When we were in New York this summer we visited Ground Zero. I didn't take any pictures because that is not why I came. I came to remember. I came to pay my respects. This was not a tourist location, it was a place where thousands of American's lost their lives. I didn't, however, judge those who did take pictures, that is how they wanted to remember and I have no right to judge, but it was not how I wanted to remember.
Derek and I were asleep when our phone rang. We were living in our first apartment together. We had just started our sophomore year of college so we still slept in until just before classes started. When we answered the phone it was Derek's dad. He told us that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center. We turned on the TV expecting to see a little plane. Perhaps a new pilot had accidentally flown his private plane into one of the towers. That is not what it looked like when the images flashed on our screen.
An email was sent to all of the students saying that classes were not canceled, and that we should go to them to show our resistance to terrorism. Some teachers canceled class on their own, some said we could go home if we wanted to, but we all stayed. During band practice that night we all got together for a moment of silent, and then we practiced. We decided that the best way to show our love for our country was to move forward.
Over the next couple of days we stayed glued to the TV watching the news stories. We watched the empty skies and imagined that this is what they must have looked like before airplanes. Eventually the television stopped talking about 911, eventually our lives moved forward. One thing is certain, however, we will never forget that day and how we felt, we will always remember September 11, 2001.
3 comments:
How terrible it was! I remember it like yesterday. Life has been more and more difficult for all of us and the breach between east and west has become so wide that it will never be peace.
You know, your story is so close to mine. When I visited Ground Zero on Oct 2, 2001 we did not take any pictures either. Well we did take a few of surrounding buildings but we didn't know at the time how close we were until we walked through the tent and out onto the then dust pile which was once a street. We just stood there and watched and listened. After we talked about it and none of us could really tell how long we were there. Answers were 45 mins to 2 hours, we really don't know. I couldn't have taken a picture it just was not right. Thanks for sharing your story.
Hard to believe it has already been seven years. It feels like yesterday. But then to think about how far away it is from us now... an eternity ago.
BTW - I love the new layout. :)
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