I woke up this morning and my first thought was, “Its September eleventh. Again. It’s been six years already. And yet, I remember it like it was yesterday.”
I was still in high school when the horrible attacks took place. I was in eleventh grade. And my second period class had just started. Gym. I always hated gym. I was in the girls’ locker room NOT getting changed, because I almost never participated in gym class. One of the younger girls who was in my class came running into the locker room almost knocking me flat on my ass.
“Someone bombed the Chrysler Building!” She shouted. Having no idea what she was talking about, I convinced three of my friends from that class to follow me out into the hallway and into the Coach’s lounge-the only room in the entire building that had cable TV.
It took us approximately three seconds to realize that the young girl had made a mistake. It was one of the Twin Towers. And it wasn’t a bomb. It was a plane. We watched in horror as the second plane hit and again as they collapsed. My big sister was attending F.I.T. in the city at the time. I was panicking. One of the coaches would not let me go to my locker to get my cell phone to call my sister. My school was on “Lock Down” since we were not really that far away from the attacks. They didn’t want people getting hysterical in the hallways. Finally my volleyball coach convinced the other teacher it would be alright if I was supervised.
I called my sister’s cell phone constantly for two straight hours and no calls were going through. I finally called my house where my brother answered and informed that my sister was home and had decided at the last minute not to go class that day. I cried like a baby out of relief.
I will never forget that day. Nor will I forget the devastation. And I was reminded of just how bad it really was when I spent Saturday afternoon at Ground Zero and watched as thousands of people stopped, stared, laid down flowers, cried, and prayed. My heart went out to all who were affected. And it still does. Because it wasn’t just a bad day for those people. They think about the loved ones they lost everyday.
I have to wonder, is there a light at the end of the tunnel for those whose hearts ache over that tragic day that was September 11th, 2001? For their sake, I hope there is.
