Remembrance - day 30

Today another year has passed and we take a moment to remember those who lost their lives in that tragic event.  On that day a tragedy occurred in our country but in that tragedy we became one country.  We were all stopped in our tracks and focused on the tragedy that was occurring in our nation.  We were "One" that day.

As I sit here and remember that awful moment, knowing that I have one of those sad memories where I know exactly where I was the minute it started and what I did after it happened.  I am sure that I am not alone in that either.  I remember hearing others much older than I who would say, "I remember exactly where I was when Kennedy died."  I always wondered how they could remember that exact moment in time where and what they were doing.  Now, seventeen years later, I can still remember those exact moments. 

I was pulling into the office when I heard on the radio that the first plane had hit. I ran in and had them turn on the TV just in time to watch the second one as it hit the south tower. That was the day that changed our country.  The day before, we were looking at how to stay out of recession.  The economy was the top issue in our country, more tax cuts, and the education bill. There were big weather storms that day, flooding in several areas.  There were also primaries coming down to the wire as the next day would be a voting day.  Many of last minute slanderous commercials and news stories about one candidate or another, those annoying things that cause many of us to turn off TV and news as we just get sick of the political crap.  Hurricane Erin brushed Bermuda sending pounding rains and storm surges onto the island, stranding tourists.

Looking back all these years later to how our country has changed.  We went from being, for the most part, comfortable with life as it was with the daily grind and the normalcy of it all to becoming one cohesive unit all focusing on the destruction that occurred, the loss of life, the loss of our sense of safety as we knew it the day before.  We became angry and fearful.  We wanted blood from those who did these terrible things.  We also mourned the losses and tried to help our fellow Americans.

Now, we are again at war, but this time it seems we are at war within our own boarders.  War against each other.  Racism has become so much worse over the years since this happened.  We no longer see each other as fellow Americans...we are now a country of "Them" and "Us."  What happened?  Why is it that we have gone from being almost color blind to now seeing the differences more than ever?  How can we get back to being one again, seeing each other as Americans all fighting for the same things, safer places to live and raise our children, housing and feeding the homeless and helping them become active in society, cleaning up our streets and making American a proud place to be?

Where was I when the towers fell, I was racing home to get my babies.  If life as we knew it was ending, if there was a chance we were going to have more attacks, if there was a possibility that this was my last day on earth I was going to spend it with my children in my arms.  I was going home.

9/11/01 - the day our country cried together.