Because I know you are dying to know, I will tell you where I was on 9/11/2001.It was my first year at my current school; my 6th year teaching. I was on the second floor of the main building and we were wrapping up first block. Then the intercom buzzed and our principal came on with the announcement that the WTC had been attacked. My principal was an officer in the Army Reserves and I knew he had full comprehension of the gravity of the situation. The news was more than I could absorb right then, as it was with most everyone.
Our school is very near a large Air Force Base and we have lots of "base kids" enrolled. Many of them were considering the implications to come for their own families, I suspect. I know that Steve was. He was working at my school at that time as a school resource officer. As a member of the Army Reserves, he knew immediately what HIS implications were going to be.
My off-period was second block. I went to the school library where the big TV had been rolled out and tuned into Fox News. Many faculty members drifted in and out in the 90 minutes I was there just to see it for themselves. As with most Americans, I can still see those images as clearly as if it happened just yesterday. I remember Steve sitting at a table nearby, eyes glued to the screen, not moving. Knowing what was to come. He knew he would be activated. Our principal would be too.
Eventually I returned to my classroom. Numb, I walked through the breezeway, back to the main building. I remember, crystalized in time forever, looking up at the sky. It was clear sky blue; not a cloud in sight. There was a slight breeze and a lovely fall nip in the air. Such a beautiful day. Not one plane in the sky. Silent.
Later that night, in the dark, I sat on my deck and looked upward. Trying to comprehend the day's events. What struck me most was the stillness of the night; the silence. No planes.
George Bush came to Barksdale, AFB that day on his way back to Washington. He promised the nation that he would fight terror. He promised the nation to do everything in his power to keep 9/11 from happening again. He has kept his word. It has not happened again. I don't want to make this a political debate; you can give me all those tired arguments against Iraq, how he's not captured Osama, all of it. But he has kept his promise. I believe history will be the legacy of George Bush. Love him or hate him, history will be his judge, not you. Or me.
Every year since 9/11, my journal topic for my students has been along the lines of "where were you when 9/11 happened and how did it affect you personally or change your life?" Over the past year or two, more and more of them don't even remember what they were doing. I thought it would be one of those pivotal generational moments, like when Kennedy was shot. You'd always remember it. Now I get responses like, "Gosh, I guess I was in elementary school but I don't really remember."
I think on this day we should be non-partisan and come together, once again, as a nation. I don't think we should ever forget.
5 comments:
Well said!
I can't believe your students don't remember though! I was literally shocked at that. Hmmm, that makes me think we are becoming to complacent, or at least the media is and some people are following.
I remember every second of that day. I can't believe your students don't! I was in 6th grade and Elm Grove didn't even tell us about it. I literally didn't know about the attacks until about 4 that afternoon when Mom told me about them.
I have a much more detailed story of my day, but I'm really tired and have a lot more studying/homework to do.
Thanks for a good homework break though! lol
First, prayers all around for those that were personally involved or affected by the 9/11 travesty.
Second, I remember being at work. I worked for a company that was the 'on-star' for mercedes and lincoln...I remember getting all these frantic calls from the cars with people screaming...then all cell towers went dead, and it was the most horrific moments. I will never forget.
Third...thank you so much for sharing your story. And never let these students forget, even if they try.
luculent
How can I forget? I remember that day as if it were happening right now. As Pat said, I was the school resource officer where Pat was teaching (a couple of years before Pat and I started dating), and I had the radio on in my office. A report came over the air stating that a plane had struck the World Trade Center. OK, it had to be some idgit who flew his Cessna into the building. I remembered a story I heard about a American bomber crashing into the Empire State Building during WWII. This had be like that incident, Right?
WRONG!
I quickly went the the school library, so I could watch the reports on televsion. What I saw on tv shocked me. One of the towers was belching smoke from a huge gaping hole in its side. Then shortly thereafter they were showing the second plane striking the other tower. Even though I was over 1000 miles away, I was watching the murders of thousands of people.
I was in the Army Reserve then, and because of my job in the reserves, I knew immediately who and what was responsible for this dastardly act. I guess my shock and anger was too much to control. Pat says she remembers me sitting in front of the tv, and I had this shocked and very angry look on my face. I don't remember me saying anything, but Pat says I was sitting there mumbling, "Those damned Ragheads." "That damned Osama Bin Laden." "I know I'm going to get called up."
Eventually my unit was called up, and I ended up spending two years on active duty with the Army. Something I do not regret. Sometimes I feel I wish I could have done more. I was assigned to Ft Polk, Louisiana (that's where Uncle Sam wanted me and that's where I went.) But deep down I feel like I could have done more, there is some regret that I wasn't assigned in Iraq or Afghanistan.
One of my best friends, former roommate, and buddy from my Air Force days, Bob, who is a preacher in the New York area, and a chaplain with the New York Air Guard, called me a couple of days after 9-11. Bob was sent to Ground Zero to console rescue workers and people who lost loved ones.
One of the saddest things Bob told me was people who lost loved ones in the towers were walking around with pictures of their loved one and asking rescue workers if they had seen their loved one.
Pat knows what it's like when Bob and I are together. It's almost non-stop laughter. But one night (about two or three days after the attack) Bob called. The tone was different, and I could tell Bob was in distress. He was aboard a U.S. Navy hospital ship (I beleive he said was docked near Randalls Island) that had been sent to assist in the aftermath. He was almost in tears telling me what he was going through.
Bob said his roommate on the ship was a guy who worked with rescue dogs. He said the handler was telling him that even the dogs were getting depressed, because they couldn't find anyone alive. In order to keep the dogs' spirits up, someone had to lie down in the rubble and allow the dogs to find them. (Being a police officer and watching the K9 units work, I know this is true. Working dogs love to work,because it's play time for them.)
All I could do was listen to Bob and pray with him. It was probably the first time since Bob and I met in September 1977 that there were no jokes, and there was no laughter.
I remember clearly the moment I broke down and finally cried. It was during a news report from London.(God Bless our British brother and sisters. I truly love the British.) It was during the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace (an event I have seen in person, what a sight!), Queen Elizabeth ordered a change in the ceremony's format, which had never been done before. She ordered the playing of the Star Spangled Banner.
The cameras recorded people sticking their arms through the fence and waving American flags. People were wiping away tears.
American and Brits crying for their fellow citizens who were butchered by ruthless animals who don't even qualify to be called pieces of human debris.
GOD BLESS AMERICA!
Sarah,
Thank you for supporting those who serve. It really does mean a lot. If I could, I would do it again. Not the basic training part, though.
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