My wife, in remembrance of the anniversary of the attacks on New York, DC, and the crash in the fields of Pennsylvania, wrote this and emailed it out:
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I shared this on an e-mail list this morning and I thought that each of you might appreciate reading it as well:
My phone rang that morning shortly after I dropped my son off at school. "Turn on the TV," my father's voice sounded so urgent and I immediately grabbed the remote.
The smoke was billowing heavenward from a tall building. At first I didn't recognize that it was one of the Twin Towers - despite having spent a week in NYC the previous month.
"A plane? My goodness, Dad, how did it get so off course? What a tragedy!"
Then the second plane hit. America collectively fell to our knees.
As the realization slowly sunk in - we've been attacked! - a sense of panic spread across the nation. Televisions everywhere stayed tuned to the news. The same news was on *every* channel -- even the cable and music stations that generally don't break their programming.
That was day one. Over the next year, however, America's sense of pride and community rose like a Phoenix from the ashes.
There's a popular memorial song entitled, "Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning?"
I was in my living room. I cradled my kids in my arms and worried about J.T. until I could get him from school.
John was on his way to New Jersey. His company sent him to work on some Army contracts. He passed by the Pentagon and witnessed a lot of the Aftermath.
J.T. was in school -- he'd been with me in NYC the previous month.
All my life I heard people say, "Where were you when Kennedy was shot?" I didn't understand that feeling until Sept. 11, 2001
On myspace I've put up a memorial for today and I found the following poem:
the Sky Is Falling...
The sky is falling,
Ashes rain on ashen faces
People shake their heads in woe,
Isn’t Hell supposed to be below?
The sky is falling,
Death has come on silver wing
People wring their hands in fear,
How could this have ever happened here?
The sky is falling,
As the giants slowly die
People cry for what is lost,
Innocents should never pay the cost.
The sky is falling...
Andrea Catherine Crimmins
Copyright ©2006 Andrea Crimmins
It's important for us to commemorate this day. However, it's also important that we move forward and acknowledge that pain makes us stronger.
All the arguments, theories, and opinions on war aside let's take a few moments today to remember those who lost their lives that day as well as the troops who've given all in the following years.
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Let's all take a moment and remember the sadness of a time of terror, but also rejoice that our country survived, and is stronger for it.