9.11.2009
Today is a day none of us will forget. It's something that may have hit you close to home, or something you only saw the effects and horror on the tv. For me, this day marked the single biggest day in my life. I can honestly say that when those planes hit the towers, every bit of that childhood innocence I had left was gone. Up until that moment in my life, nothing in my life had such impact on the way I viewed the world.
Maybe you think I'm going a little overboard, but you have to put this in context a bit. It was the first week of my senior year in high school and I was 16 (going on 17, for real). The only war in my life was Desert Storm, and that was when I was in elementary school. The only "terrorists" I knew of were those guys with issues that bombed the building in Oklahoma City. So, when something of this magnitude happened, it wasn't anything I had ever fathomed happening. I'm sure you think the same thing, depending on your life.
So today, on the 8th anniversary of 9/11, I pause to remember those who lost their lives in all three locations where these tragedies happened. I mourn the loss of the first responders who dove in head first, not even blinking at the risk in front of them. I remember sitting there in 3rd period art class hearing whispers from classmates about a plane crashing into the World Trade Center. I remember the teacher turning on ABC, and a minute later the next plane hitting the other tower. Right then and there, we knew this was no accident. There was something else going on, and we were all sitting there jaws dropped and terrified.
And then... they fell.
They fell, and I fell. On the floor. Crying hysterically.
@gbrunett, my cousin, and one of the most influential geeks in my life (beside my Grandfather), worked on the 25th floor. I had been there only months before visiting his office and the city for the first time. I still have my WTC guest pass ID in my wallet. The teacher wouldn't let me use my cell phone to call my mother. The woodshop teacher next door let me use his phone, but I could not get through. I tried calling my aunts, uncles, and anyone I could think of who would know if he was ok. The lines were jammed, the whole eastern seaboard was doing the same thing as I.
Lunch came, and my friends tried valiently to calm me down. I couldn't eat, and I couldn't think. I was in this state of total utter and complete shock. My cell phone rang. Mom had been trying to call me for over an hour now, to let me know that @gbrunett was ok. A sudden nosebleed had delayed him, and he had not yet arrived at work.
A wave of relief washed over me.
I barged into my sister's spanish class (small town school, easy to find who you need), with her sitting at a desk white as a ghost and panicked looking. I took her outside, and let her know exactly what happened. This was her first week of high school. What a way to start it...
While I am glad my family and friends are OK, I am still VERY saddened by the loss of life and the fact that something like this happened. Eight years later, it still bothers me. My family of firefighters and first responders lost a lot of great people that day.
So, I ask you, dear readers and followers... What happened to you on this day? Did it change your world? Do you remember where you were, what you were doing, and how you felt? Do you think I'm nuts and blabbering on? I'd love to hear from some of you not on the east coast about what happened with you.