Remembering....

Today is 9-11

I wrote that on my Facebook status and just kind of stared at it.
I heard and saw comments today about how people were already tired of the “remember” postings.  Mostly from younger people, some of whom may have been alive and some not even born yet. 

There was a time when I would have thought the same thing.  I remember when I was very young my parents watching the Watergate hearings on television.  I was too young to understand what was going on, and my only concern was “why can’t I watch cartoons?” 

The events of September 11^th were probably the first overwhelming event that I ever really connected with, for lack of better words.  I did not know anyone personally; all though the home offices of the company I worked for were located in New York and I had contact with several of them through the years. 

I was closing that evening.  Normally I would have slept in however the dogs had different ideas so I was up and moving at my normal time.  The television was on CNN as my husband had it on before he left for work.  I had never been a big news watcher, but for some reason when I came back from walking the dogs I did not change the channel.  Instead I fed the animals and sat down on the couch.  The first plane had just crashed into the first tower.

Like many others, I thought I was watching a video of somewhere else.   The sound was low so I wasn’t really hearing anything, but I didn’t change the channel.   It finally dawned on me that no- this was not some other country, not some movie.  I turned up the sound to hear details, and within seconds the second plane hit the second building. 

I remember going numb.  I remember calling my husband.  I remember calling the girls at work to check on them.  I remember staying glued to the television as much as I could as I got ready for work.  I remember getting the call saying that the mall was closing, and told the girls to just count the registers and go home – not to worry about anything else…just go home.  I remember the unusual silence when I walked the dogs as very few cars were on the highways.  I remember the oddly clear sky as no planes were flying.  I remember the stillness outside as everyone was inside watching the events unfold.  I remember trying to process the magnitude of what had happened.

There was a time when I was like so many others, wondering why everyone was so caught up in ‘remembering’ events that happened in the past.  I would get bored of listening to the speeches, watching the recaps, hearing all the ‘I remember….” comments.  I don’t know why events before 9-11 didn’t change that thought process in me, but I do know that afterwards I stopped questioning why people had to have those ceremonies, whether private or public. 

So to those who still wonder why everyone makes a big deal out of all the ‘remembrance’ postings/interview/speeches/ceremonies…I can only hope that you never have an experience that changes that thought.  And to those who have had that moment, I now understand.

·         American Airlines Flight 11: Left Boston's Logan Airport at 7:59 a.m. enroute to Los Angeles with a crew of 11 and 76 passengers, not including five hijackers. The hijackers flew the plane into the North Tower of the World Trade Center at 8:46 a.m.

·         United Airlines Flight 175: Left Logan Airport at 8:14 a.m. enroute to Los Angeles with a crew of nine and 51 passengers, not including five hijackers. The hijackers flew the plane into the South Tower of the World Trade Center at 9:03 a.m.

·         American Airlines Flight 77: Left Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia at 8:20 a.m. enroute to Los Angeles with a crew of six and 53 passengers, not including five hijackers. The hijackers flew the plane into the Pentagon at 9:37 a.m.

·         United Airlines Flight 93: Left Newark International Airport at 8:42 a.m. enroute to San Francisco, with a crew of seven and 33 passengers, not including four hijackers. As passengers attempted to subdue the hijackers, the aircraft crashed into the ground near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, at 10:03 a.m.