Where Were You?

9/11/2016

There have been many events in our lives that are forever etched in our memory.  The first one that comes to mind was the bombing of Pearl Harbor.  Obviously, I wasn't around then, but old veterans remember that day every year.

The first tragedy I remember was the assassination of John Kennedy.  I was in 8th grade English when the announcement came over the speaker.  School was closed and we were to go home.  My memory isn't sharp enough to remember if the school was closed for more than one day.  As a young teen, the news of Kennedy's death was a shock.  I remember my parents stayed glued to the television all day and watched countless loops of the same pictures and the same stories.

Then there was September 11, 2001.  I was at work at Marriott headquarters.  As it was early morning, I was drinking coffee and chatting with my friends.  Then somebody ran into our office and said that a plane had hit the World Trade Tower.  I couldn't seem to get out of my chair, frozen in place I suppose.  Then the next tower went down and the Pentagon was hit.  Complete pandemonium broke out. 

We were told by our supervisors that we had two choices: (a) go home; or (b) stay inside the building where there were enough provisions for most employees for a few days.  I couldn't imagine staying at work, just to be on the safe side.

I got into my car and decided against taking the interstate home.  I drove the back roads and the world was eerily quiet.  There was no horn honking, and there wasn't a bird in the sky.  It was as if the world had stopped, and in effect it had.  Nothing would ever be the same again.

By the time I got home, I called Scott and Andy.  I told them that if we were forced to evacuate, they were to get in their car and head west.  Go to Illinois I told them and stay with my brother.  I assured them that if we were evacuated that Jeff and I would be right behind them.  I tried to reassure them, which I did as best as I could.  But, I wanted to give them an instruction to leave the area if the time arose that required us to leave our home.

Everything about the world has changed since 9/11.  Countless bombings, and terrorist attacks have unfortunately become the norm not only for us, but for the rest of the world.  The security and safety  I felt as a teenager in the 60's is something that I doubt young generations will ever know.  They will always associate airports with the necessity of removing shoes and having their body and bags scanned. 

We lost many people on 9/11 and there are countless number of survivors, who will never forget where they were, or where their loved ones were on that day.  Let us never forget that on 9/11 we lost our sense of security and peace.

P