nmah5674.xml

nmah5674.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2003-09-09

I woke up late for class on 9/11. I was attending Warton County Junior College in Wharton, Texas and on Tuesdays and Thursdays I had 2 classes, one at 8 and one at 9:25. I overslept for the 8 o'clock class and when I finally did get up I didn't have time to stop and watch the t.v. in the dorm common room. I hurried to class and I remember passing a group of people talking about a plane crash in New York, but I didn't really listen because at the time I had no reason to care about what was going on in a state far away from me. When I finally got to class I was surprised to see my classmates and teacher standing in the hall listening to a radio coming from some teacher's office. At first I didn't listen to it because I was wondering what the hell was going on but someone said that a plane had just crashed into the Pentagon. In my stunned silence I finally heard the radio report explaining the crash of two planes into the twin towers in New York and the Pentagon. Finally, the teacher called us into class and asked if we would like the period off because, obviously, who can concentrate on speech class at a time like this? So I headed back to the dorm and watched the news for hours, and since I didn't have a job at the time, I could do that. I remember the news media at first showed footage of people jumping from the windows of the towers and falling 70-80 stories just to escape the fire. Thankfully, they stopped doing that around 11 or 12, I think. I do remember crying for all the people that had been in those planes and towers and the Pentagon. I was amazed at the pure evil it must have taken to kill innocent civilans just to prove some stupid point. I was, and still am, extremely angry that instead of fighting it out in some battlefield somewhere, these cowards murdered innocent people, thinking that would glorify them somehow. All those lives lost....
My friends and I wondered what would happen next, but we never believed those towers would collaspe. Not until it happened. Our biggest concern was whether someone was going to evacuate buildings in the Houston area, which is only about 45 minutes away from Wharton.
The entire day was nothing but a series of shocks and heartache, one right after another. All I could think, finally, was "I hope we get the bastards that did this."

The first few days after 9/11, the cafeteria and the library had t.v.'s broadcasting footage and news reports. The t.v.'s were taken back about 2 weeks after the incident but we talked about for months afterward. One of my friends said that he was going to make Osama bin Laden pay the ATM charges on his account because the attack had caused his paycheck to be late causing him to withdraw money that he needed but didn't have. Sometimes we could find humor in what had happened but only about anything that didn't have to do with the victims. I personally became more patriotic because I wanted to hunt down and exterminate every last terrorist that existed that had any part in this. I was proud of New York for coming together in the face of the attack, proud to show the world that the reason for attacking us, that we were a fat, godless nation intent on destruction, was groundless and that in fact we were strong and determined to rebuild while encouraging everyone to pray for our president, nation, and victims of the attack. And I was proud that President Bush, who is from Texas, was able to prove how competent he could be as our leader.

I think that as a nation we should remember that we asked for prayer and brought God back into our lives, even if it was only for a little while. I think we should remember that it was God who helped us get though the first hours, days, weeks, and so on after the attack. We should also remember that we can, and did, survive this and that we can draw together to help others. We should remember the heros that died trying to help, the victims caught in the crossfire of a supposedly "holy" war, and the men and women who fought bravely for our country to protect it from future attacks like 9/11. We should remember that no matter what happens to the soil of our country, America is not defined by borders or boundries but by what is in the heart of every person who considers themselves Americans. We should be proud to sing the Star Spangled Banner with our hands over our hearts and our hats off, to speak the Pledge of Alligence and mean it deep in our hearts and live up to it and carry it out in everything we as a nation do. Like the cry "Remember the Alamo" was for Texas and her freedom, let it be the same for 9/11 and America. And as an American, I offer up this prayer to God: Please, holy Father, let us not forget you or that day. Let us teach our children about America and your part in her creation. In Your Son's Holy Name I pray, Amen.

When I went to elementary school I never thought of the American flag as more than a piece of cloth that hung from the chalkboard that you stared at as you recited the Pledge of Alligence and listened to the Star Spangled Banner over the intercom. Sadly, not much was done to change this point of view as I grew older. After the attack, however, I began to look for things, like jewerly and clothing, that had the American flag on them because I wanted to show everyone I met that I supported my country. I became proud to wear it and grateful that my rights in this country allowed me the freedom to express how I felt. For me, the American flag has come to symbolize freedom and strength in the face of adversity and if I could that would probably be the one thing I would get tatooed on my body. I have become, if anything, more loyal to that flag and the country that it flies for. I could never ask for a better place to live. I can get an education that, being a woman, would be hard for me to obtain elsewhere. I can wear whatever I like and do whatever I like (within reason, of course) without fear of a male-dominated government executing me. And my daughters, when and if I have any, can eventually become President someday if they are determined enough. What more could I ask for?