Saturday, September 11, 2021

20 Years Later, We Remember

 


You don't realize how fast time goes by until you think back on something as monumental as 9/11 and can't believe it happened 20 years ago. Everything about the world as we know it changed that day.

I don't have a compelling 9/11 story. It was just an ordinary day, but it was a beautiful day, the sky just as clear and blue in Vermont as it was in lower Manhattan. I went into work for 9, turned on my computer, checked out the news as I always do, and read reports of the first tower being hit. I immediately picked up the phone and called my mom to tell her to turn on the news. Then my boss called out from his office that the second tower had been hit. My co-workers and I all went into his office because his was the only computer able to stream live video and everyone immediately understood the gravity of the situation. Somehow we managed to get back to work, but as the Pentagon, Shanksville, and the collapses happened we all gathered together again.

At lunchtime I went to the grocery store and a television was even set up in there. Everyone was so quiet, just going through the motions. I went home, turned on the news, and didn't turn it off for days. I became a news junkie, watching as we lost our innocence and became a nation at war.

Every year since the television airwaves are flooded with memorial specials, and I watch them all. I don't ever want to forget the horror of that day and how our lives changed because of it. Time marches on and we can't live in the past, but allowing ourselves to forget the magnitude of what happened can never be an option. I fear that's exactly what's happening, now more than ever.

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"And on this day, in the year 2001, deals were made high in the sky, meals were bought and eaten on the move, trains arrived, keys were cut, clothes were bought and returned, thousands came and went, and the nation enjoyed the final night of peace." 
The Fox Report with Shepard Smith, 9/10/03

12 comments:

Patricia T said...

We should never forget. Everything changed.

Katie Isabella said...

I was on long break and happened to be watching GM that morning. I say the first and the second strike behind Diane Sawyer's head. I called my children, someone I was seeing as well, and waited for a call from work. I became a total news junkie. Back when CNN was viewable to me, I watched it as many hours as I could stay awake. The horror is just as real today as it was then. Even work had TV's set u in a break room at HQ. No one spoke while watching.

Erin the Cat Princess said...

The saddest of days leaving the longest of memories that the world shared so graphically. We will certainly not forget, those that wee lost and those that remainded and battle on still today.
Purrs
ERin

Leah said...

We'll never forget the horror and sadness of that day.

Cathy Keisha said...

Never forget! Don't forget the dogs that were lost!

Brian's Home Blog said...

We will always remember, always, always, always.

pilch92 said...

Such a sad day that will never be forgotten. XO

Cat and DOG Chat With Caren said...

this was wonderful Melissa. It is the first year I didn't blog about it, but...like you, I am watching everything that I can today and am remembering and reflecting. I also don't ever want to forget.

Timmy Tomcat said...

All of us who were not there remember in our own way the change it brought upon us. We need to Remember! Thanks

Alastriona, The Cats and Dogs said...

Our heart breaks for those who lost friends and family that day and all the first responders who suffered health problems because of that day.

Athena Cat Goddess Wise Kitty said...

We will never forget xx

meowmeowmans said...

We will never, every forget.