First of all- I was completely floored when I actually realized it had been 10 years since terrorist fucks came and stole 3,497 lives, destroying families and forever changing life as we know it. And it was like someone opened the floodgates and all of the memories, emotions and even some of the fear came back in a rush.
We were living in California. My oldest was 10, Teenzilla was 3 and Noah wasn't even a thought yet. It was 6 A.M. and our phone rang. Now- as anyone will probably say- a phone call that early ( or really stupid late at night) can mean only a couple of things: It is work related, or someone close is sick, hurt or has died. So being the Chicken Little that I am I immediately think the worst- something horrible has happened to a family member. I checked the caller I.D. and saw it was my mother in law. I answered the phone and her first words were "is Derrick in the reserves?" I was speechless for a moment as I tried to process the question and she said "Turn on the news"
So I did- and I started asking questions...Derrick- are you in the reserves? To my MIL- What is going on?
The news said "World Trade Center Disaster" something about an airplane crashing into one of the twin towers.
I sat completely frozen watching. Listening to the news casters trying to stay calm- but you could see the panic in their eyes, hear it just below the smooth TV voices. Now they were saying something about terrorists. Pictures of the tower on fire were looping. What in the hell was happening??
Teenzilla ( at the time Preschool-zilla) was awake and whining to watch Blues Clues. - Dane was up - it was a school day. I remember not wanting to go anywhere-I called my boss- she said I know...get to work when you can. I wanted to keep my babies at home with me. Even though this was all happening a long way away from me - I couldn't help but think- this happened in MY country..it could happen anywhere...
Dane got off to school- we sat glued to the TV...and we saw it- the second plane hit the South Tower... there are no words to describe what I felt.
For 3 days after we had the news going constantly. I cried a lot. It was so surreal. Living in a predominantly Mexican area I was FURIOUS when I saw all the cars sporting Mexican flags, Mexican flags flying everywhere- for some sort of celebration. I was so MAD..all I wanted to do was yell at all of these people YOU LIVE HERE!! Have some respect!
"We never had a funeral because there was no body, so there was absolutely no closure. When we came out here 10 years ago, there was a hole in the earth and that's how we felt. Now, 10 years later, there is grass and water, and it feels kind of like a new beginning." -- Dakota Hale of Denver, whose stepfather Alfred Marchand was a flight attendant on United Flight 175, speaking outside the memorial service in New York.
"In the decade since the 2001 attacks on the United States, terrorists have succeeded only in the murder of innocents, often from among those they claim to represent. Al Qaeda is now weaker than at any time in the decade since 9/11 - and political progress through peaceful protest in the Middle East and North Africa has shown it to be increasingly irrelevant to the future. The true expression of what people in the Muslim world aspire to was seen not at Ground Zero in 2001, but in squares and streets across the Middle East and North Africa this year. So while we remember the victims of 9/11, stand firm with our allies and remain tirelessly vigilant against future threats, we also face the future with confidence in our values and faith in human nature." -- British Foreign Secretary William Hague in a statement.
Click the link below to see an amazing video by New York school kids....
No comments:
Post a Comment