story6464.xml

story6464.xml

born-digital

story

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no

2002-09-12

It's hard to believe the little details are still with me. I remember traveling in the morning rush hour on this clear and beautiful day about 8:30a. I rounded the bend of a highway just past the Phoenixville Exit of highway 422 east with all the other travelers at that time and saw the most breathtaking view of a valley tucked below tree filled hillsides hovering over and surrounding it. It was a little misty, and I was a little captivated with the view. In that distant view I saw smoke rising from an area and two small airplanes flying over the smoke and I remember thinking how odd. Traffic began to move a little quicker now and I soon reached my exit for Norristown. I did not have talk or new on my radio that morning, so I was very surprised at what awaited me upon reaching work at 9:10a that morning.
I am the Jury Manager for Montgomery County, Pennsylvania and by all accounts when I received a very strange message about an airplane accident, I really did not believe it. Like most people, I am sure I thought it must have been some misreporting of the news. I had about 150 jurors that day sitting for jury service. As soon as the news broke about the first tower being hit by an airplane, cell phones began to ring. (We do not take cell phones until jurors are assigned to courtrooms). Instantly, upon report of the second airplane striking the next tower, my gut was tight and the 150 captive jurors were beginning to panic. A father came to me instantly and said he needed to leave, as his son worked in one of those towers. He was going to NY and nothing was going to stop him. I believe he made it into the city before it was closed off.
To assist the people in their need to know as much about the situation as possible in there yet captive state, I turned on our large TV monitors and tuned them into the National new channels.
I don't know what we actually expected of these jurors after this news broke, but surely being a "juror" in the true sense of the word was not a possibility. Our judges did not get the new and it was business as usual until about 11:00a. The longer the horrified and yet sedated group of people stayed captive and compelled to perform the function of "Jury Duty" in light of the very events happening all around them, the greater their concerns raised up in them. Schools were closing, parents needed to secure coverage for their children. Their society was changing as they were sitting within the walls of the courthouse waiting to cast some fated judgment on a defendant whose time has come for justice.
As it became clear that the United States was under attack and that there were planted terrorist anywhere in the US. It became increasingly clear that safety was an issue. I informed and petitioned the judges to release the jurors for that day. The judges did comply.
I longed to see my children 14 and 24 to let them know that while the world may change around us, we are still family and loved. We have protection in that love. Yet, when death comes and separates us for what may seem an eternity, that we remember, "greater love cast out all fear", and "love changes not".
I saw pain, emptiness and more inner turmoil in people than I have ever seen or ever hope to see again. The pain, and anguish on the faces of the people of NY, DC and PA caught up in the drama were encrusted with a new reality. A reality that ?life? is gift. Life is very fragile and tender gift; a gift that can be taken away by careless acts of hatred. I would like to think that when we awoke 9/12/01 after the horrific acts of 9/11/01 that we awoke with hope. Hope that the bleak darkness that enshrouded us the day before would give way to peace. Yes, "Peace" a defiant-peace that would marshal the courage to go on to yet another day, because we are the survivors. Survivors must pick up and go on. The dead cannot go on, they have fallen where they are and must be remember for their contributions to our world our lives.
What of the "survivors"? Who are they? They are you and me; they are peoples of every race, religion, culture and ethnic hue. They are the people whose freedoms are greater than their sacrifices. Who believe that at all cost we must survive.
As a previous military personnel, I can remember thinking that the powers of government had let the people down and that the military strength is so much less that it was say, ten - twenty years ago. My thoughts of military might mismanagement were probably one of a knee-jerk reaction. I guess it is easier to think of retribution when so much suffering is going on. After all, the great US was always deployed to places in the world to alleviate suffering and to protect the weak. It just didn't add up. Where was our protectors on 9/11/01? By now, this is all rhetorical, and needs no further questioning. I am just remembering my thoughts of the day.
My story does not end here, but for the sake of closure; I will borrow the words of Maya Angelo "I know why the caged bird sings", and Marcus Garvey "Lose not courage; lose not faith, go on" -END-