Lets see at about 7:40am (5 minutes before the first plane hit) my dad dropped me off in front of my brand new school, Benilde-St.Margarets, where I was starting the second day of the third week of my Freshman year of high school. I went to my locker to pick up some stuff for my Advanced Spanish I class and things in my life were normal. My only concern at that moment was the fact the Vikings lost to the Panthers on Sunday (I was at the game) and how we would handle the Ravens next Monday night and not have our asses totally handed to us and that the Twins miracle run was looking like a mirage as their playoff hopes faded fast. That all changed when I went to the homeroom and waited for morning announcments. I thought I heard someone say that a plane had hit one of the World Trade Center towers but I dismissesd it thinking it was lack of sleep and that I was hearing things. That all changed when the Vice Principal got on the mike and dismissed everyone to go to the cafeteria to watch what was happening.
At first I was thinking it was like a little Cessna had hit the World Trade Center because I remember that something similar had happened in the 1930's when a small plane actually hit the Empire State Building and it was no big deal. That all changed when I saw the live video on the TV. I remember, and I still don't know what compelled me to say this, saying "I got three words for this, Osama Bin Laden" people turned around and looked at me obviously not recognizing the name. We stood and watched until second period was to start at like 9:10am (I think). Right as I was leaving I heard a gasp and looked up, it looked like part of the building was collapsing, only a chunk it looked to me. Little did I know I was looking at this...
I didn't know it had collapsed until I had gotten to my next class. My teacher wanted to turn the TV off but we stopped her, as a compromise she said she would mute it but that we would continue school work even though no one was paying attention. I was trying to concentrate on a problem when I heard that same gasp I did about 20 minutes prior. I looked up and saw the second tower in the process of collapsing. I looked to my partner who I was working with on the problems and saw his face. That image of him being completely stunned and horrified is burned into my brain forever. As I type I can still see it.
The rest of the day, week, month was a blur. Not a fast one but a slow one. 3 weeks felt like 3 years, 3 months felt like 10 years and by the end of my freshman year it seemed like I should be settling down and starting a family even though I wasn't even 16. Time just simply stopped for me. I wouldn't be the conservative, politically active person I am today if it wasn't for that infamous day. There are times when I wish I was ignorant to everything going on but I am not. I guess you could say it is a blessing and a curse all in one. I have met so many people that have positively changed my life that I can't call it a curse, but I am so damn frusterated most of the time (but less now, because I am DOING things) that it can't be considered a blessing either. I guess it just is.
But let us never forget what happened on that clear September morning 8 years ago. The people who died saving others... the innocent people deciding to end their lives by jumping from their office windows as opposed to being burnt alive or asphixiated by the smoke... the countless people who came out to help and offer any service they could... and let us not forget the pictures that the media seems intent on burying.
These people had families and lives and those asshole ragheads took that away from them. Let us also not forget the fact that we HAVEN'T had a major terrorist attack on our soil since. If on 9/12 you had told me, or probably anyone in the US, that on the 8th anniversary of the attacks there would still yet to be a follow up attack against the US I would have said that not only is that impossible but your insane and need to be committed to a mental institution. Blame Bush&Co. for their handling of 9/11 but give them credit for not letting another attack happen after that. That is all I have to say. Failblog/FML Friday makes a glorious return next week.
1 comment:
Cake eating Edina kid that goes to a highfalutin private school.
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