But it still stood....
Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2012 2:41 PM
"Tonight, I ask for your prayers for all those who grieve, for the children whose worlds have been shattered, for all whose sense of safety and security has been threatened. And I pray they will be comforted by a power greater than any of us, spoken through the ages in Psalm 23: 'Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me.'" - President George W. Bush September 11, 2001.
First off, I want to pay homage to this day because it was my cousin Ross' birthday. He would have been 29 today, but back in 1999 he was taken away from us, having been murdered by a "gang banger wannabe" in the backyard of his home at his birthday party. He was shot in both kneecaps, and then in the head at around 11 PM that night. They didn't pronounce him dead until the next day. With all that has taken place over the years, I never want to forget to remember Ross.
Of course I have to also pay homage to 9/11. It has been 11 years now since we were attacked, and I can still remember where I was, what I was doing, and what went on all around me while the world was finding out that we will be changed forever.
I was driving my old red Plymouth Neon (no longer in my care) to school when NPR news broke out with the events taking place. I was a college student then, and I thought it was adult of me to listen to NPR news on my daily drive. At first I couldn't believe what was being said, but once I made it onto campus I was able to find a TV and see for myself that it wasn't just some foolish joke.
I was standing in the middle of the commons area with a dozen or more students just glued to the TV that morning. The University had cancelled classes for the day mostly out of respect but also because nobody could concentrate. We were all engrossed in what was happening thousands of miles away from us.
I called my friend Jeremy who worked near the twin towers on his cell phone. Somehow I was able to get through to him because the telephone lines were all tied up for a very long time afterwards. At this time, we only knew of one tower having been attacked. What followed, I will never forget for as long as I live. I could hear the screams of people from his building as they watched the second plane crash into the other tower. I heard the crash. I literally heard the second plane crashing into the building over the air waves. It was like hearing a car crash outside your house, but quite a bit more chaotic. I heard Jeremy gasp and cuss and say he'd call me back later.
For the rest of the day, I was stuck to the television watching the same footage over and over, but it was all I could do at the moment. After all, I was tucked far away in the state of Kansas where it affected us but it didn't affect us at the same time. Instead, 9/11 had a trickle effect. We lived for awhile in a state of fear wondering what may happen next. Would they target Wichita since it was considered the "Air Capital of the World?"
But through that fear, we empathised with NYC wishing we could do more but failing to know what could be done. We were safe. We couldn't see the toll it had taken on the entire country except through pictures, word of mouth, and what little experience we felt when it happened. We were safe. Yes, we were the lucky ones safely nestled away in the middle of the country. Weren't we?
And then the world changed, and we started to feel the effects of 9/11. We felt it through constant media coverage, the change in policy towards air travel, how airports dealt with passengers (and still do), the unlimited warning signs flashing across the bottom of the television telling us we, as a country, were in a constant state of alertness.
We saw our young men and women sent off to fight the war on terrorism. Many of them came home, but many did not. Those who did weren't the same men and women they were before they left. They came back scarred, physically or not.
Over the last 11 years, the war on terrorism has become commonplace for places like Wichita. Once again, being far away from where the events took place, we were able to distance ourselves.
I did visit NYC at least 5 years ago and was able to see how the city was still affected by it. I passed by Ground Zero, which was hidden behind a blue tarp. I was able to peek through the tarp and see a huge hole in the ground where the twin towers used to stand. It was also one of the only spots in the city where you could look up and see nothing but sky, something I probably noticed most since I wasn't from a place where skyscrapers lined the horizon.
I met a doorman who cried just thinking about it, who described it with such intensity that for a moment I could imagine I was there with him watching black smoke rise into the sky, as people and building parts fell to the ground. It was the first time I realized just how greatly impacted the people of NYC were.
As I was walking towards the ferry that would take me to see the Statue of Liberty, I noticed the world globe sculpture that used to sit out front of the twin towers. It was damaged, the metal twisted and bent in ways only something horrific could accomplish. But it still stood. I took a picture of it for prosperity, never knowing that years later (today in fact) that I would see that as one of the most significant pieces of artwork in existence. Much like the United States of America, especially the citizens who experienced great loss, it was damaged, but it still stood.
On a brighter note, I came across this article today on the most popular baby names only to be sent to this site: Click Here. I have to warn you though, the writer cusses a lot but the piece is amusing. Enjoy!
