, we watched the news, we heard about a plane crashing into a building in Dayton, Ohio (sheer coincidence, small single engine plane, but just imagine what we were thinking), I drove both of our cars to the gas station to get gas (the lines were so long), I didn’t go to school that day.
I’ll never forget that day. One day I’ll try to convey to my children what we all felt and experienced that day. While I hope they are moved, and gain understanding from the things I’ll share with them, I hope they never have to experience themselves. My prayers tonight will be for the families of those lost in the various stages of this tragedy, and for the men & women all over the world serving our country to prevent a similar catastrophe for future generations.
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