The day we will never forget...

Today is obviously a somber day for most people. It marks the 5th year after the worst terrorist attack in history. Although many people were not personally affected by this horrible tragedy, thousands were and still are. It's almost unimaginable how 5 years has already passed, when it feels like it happened just yesterday. I was watching the Today Show with Matt Lauer this morning while getting ready for work and he was interviewing President Bush. It was a little uneasy listening to the president answering the questions bacause he could quite get the words out, it was almost like he couldn't speak without having something written for him. Whan Matt had asked him if we knew what the president and his office knew, would we be sleeping any less. His answer? "Well, I'm not sure mow much you're sleeping now, but you would probably be sleeping a little less". It just makes you wonder how much we don't know and how close we are to another terrorist attack.
I was not personally affected by September 11th, but a good friend of mine from high school was. I was at work the day it happened, going about my day when a co-worker, who always had her radio on, came running into the main office of where I worked at the time. She told us that one of the world trade center towers had been hit by a plane and was on fire. None of us knew what she was talking about, and since we worked in a house, we all walked into the living room area and turned on the tv. There it was, the tower was on fire. We were staring at the tv, wondering what was going on, when we saw the second plane hit the second tower. I started to get really scared... what was next? Whoever was behind this, what would they attack next? After about an hour of trying to track down my father who was in Indianapolis that day, I finally got a hold of him and I almost didn't want to hang up until I knew he was home safely. He was supposed to be flying out the next day and since he knew that was not going to happen, he and his co-worker who were in Indianapolis on business, rented a car and drove back to Boston. I couldn't wait to see him and hug him and know it was ok. About an hour later, I got a call from a another friend of mine from high school. She had called to say that she had gotten a phone call from our friend Louisa, telling her that Louisa's father was in the second tower of the world trade center. Ann had dropped everything she was doing to go be with her. I had never met Louisa's father and didn't really know what he did wor, but didn't think he worked in the World Trade Center. That was because he didn't. The had gone for a meeting on one of the high floors and was there when the tower was hit. He stayed behind to make sure people were able to get out. That's just the kind of guy that he was... always thinking about everyone else before himself. Her father never made it out alive.
Her mother and brother planned to have a memorial for him in Connecticut, where they are from, but they wanted to wait it out in case they were able to find any of his remains, which they never did. The only things they did eventually find, was his wallet - everything in tact. Some friends and I went down for the memorial a few months later and it was almost more sad and more emotional than a regular funeral. Louisa, her brother, mother and father had gone on a family vacation the week before 9/11, so I guess you could say they got to spend some quality time together before he died.
My father knew someone who was on flight 11. Richard Rossm was someone who my dad knew from workand he called my dad and left a message on his cell phone while waiting to board his flight. He told my dad that he was flying out to California for a few days and would get in touch with him when he got back. My dad got the message later that day and got chills because he knew Richard had been on the flight that crashed into the world trade center. He didn't erase the message for a months after.
I think that even if you weren't persoannly affected by the 9/11 tradgedy, you were in some way affected. Everyone was effected. People are looked at different, people aren't trusted as much, you can't even bring shampoo and/or conditioner with you on the plane, if someone walks away from a bag for 5 minutes, the bomb squad is called and within the past hour, we've already had a breaking news story. "BREAKING NEWS: CNN is reporting that an Atlanta-to-San Francisco flight is being diverted to Dallas this morning as a security precaution. A flight attendant reportedly found an unclaimed Blackberry device onboard United Flight 351 and prior to take-off a bag was removed from the cargo hold for the same reason. --Developing"
Nothing will ever be the same again. Children who were born that day might not have a story to tell of their own, but I'm sure they will have been told stories by their parents. Other children who won't be quite old enough to remember what happened that day will always have a constant reminder. I was only 3 when we were hit by the Blizzard of '78... I don't remember a thing, but my mother still has stories from that day and pictures of my brothers and I playing in the snow that almost reached the roof of our house! It's a day that if if you weren't personally effected, or too young to remember, you were in some way affected and those children will be told a story or will know someone in their classroom who was personally effected by 9/11. Regardless, we will never forget.