Remembering 9/11
I was running late for work that morning. I was getting dressed and as usual, had the tv on. I overheard the newscaster say that a plane had hit the world trade center. I thought to myself how odd that was and was expecting to see a small private plane that somehow had flown off course.
When I looked at the tv and saw the commercial jet imbedded into the building, I immediately realized that this was no accident. How does a commercial jet fly into one of the tallest buildings in New York City? Mintues later as I was watching the smoke billowing from the north tower of the World Trade Center, I witnessed another plane fly into the south tower. I couldn't believe my eyes. Not only did this confirm that the first plane crashing into the north tower wasn't an accident, I came to the realization that we were under attack. While I finished getting dressed I watched the broadcast with fear and anxiety.
I left my apartment for the drive to the city. I lived in Bensenville at the time, so I drove the Eisenhower expressway everyday to work. While I was in my car, I was listening to the radio and the events unfolding in New York. I felt so sad for the people trapped in the floors above the crashes knowing they would never make it out alive.
The drive into the city was very strange. The Eisenhower expressway was literally a parking lot. No one wanted to drive. Everyone was stopped listening to their car radios. Then came
the news that a plane had crashed into the pentagon. Then the news came that the south tower collapsed. Then flight 93 went down in a field in Shanksville, PA and then the collapse of the south tower. I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
What ordinarily may have been a 50 minute drive turned into a two hour drive. People were paralyzed. No one wanted to move for fear that they may miss something. When I eventually made my way into the River North Area, a mass exodus was underway. The management of the city's skyscrapers like John Hancock and the Sears tower had ordered evacuations.
When I arrived at my office, my co-workers were listening to the coverage on the radio. How could somethnig like this happen?
As the day wore on the answers to who and why became more clear. We were under attack by a group of extremists who wanted to bring our country to its' knees, begging for mercy. Our very way of life was under attack that day. How would we ever recover from these events?
In the days following the attacks, I watched with intensity as I am sure most Americans did, the recovery efforts at ground zero. Every image from the scene brought tears and a feeling of anger. Eventually, though, that anger turned to pride. To see how we as Americans came together to support the recovery efforts and start the healing process. I eventually would start to smile when I would see an American flag whether it was on someone's house or attached to a car antenna. We were Americans and we were proud to be Americans. Nobody would take that away from us.
I can remember everything on that day so vividly. I think that is what is really important about the 10 year anniversary. Remembering. Remembering those who lost their lives. Remembering the firefighters, police officers, paramedics and all the other workers who worked tirelessly for days, weeks and months on end. Remembering that, although the terrorist tried to destroy our way of life on that day, nothing could destroy our faith, pride and love of our way of life and the freedom we enjoy that other countries can only envy.
