I really won’t ever forget.
I was 23 and working at a top 40 radio station…B 93.7. I was young and pretty carefree. I drove a black convertible and lived in a cute little blue house that I had bought earlier that year. My family is close, I had good friends, and life was relatively smooth. I felt safe by myself and had taken enough kick-boxing classes to fill in the gaps of the unsafe feelings. Til that day…
I was sitting at my desk in the advertising/sales department writing up some client orders for commercials. The morning show was on in our office, but mostly we tuned them out and listened to make sure our commercials were running at the right times. Until they said something that caught everyone’s attention.
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“A plane just flew into the World Trade Center.”
We all ran upstairs to the one TV in the entire radio station and gathered around while we tried to process the awful mistake. How a pilot could have lost control? Was the plane having mechanical problems? All those people….in the plane…in the building. Maybe the building might be ok…just a couple floors in really bad shape, right? So. Much. Smoke.
Then I saw with my own eyes…another plane come barreling straight into the other tower.
This was on purpose. Who could do this? So much hate…and of what? Our country? Innocent people who just got up to go to work that day…like any other day. Why would anyone do this? Are any of us safe anymore?
A building full of salespeople turned towards the ticker tape of the news radio station which was firing out new information before it was even coming up on the TV. Everyone in the building was huddled in the hallways outside of the studios…listening…weeping.
Then another plane…the Pentagon. And another one…in some field in Pennsylvania.
Would there be more? Fear struck everyone. And anger…and pride for this place that we live. Compassion for those people who were hurt. Hopefully everyone would get out and they could fix the buildings.
Then the unimaginable….stories high skyscrapers tumbling into a heap. Collapsing as if there were made of sticks and ash. Thousands of people unable to get out. All those people. All. Those. People.
I felt sick…and afraid. I didn’t sell a thing or even go see clients that day even though somehow we were supposed to “carry on.” I went home and curled up on my sofa and cried. I have a hard time “carrying on” in the face of tragedy. I wished I could help….but I was helpless hundreds of miles away.
And when I think back on that time, here’s what comes to mind about the way we all felt afterwards.
“Now this nation that I love is fallin’ under attack.
A mighty sucker-punch came flying in from somewhere in the back.
Soon as we could see clearly through our big black eye,
Man, we lit up your world like the fourth of July.
Hey, Uncle Sam put your name at the top of his list,
And the Statue of Liberty started shaking her fist.
And the eagle will fly and it’s gonna be hell,
When you hear Mother Freedom start ringing her bell.
And it’ll feel like the whole wide world is raining down on you.
Ah, brought to you, courtesy of the red, white and blue.” – lyrics by Toby Keith
Where did that feeling go? The one where political party didn’t matter, economic station in life didn’t matter, the little things didn’t matter? The one where we all cried together, held hands together, took pride in our country together? The one where we just wanted to make things right again…and help each other, and risk so much to make a difference? And 10 years later…while I’d never in a million years want to relive that day again…I miss the “United We Stand” stickers on everyone’s cars…and the feeling that we all meant it… that came after that awful day. And when we say “we will never forget”…I hope it’s not just about the events of a horrible day. I hope that what we don’t forget is the unity we found in the midst of all of our differences…and that even though parts of it seem to be forgotten, that we’ll find our way back there to be a group of united people in the United States of America.
Thanks to all the brave men and women who lost their lives fighting to save lives on September 11, 2001 and for weeks afterwards, may the grace and peace of the Lord rest on your shoulders instead of a heavy burden from that time. May you be blessed for your selflessness. To the families who lost…may the fullness of God restore and redeem in your life what the enemy set out to destroy. And to the men and women who are STILL fighting to ensure that our free country stays free….may the protection of the Creator of the Universe hover above you and give you continued strength and courage. Today in particular, I for one, want to honor all of you and the all of the lives who were lost as well.
I won’t ever forget. I really won’t ever forget.
**Where were you on that day? What were you doing, feeling?
I was in Chemistry class in high school when the first plane hit, but I didn’t find out until my next period English class. The teacher announced that a plane had flown into one tower. We all thought it was a misread flight plan until she got an e-mail from her husband near the end of class, and she told us that a second plane had hit, the Pentagon had been hit, and the first tower fell. When we all started talking at once she told us to be quiet and that if we “couldn’t handle hearing about a little thing like this” that she wasn’t going to tell us anything anymore. I lost total respect for that teacher after that.
I walked into my 3rd period math class in time to see the second tower fall. I remember that’s all we did all day was watch the news, or listen to the radio.
I was in the middle of teaching my son. (homeschool) The phone rang it was my husband calling from work to see if we had heard that a plane had flown into the World Trade Center. I couldn’t even wrap my mind around that. Thinking maybe it was a small plane and maybe the pilot had a heartattack or something. We turned on the television and saw the second plane. I clutched at my heart and said outloud we are being attacked. A little later came the news that the pentagon had been hit. There was an ongoing prayer being uttered in my heart. HELP US LORD. It brings tears now as I recall it. It was so personal. Someone attacked us on our soil. This country that I love and appreciate so much. I come from a military family all the way back to my maternal grandfather serving in the calvary. I was raised to respect and appreciate our freedom that was fought for and won. Appreciating too God’s many blessings poured out on this nation. My daughter was in class at Hickory High School. I called, they would not release the students. I wanted to gather my loved and hold them tightly. Later that day I told my children the life we would have had is no more. From this day on things will change and they have. Praise be to God that He restores and works all things for good for those who love Him. We are still able as Americans to take part in perhaps a more limited freedom. We were awakened that day to the true evil that exists among men. Today my family is on a beach vacation. This morning vehicle lights were seen coming down the beach. It was a brigade of firefighters in full turn-out gear and law enforcement officers carrying the red white and blue in honor of their fallen comrades, those we lost on 911 as well as the heroic survivors . I am so proud to be an American. May God continue to bless the United States of America.
I was a newly wed of 2 months and a first year high school French teacher. I am not sure what period we were in, but our classroom television came on and there it was. I don’t even remember an announcement… there must have been, I just remember it was right there in front of us. As a class we watched. Thinking back on it, I am really surprised that they just turned on the televisions. Being in Florida we have a lot of New York transplants. Many of my students had family or knew someone residing in NYC, so there was a lot of panic. That day, as I still am, I was speechless. No words. Nothing to express what I saw or was feeling. At the time I was not that much older than my students, 6 or 7 years at the most… 4 years at the least. So I wasn’t very wise… I just sat there… cried with them… just offered my presence and a shoulder to cry on….
I was in the bedroom was in the morning Mum phoned me to turn on the Telly as something awful had happened.Mum panics easily so I didnt think much of it till I turned the telly on and was horrified.It still makes me cry to watch.