story3204.xml

story3204.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-09-11

At the time the first jet hit the World Trade Center, I was in my kitchen, ready to leave for Omaha and my job. My husband was getting ready to begin harvest on our farm. I dropped my briefcase and called my husband. We stood there with our mouths open, transfixed, as if we were watching some strange horror movie. After the second plane hit, I grabbed a small TV and headed to my office, so everyone could see what was going on. We were greatly relieved to hear that the President had landed at SAC airbase. His heading straight back to Washington amidst the uncertainty was the last thing we wanted to see. The entire day was surreal, as if we suddenly weren't in the same world. Someone mentioned the "Twilight Zone." We couldn't even laugh at that....it was too close to the truth.

We live so close to SAC, in Bellevue, NE, that during the "cold war" we joked about having a bullseye on our back. Now, I have that feeling again, even more so. As the daughter of a retired Air Force officer, I have a much deeper understanding of how others in the world might look at us in the US - right or wrong. I am also beginning to think I have a more realistic view of international relations than many people I have known and many more I hear and see every day. What happened last year on September 11 had nothing to do with "relations", "diplomacy", Islam, or "understanding." It has everything to do with evil, hate for hate's sake, and a society so spoiled and coddled that we still can't imagine being attacked like that unless we somehow deserved it. My second thought on that morning was that NOW, maybe people will realize that sometimes you have to fight back. My first thought this morning - one year later - was that, based on what I have heard and seen from pundits and so-called leaders here and abroad, we still don't have a clue. I am more afraid of that than I am of the terrorists.