It seems like there was a lot more attention towards the 9-year anniversary of 9/11 this year. I don't know if it all stems from the whole Ground Zero/Islamic Center controversy or what. I do know that for the first time, since 2001, I really sat down and listened to the stories and watched the news coverage and remembered. That day in 2001, I was working for a real estate company in West Houston and living with Guad. On my way to work that morning, I remember it was a beautiful day. I had the windows down and was jamming something...which I cannot remember. September 11th is my brother's birthday, so I was planning on calling him when I got to work to wish him a happy 24th birthday. We had a little radio that we listened to at work and during my normal morning routine, I flipped it on and heard something about NYC and a plane crash. Our corporate office was actually in the heart of NYC, on Avenue of the Americas - to be exact, and within about 15 minutes, probably close to 9:30 or so, one of the VP's from the corporate office to tell us they are evacuating and that they would not be reachable all day. There was a television upstairs, so me and the other assistant ran up and turned on the news. I really don't remember too much of anything and/or seeing the second plane hit. I think at that point, it was a sure thing that it was a terrorist attack and not just a freak plane crash.
Of course we were sent home early. I believe Guad was already home when I got there. We sat down on the couch, watching the news, smoking cigarettes and calling people for a good 3-4 hours. I know some people came over and it seems like there were lots of people coming and going that day. I just know that when we saw those people jumping from the buildings, it was all over. It was heartbreaking to know that they made that decision to jump to their deaths. I was so saddened by what happened that day and was in a state of shock with the rest of the country.
Since 2001, I really never paid attention to, or made an effort to watch or read anything about that day. I think the furthest I made an effort to "remember" was during my weekly Rescue Me episodes.
This year, something changed. I wanted to watch the news coverage, and I wanted to hear the stories. I started recording a bunch of the specials that The History Channel began airing, and I was excited to start watching them. Saturday, I watched about 3 hours of 9/11 specials. I cried like a baby.
I think it's really sad that so much has happened since that day and because of that day. The few weeks following 9/11 felt like something out of a history book. I remember thinking that this is what it must have felt like during WWII - all of the patriotism was astounding. It seems like we, as a country, have strayed so far from what I think, holds us together as a nation. There is so much political bullshit that gets in the way of reality. Everything and everyone has an agenda. Well, we didn't on that day nine years ago - we were all Americans, and we were all shocked and saddened and in disbelief that something so tragic happened on our soil. There were no party lines drawn - no partisanship present - when those people were killed that day.
1 comment:
i think you're right about it getting more attention this year. saturday morning eric was watching msnbc or cnn and they were replaying coverage from 9/11 and it was surreal. it was katie couric and another anchor reporting it as it unfolded. and it wasn't just excerpts---they were replaying it unedited, and it was like it was happening for the first time, which i guess was the point. they showed the second plane hitting and the visual of that compounded with the reaction was too much...i had to walk off for a minute...tears were welling up.
and while i didn't watch much after that, i thought it was very important for them to re-air the coverage from that morning in its entirety because, yes, we need to remember what that day really meant, especially for those who lost their lives.
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