[9.11.01]

Ten years ago, this very morning, America lost her innocence.  We watched in horror an disbelief as two planes deliberately crashed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center, killing thousands of our countrymen and countrywomen.  For many of us, this was unfathomable.  Our world would be forever changed.  Our safe haven was no longer so.  America was at war.  

I was a college freshman in my third week of classes.  The night before concluded our sorority recruitment and we had just found out which sororities we were all asked to join.  It was a good day.  All the girls (who chose to rush) were wearing the shirts of their new house, meeting new members and starting lifelong friendships.  It was sure to be a great day.  

I had an 8am Math class with Professor Owen Mertens.  This man looked just like a little toad stool.  He was funny and really easy, so we had fun in his class.  A boy that sat in front of me said someone accidentally crashed into the World Trade Center.  I'm ashamed to say I had no idea what the WTC was to be sure and I wasn't alarmed.  In fact, I tuned him out.  

Prof Mertens came in to start class and he hadn't heard anything about it either.  You have to remember it was 8am Central time.  After class we emerged from Pummill Hall to find the campus in chaos.  There was an eerie feeling.  One of shock, the sadness would follow shortly.  The second plane hadn't hit yet and no one really knew what was going on yet.  

I met up with my roomate and we walked back to our dorm room.  When we got there we turned on the tv just in time to see the footage of the second plane hitting the second tower.  She walked over to me and we just held each other and watched the horror unfold.  We were 18, the world was new and exciting.  We had just moved away from home for the first time.  

Source: Huffington Post

The cell phone towers were down, due to high volume.  Getting a hold of our parents and friends was impossible.  Fear and panic started to blanket our little piece of the world.  We heard rumors that the ROTC would be mobilized and that we were going to war.  Our generation had never really experienced WAR.  More panic.  I heard they were shutting down all gas stations, so I hopped in my car (since I was on "e") and looked for an open station.  I waited hours in line to pay $6/gallon.  

That day was so many things to so many people.  As the shock wore off and the reality set in, we realized (perhaps for the first time) that there was a human element to this tragedy.  Seeing the footage of men and women jumping to their deaths to avoid the flames is an image that seared into my brain.  I just can't shake it.  Millions of New Yorkers and other Americans saw this horror unfold.  They lost someone they loved.  Their homes and their beloved city would never be the same.  

The NYPD, FDNY and other first responders are still close to my heart.  I can't imagine what it was like to be there.  What it was like to see the most prolific event in most of our lifetimes unfold before their very eyes.  What it must have been like to see the final moments of life for thousands.  What it must have been like to see another human being jump from 50 floors up to avoid being trapped in those burning buildings.  To lose so many people they loved.  And yet, they trudge on.  They go back to their firehouse/station every day.  They pick up the pieces and still serve and protect the city that now means so much more to them.  

As it turns out, America did go to war.  Our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines are still at war, ten years later.  And ten years later, we're still collectively trying to make sense of that day.  The day every single American learned just how vulnerable we really are.  The day our innocence was lost forever.  

We went on a family walk yesterday morning and we rounded the corner of our neighborhood that lead back to our street.  There was a little girl, maybe 5, riding her bike in her driveway.  She was singing "This land is your land, this land is my land" as she biked in circles in and out of her garage.  M looked at me and smiled.  How appropriate for the day before 9/11.  I told her she had a beautiful voice and she beamed at me and kept on biking and singing.  

M and I were watching the footage earlier this morning as our babies were playing and giggling so carefree on our bed, snuggled in between us.  They have no memory or concept of 9/11.  Its our job to teach them.  They'll know the reason their daddy chose to serve his country, rather than become a pharmacist like he planned.  They'll know they're blessed to be Americans and they'll be proud.