9/11/01

(the photo on the right is a part of public domain from the Dept. of Defense found via flickr; the lights shine up from "Ground Zero" where the World Trade Centers once stood)

So it's been 7 years since the towers fell and I'm not sure how to feel about it. I realize that no one probably will read this and it surely won't be in a timely matter. Therefore my Sept 11 ramblings will go unnoticed. However, that being said, I live in Montana. It's a long way from NYC. Though I have never been there I have a great respect for the city. It's loud and busy, but people who live there generally love it. I remember 9/11/01 in a hazy blur. I started my day, just like all the others. I got up and got ready for my senior year of high school. Got in my car and picked Meaghan up. I remember her getting in my car and saying something along the lines of, "A plan hit the World Trade Center." Of course, I like everyone else, was hoping it was just a joke. She assured me it wasn't so we turned on the radio and went to school in silence and shock. I remember getting to school that day and every single classroom had a television in it. They were all on and we all watched in suspense...knowing what was going to happen and praying it wouldn't. I remember thinking, "How did this happen here? How did it happen in the United States?" Then they fell. I remember the entire class gasping. We were all shocked. I remember some of us wept, while others seemed so nonchalant about it. Even saying things like, "So what - NYC is a long way from us. Who cares?" I remember those comments and how angry they made me. Almost 3,000 people from around 90 different countries were dead. Millions of lives were changed in an instant. I remember hearing them talk about the brave rescue workers who died, I remember the talk of men and women calling home to say their final good-byes, I remember the nation weeping together as one people. I remember thinking in my own selfishness, "dad's a fireman...what if that happened to me," and crying for all the people who would never see that special person again. That was a day that color, religion, class, status, all of the things we classify one another by, just melted away. I remember a nation pulled together in sadness and outrage in the following months, even years. Now we are at war. I have a friend in Afghanistan. She been there a few times. She signed up for the military before we even graduated from high school. She's smart, funny, and beautiful. I don't see her or talk to her, but I think of our troops, especially mine, often and I send up a little prayer. So I wonder, on this 7th anniversary, do we still remember? Does it still hurt or have we all moved on? I can't answer this question for everyone. I can only answer for myself. I have not moved beyond caring, but I am lucky. The events that unfolded that day aren't a part of my everyday life. I live far away from them. But I think of the people it effected directly often. I think of all those yellow ribbons we all had in support of our troops and all of the American Flags we flew. It's rare to see any of those anymore. The war and the tragedy have subsided for many and we feel no need to show support anymore. So, in light of that, here are my prayers, my love, my admiration for you. I haven't forgotten and I wish you the best. All my love.