September 11th
Posted on Sep 11, 2008 under Childhood | No CommentI haven’t posted anything in a while because nothing exciting has been happening and work is wearing me out. But since today is September 11th it has brought back all kinds of memories for me and caused me to reflect on a lot of things. It seems that every generation has that one big historical event (sometimes good, sometimes bad) that you will remember for the rest of your life. Things like: man’s first walk on the moon, when JFK was assassinated, Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech, etc. These are the kinds of events that everyone who witnessed them can recall vividly what they were doing when they heard the news.
For my generation it was September 11th, 2001. I can picture exactly what was going on when I heard about the terrorist attack.
It was my junior year of high school. Some time after 9:00 a.m. I was sitting in AP history class with Mr. Griffith (who we called “Griff”). He was a beloved teacher, known for his funny stories and witty remarks. But that was the problem- no one ever took him too seriously because he was constantly joking and being sarcastic. So when we walked into the classroom and he announced that the World Trade Center had just been hit by a group of terrorists on a plane and that one of the towers had collapsed completely, we didn’t believe him. For a few seconds some of us laughed as if this was just another one of his crazy stories. But as Griff continued to talk about it we realized his solemn face was not breaking out into that old silly smile. He was dead serious. Pretty much nothing else happened the rest of the school day. It was very surreal. All anyone did was walk around the building speaking in hushed tones. We mostly gathered in different classrooms to watch the live news coverage. I remember seeing the twin towers collapse in disbelief, thinking it looked more like a scene from a movie. I think school might have let out early that day because I remember my mom coming to pick me up since all the after school stuff was canceled. I know my family members were all relieved to hear that my oldest brother, who lived and worked in the D.C. area at that time, was okay. The rest of the day was kind of a blur, but I can recall a conversation I had with a friend that evening…and it felt like a scene from the movie Armageddon where the characters are talking about how this might be the end of the world. I didn’t really think the world was ending that day, but it was a similar feeling.
I can’t say that anything good came from that tragic day, but at the very least it caused me to reflect on my priorities in life. And whenever I think about that event it causes me to question, what if this really were my last day on earth? How would I live differently?
Do you have a story to share about Sept. 11th? Feel free to comment on the post and tell me about it.
