I know this is the same comment that I left on Barbie's blog, but I wanted to add my thoughts on my own blog as well. I always seem to be far away from NYC on September 11th. The second anniversary I was in Utah. The third anniversary I was in France, now the 5th anniversary I am California. It is one of my goals to be in New York City on the anniversary of September 11th. To visit ground zero and feel the sorrow as well as the energy and the hope that is there. I can't wait until the memorial is finished. Hopefully by then, I can be there.
My story: I was at BYU, living in the Colony. Liz Kontak and I were asleep and my roommate Michelle came and and woke us up saying she thought a car bomb had exploded in NYC and I should turn on the TV. I casually walked down to the living room and turned on the TV. At the same moment my mother called my cell phone in hysterics. I basically sat there in shock watching the news and listening to my mother cry. I didn't cry at first because it felt to surreal- I just thought it wasn't possible that it was happening. I remember the moment when they realized that people were jumping out of the buildings....I will never forget those images.
My family lives and hour and a half away from the city and we go there all of the time. I was born there. I remember being a little girl and going to the top of one of those towers with my family and stepping out into the window, leaning my head on the glass and looking all the way down to the street. We have so many friends that live there. All I could think was, "where is Dave? where are Bob and Carl? Are they ok? Are they alive?" After the initial shock I couldn't stop crying. I was so devastated.
I walked to campus for my afternoon class and stopped to talk to a friend who was sitting out on his front porch enjoying the weather. He told me that he was not affected by it because it wasn't anywhere near his home state of Washington- I just couldn't believe that he didn't feel the same way that I did.
I had to work that afternoon at Down East Home and I wanted to scream at everyone shopping for their marked down freaking pottery barn furniture... "DONT YOU KNOW WHAT HAS HAPPENED??? DONT YOU KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE DIED TODAY???!!!" I just couldn't believe that people were doing such trivial things on such a horrible day.
I had a knot in my throat all day. I wanted to be with my family. My mother was so upset that I was so far away from her. The whole thing reminded me of how fragile life is and that it can be taken away in seconds. And it made me so grateful for eternal familes.
To this day- even years later - I am still affected in the same way that I was on Sept. 11th. I will never forget that day as long as I live.
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i remember thinking how trivial everything was. i was glad they cancelled our stupid phone surveys about potato chips and credit unions! even still- thinking about it makes me feel that way. i was watching the nightline evening news last night just thinking what a bunch of self centered americans we are. we shop for recreation while people in other countries can't even afford bread nor would they have the capability to plug it in to toast it.
on the news last night they showed some soldiers and dignitaries in afghanistan and the reporter just kept asking "are we winning or losing?" -like that's all it was about. i really liked what one guy said- "we build the schools, they burn them down. we are the winners. we give people hope and courage- they take it away. we are the winners." we have beomce so wrapped up in making this a political issue that we've forgotten our morals i think. who cares if you are "winning" if you're doing what's right? isn't that how you win? no matter the outcome.
they also showed a bit on a NY downtown hospital ER. It's a small ER, not a trauma center. After the first TC bombings they saw the most patients they had ever seen i think 350 or so in one day. They said after 9/11 they saw 1500!! that's 5 times the amount they were overwhelmed with less than 10 years before. One of the doctors got emotional and said he was so suprised that even with the volume that day they didn't miss a patient. he said it horrified him that someone might bleed out in a corner and no one realize it. he was impressed at how quickly they could treat a patient and then housekeeping would have a room clean in 3-4 minutes. he said tearfully that he was so impressed that he could rely on everyone that day to do exactly what they needed to do. same with the firemen and policemen that lost their lives. it really brought out the best in people for a while and that sort of makes it a neat thing, although sad and horrible at the same time.
anyway- sorry i'm rambling- it's just an interesting subject to me:)
i love you hunnee. write and let us know how school is going. are you liking it so far?? miss you!
What do you mean- the off-rack Pottery Barn shoppers were more concerned about their curtain rods and Martha Stewart sheets than about a terrorist attack? Hmmmm.
Glad you shared, and I am so glad your family was okay through all of that. Your family were the only members I knew in that part of the country (besides Emily's dad) and so I wondered what all of that was like, so close to home.
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