story20578.xml

story20578.xml

born-digital

story

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2006-09-11

I vividly remember my girlfriend telling me to turn on the television, saying that a plane had hit the World Trade Center. I thought it might be an accident, since a B-25 bomber had struck the Empire State Building in the 1940s.

However, I watched with horror as a second plane hit the tower, and then I knew it was a terrorist act.

I stayed at home, getting to work late, watching the confusion and chaos of that day.

I told the department chief that in spite of the attack, we needed to continue maintaining the level of services our department provided. (I worked then, and still work, for the State of California.)

Over the years it has become more and more apparent that this will be a long struggle against the militant Islam faction which holds sway in many parts of the world, not just the Middle East.

I visited New York in 2005, and walked to the World Trade Center site. Even with the debris gone, and work on some facilities started, it was still a somber, moving place. I never saw the World Trade Center towers from the ground, but I certainly did see them from the air as I flew into NYC several times over the years. They were majestic, and I miss them.

Such a loss to the families of September 11, the cities of New York and Washington D.C., and to the country. We should never forget the depth of hatred of these terrorists have of the United States, and of our democracy.