I remember each minute as if I were in it 9 years ago.
I remember the friends who lost friends, the family who lost friends and the friends who lost family.
I remember the big story. The missing planes and then finding them. The time ticking by, the tragedy slowly unfolding for long, long hours. Towers falling, missing people, people dying, the fear of the unknown.
I remember the little stories. Firefighters finding one high heel shoe and then finding the identical shoe a few yards away, as if someone were running for their life away from something. Because they were.
I remember the terrible video.
I remember the sounds.
I remember the papers scattered everywhere.
I remember the smoke rising up from lower Manhattan. For months.
I remember the flowers.
I remember the smell.
I remember the fear.
I remember the tears.
I remember the love.
I remember the flags.
I remember the prayers.
I remember the solidarity and how hard it was to move on.
I remember New York and its strength and the gift it was that I was there to witness it.
I remember those who were lost and those who were changed forever.
I will always, always remember today, where I was, what I was doing.
Will you?
3 comments:
Such a powerful post, Christie! Like you, I will never forget that day. I work on a military base and have coworkers at the Pentagon. Everything was utter chaos. On top of all the stress I was feeling due to the attack, my mom also had a heart attack that same day. Much like my parents will never forget where they were when they heard the news of the deaths of JFK and MLK Jr., I'll never forget 9/11...ever.
I remember. We were building our house and I called to order our carpet. They put me on hold and the news was on the station that they instead of the "hold" music. I was at work and just couldn't believe it. I was afraid to tell anyone because I thought they wouldn't believe me. Finally, one of our doctors came in and told everyone. So much disbelief. I came home to the kids and my husband (Coach) was active duty Air Force then. He had been in meetings all day and didn't find out until late in the afternoon. I spent weeks in shock, worried, scared, trying to be brave for my kids. So many lost souls. So many brave people. It's made us stronger and torn us apart at the same time.
Like you, I'll never forget.
I remember. I was at work when it happened. The CEO sent everyone home to be with our families. I had to do something happy while I watched the coverage, so I spent the day organizing our wedding photos from a few months before and waited for Dave's boss to let him come home.
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