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It's hard to believe that 18 years ago today, the USA as we knew it, changed. On this day our world was attacked by terrorists and two of the most well known buildings in our country were leveled, the Pentagon was compromised and if not for the brave men and women who took down Flight 93, it is feared the White House could have also been struck.
So, where were you when the world stopped turning that September day? For those of us who were old enough, it still feels like yesterday. I was sitting in Mrs. Adams' Calculus class my senior year of High School when we first heard about the crash. It was something that couldn't really be grasped, "What do you mean the Twin Towers were hit?" I, along with most of the school, spent our lunch in the Library watching the news and trying to comprehend what was going on. A group of us were supposed to be going to a college night out of town and all events were cancelled. I can remember sitting at cheerleading practice that afternoon talking about it. We were scared and nervous about what may be happening to the world we had know, the safety we had always felt, but most importantly we all feared for our future.
When I got home I will never forget my Daddy telling me to go get gas because we were probably going to war and prices were fixing to rise. That was really the moment that I began to panic. What if we went to war? Could this really happen? War was supposed to be something of the past that I would never have to face. Both my brother and my boyfriend along with several close friends were over 18 and would be subject to a draft if this happened. I can remember sitting in my car at Handy Corner crying in fear that because of hate and cruelty that some of the most important people I knew could be pulled to war. I will never forget this feeling as long as I live.
One thing that I will never be able to grasp is what those who were directly impacted by 9/11 really felt. The fear of the loved ones missing, the fire fighters and police officers who ran into the, "Line of Fire" to save the lives of those they could and pull out the ones they could find. The bystanders who saw it happened; what must have been going through their heads when they saw the terror and those fortunate enough to have missed it for various reasons.
I read a story this morning about a man who loved ties with famous paintings on them. He would use them as art lessons to his children. On the morning of 9/11 he was in New York for a meeting and had breakfast at the Towers before a meeting. His coworker gave him a new red and blue tie so he wanted to wear it. She told him it did not match his shirt so he went back to his hotel to iron and put on a white shirt while his colleagues went on up to the 104 floor for the meeting. As he was waiting on the elevator to head back to the towers he felt a tremble...it was the first plane crash. When I read this all I could think was that God had an amazing plan for this man and 09/01/2001 was just not his time to go.
Today is a day that we will never forget. It is a day I will tell my boys about so they will know the importance of supporting their country and why that flag should be flown high and with pride. It is why I wear my red, white, and blue on every country observance so others will know how proud I am to be an American. We will all remember so those that lost their lives and those that risked their lives will not be forgotten. Tonight when you go to be, remember those fallen and those who are mourning their loved ones. The children who never met their daddies because they were in their mommy's belly during this time. Those kids are graduating high school this year and there's someone special that is missing this day due to terrorism and hatred.
WE.WILL.NEVER.FORGET. God Bless the USA!
