Every year, I say I’m not going to post about the events of September 11. All of the blog readers, whether residents of the U. S. or not, were in some way touched by the happenings of the day. We all remember. We’ll never forget. I don’t need to blog about it forever on September 11 but . . I feel like it’s a debt I owe somehow . . it seems disrespectful to not mention it. There’s nothing new I can say so I’m copying what I wrote last year. I feel exactly the same way I felt last year. Yes, Bin Laden is gone now but those lost on September 11 are still gone too. Those of us who live in the U. S. and felt totally safe from most terror attacks . . that feeling is gone forever. Our lives are changed forever in some way . . in different ways . . by the events of September 11, 2001. It doesn’t seem possible that it’s been 10 years. In 2021, will the feelings still be so fresh? When Chad is 50 years old, how vivid will the memories be for him? He was 13 when it happened. Will he tell his children what he remembers?
Here’s what I wrote last year:
September 11, 2001 – We all remember where we were and exactly what we were doing. We were living in Kentucky. I had just gone downstairs to start quilting, flipped on the TV to watch Simply Quilts. It was a show I’d seen already so I flipped over to one of the news channels just moments after the first plane had hit but before the second plane had hit. I called Vince to tell him and he immediately said it was terrorists. I accused him of always being so negative as I was sure it was some kind of radar problem or pilot error. The second plane hit and I called Vince back . . he had been so right.
My grandchildren will hear about September 11, 2001; they will read about it in history books; we will tell them of our personal memories of the day but for them . . it will be history they are learning. Just like Pearl Harbor, previous wars, depressions, etc. were for our grandparents and great grandparents – they lived through it but for us, it is only history. One generation experiences events, we feel it, it changes our lives. The next generations read about it in books and hear about it but they didn’t actually feel it when it happened. This one day has made me change completely how I look at historical events and history in general.
I had eaten lunch once at Windows on the World Restaurant on top of the North Tower of the WTC and wish I’d paid more attention to the surroundings, wish I’d taken pictures, wish I’d burned into my memory something about the building but . . I didn’t.
I knew no one lost in the events of the day but I think of those who left behind new babies . . they’re growing up and never had personal knowledge of their missing parent; although I hope the surviving parent has kept that parent alive in their memory. I think of those who left behind 1st graders . . those kids are now going to high school. I wish it hadn’t happened . . wish we could go back and re-do the day and somehow stop it all from happening but . . life doesn’t work that way, does it? We can only go forward and . . on we go!
To everyone personally affected, I’m so sorry for your loss and I hope America never ever forgets the events and those we lost on September 11, 2001.
Patty says
Amen!
Vicky says
Ten years. Everything that’s happened in my life pales in comparison to what happened that day. Today I watched the tribute and I cried, just as my Mom cried every anniversary of Pearl Harbor. May God bless the families of all who perished.
ruth says
So true. Like Pearl Harbor, this is a day that will live on in infamy.
Doe in Mi says
I was born in 1940 – I don’t really remember the great depression but, it changed how people lived back then also. And it made a real difference in how my siblings and I were raised.Consiquintly its like I do remember the depression. So I really believe 9\11 will do that to the upcoming generation.
Kathleen says
I teach high school and its interesting to hear the kids reaction to 9/11. They were 5-7 years old and it doesn’t have the meaning to them that it has to me. While they were alive at the time, they didn’t really live through it – they were too young to understand and have deep feelings from that day.
For a good year after 9/11, I woke each morning wondering if I’d hear of some other major attack. I don’t think of it daily anymore, but in the back of my mind it wouldn’t surprise me.
Hearing stories of loss from that day still brings tears to my eyes.
lw says
I lost two coworkers on 9/11 in the flight that crashed into the pentagon. Unfortunately, Sept. 11 was also my father’s birthday, so there’s lots to miss and remember today.
Tina says
The message at my church this morning was given by a woman from my church who had been there that day. She had survived the 1993 bombing and she survived the attack 10 years ago. She was on the 91st floor of the North Tower; no one from a higher floor survived. You could hear a pin drop in church as she spoke. Thousands died, but thousands survived, too.
Laurel from Iowa says
I couldn’t tear myself away from the tribute shows on TV last night and this morning. I have a feeling in the pit of my stomach much like the one I had 10 years ago. We were 2 months away from moving to a new town where we knew no one and I kept thinking, “Who will I talk to about this? I won’t have any friends there.” After we moved and there was talk of poisoning our country’s water supply, I filled jug after jug with water and stored it in the basement. It took a year for me to empty those jugs; I poured the water on the bushes outside our house, hoping that the water would nourish them the way prayer had nourished me. You are right – we will never forget where we were on that fateful day and we should never forget all of those who lost their lives. God bless America!
Kathie L in MD says
I to could not help but blog some of my memories and feelings. Ten years, wow, my daughter was seven. She remembers it but didn’t have an understanding of what it all meant.
Leslie Sorenson says
I was 13 when JFK was shot. I still vividly remember where I was and what I was doing when I heard the news. Chad will remember.
pdudgeon says
There are some events in history that are bigger than we are, that call for a national response; this was one of those times.
It was one of those times when people who usually respond individually are drawn together and respond as a group, working together toward a common goal, and remembering a common event that impacted us even if we lived far away.
We remember what we were doing when we heard, how we felt, how our perceptions changed from that day forward.
it was a day when ordinary people did extraordinary things to help others.
it shows us possibilities both good and bad that happen in our lives, and how the choices we make can impact others. sometimes forever.
Sharon says
Thank you.
Katie says
I was very touched that they let the families decide who they wanted their lossed love one’s name to be near. And that the temperature of the names will stay the same no matter what the air temperature is. And that a person in a wheel chair can go to the memory wall and see the water falls. I’m sure the process was difficult but I think they did a good job. It’s on my bucket list to see.
Cindy in NC says
I recently started some black/bright string blocks for Mary’s latest Heartstrings project. I was concerned about being able to make the deadline now that school has started and I am back at work. Reading your post inspired me to set aside the laundry and housework (not easy for a girl with a Cajun work ethic) and sew for a few hours. As I sewed I realized my current fifth graders will be my last class (assuming I have a job in the future — not a given in this budget climate) to have been alive on 9/11/01. I would like to see September 11 become a national day of service. Thanks for giving us something to think about, Judy.