nmah4985.xml

nmah4985.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-09-15

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As long as you are of sound mind you will always remember this day as long as you live!

At the time it happened it was a normal sunny day and I was working along with everyone else that day. Normal thoughts and aspirations were going through my mind, How am I going to get this done or that done? What am I going to accomplish next?

Then I heard the news "World Trade Center, Pentagon, Pennsylvania." What was going to be next?

We all gathered to watch the tragic events unfold, then the realization: I have family working in New York City, Panic Hit!

My bother in-law is a subway engineer and my sister works in the city and I did not know how close they were to it until several hours later, when the phone lines were clear and my brother in-law was finally able to contact my sister. He was bringing people out of the city and bringing rescue people into the city all night.

I went to ground zero and saw the destruction, messages of hope and despair with my own eyes. I smelled the indescribable putrid concrete dust odor in the air. I went to the NYS museum and saw the fire engine that was destroyed and read the entire time line of the events of that day moment by moment. I read about the men from that fire company that lost their lives that day. About their family they left behind, of their hopes and dreams for their own future. And to know that there are thousands hurt, lost, dead, and all their family, their friends, and their hopes and dreams that were lost forever.

Now in afterthought: when everything has calmed down and you have gone through every emotion possible. And still you have not reached the end of the roller coaster. The reason for everyone dying for an absurd reason by people who should have been committed to a psychiatric ward somewhere.

They did not succeed in getting any point across. They killed themselves along with thousands of innocent people in the name of What?

Japan said they "Awoke a Sleeping Giant" after they bombed Pearl Harbor. What did Osama do? He went after innocent, unarmed, people who were just doing their jobs as they did every day. They killed mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, and friends.

They succeeded in getting Americans closer together and working toward a common goal. Not the goal Osama intended. They rallied governments to stand together against this type of aggression. The National Anthem means more to the majority of people today then ever. We know as Americans we can survive.

Thank you to the fire, police, port authority departments, and the normal everyday people who helped in the unfortunate event. We will never forget and my thoughts and prayers go out to the families and friends that were left behind and those who still need to endure and go on.

Today is a normal sunny workday like any other day------ and I still have hopes and dreams for our collective future.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------