nmah3640.xml

nmah3640.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-09-11

I had just returned home from taking my children to school. I had the morning off from my job as the Patent Assistant at the Providence Public Library. I turned on the TV to check the local weather, as it was a gorgeous late summer day and I wanted to see how much longer we could expect such weather. Instead, I was horrified to see one of the towers of the World Trade Center billowing smoke...shortly thereafter, as the world watched on our TVs, another jet smashed into the second tower. I was riveted to the TV, almost like I could not move if I had wanted. Tears were streaming unnoticed down my cheeks as I watched the devastation and the terrible loss of life unfold in living color. I prayed for those poor people as they jumped to their deaths rather than face being burned alive, and for the firemen and the police who were running as fast as they could into those buildings as the terrified people struggled to get out. In the midst of this, the reports of Washington and Pennsylvania came on. I thought of my kids, and of the kids whose parents would never again come home, and the sadness was nearly overwhelming. There were conflicting reports of what was happening, and everyone was on alert. I went to work, walking in the clear air through the beautiful downtown of Providence, and imagined the office workers and clerks, waiters and maintainence staff and financiers and tourists who had gone to their place of employee most likely very much as I was doing now, never suspecting that in a few scant hours their lives would be over or forever scarred by an act of war on a nation at peace. At work they allowed us to watch TV and make personal calls to check on our families. Staff and patrons were glued to the sets and everyone was crying. Homeless and business people, librarians and teachers and students and clerks...we were all Americans, all stricken by the insane acts against our civilians by a group who hated us for who and what we are.
I will not ever forget that day as long as I live.

I believe my life has changed, mostly for the better, since September 11. I learned that being smug and secure in our far away, powerful country was not enough. That all of us must remember that we have enemies who would rejoice at our downfall. I also try to treasure every minute I'm alive, especially those spent with my precious children, my family and my friends. September 11 proved powerfully that we are not guarenteed any particular life span.

We need to remember all those who died, the heroes among the police and fireman, but also the average joe who disappeared into the rubble.
We need to remember that we are all Americans, and that our great industrial wealth, our prosperity and our power, does not make us invulnerable nor invincible.
We need to teach our children to learn to be tolerant, yes...but, not to hesitate when those who hate us try to take us down and put their agendas before ours.

I have always flown an American Flag on holidays. On September 11, I put up the flag and kept it, with a light on it at night, til it got stormy and icy in December. Our flag is beautiful, and it is a symbol to the world of liberty and our country. We were shaken and sad on September 11, but we will have justice against our enemies, and we will not let them break our spirit nor cause our flag to stop flying, ever.