story1233.xml

story1233.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-08-19

As usual, my alarm went off at 5.30 AM Pacific time. I rolled over to turn on the news, wait for the bathroom as one of my housemates had just beaten me to the shower. As I was collecting my thoughts and waiting for the weather report, the local station cut to CBS. There, in a sub-real picture I saw the effects of the 1st airplane slamming into the WTC. I went to wake up my other housemate - he had to see this. At first I thought to myself, "Did the pilot have a heart-attack?" Having flown into NY before I realized that lower Manhatten was quite a bit off the landing path for JFK and LaGuardia as well as take-off patterns. Something is terribly wrong - it's perfect weather there. As various news reporters were transmitting their take, the feed went to a wide shot of the WTC - it was at that time, I watched in horror the second plane slamming into the building. No doubt about it, this was a planned and executed scheme. It was at this point, I could relate to my parents in what they went through when Pearl Harbor was bombed - but this, this was on American soil - happening in the best city on earth. My next thoughts went to my family members who worked in lower Manhatten. One in particular had/has the habit of leaving quite early and getting to his office promptly at 7 AM. After getting to work (what was I thinking!) and dialing my family's phone number for two hours, I finally got through...I got choked up as it was all too quiet on the other end of the line..."It's Stac" I whispered, "please tell me that everyone is accounted for." My cousin let out a sigh of relief - yes, her husband has woken up late and was stuck in the Licoln tunnel for about an hour. My other family member had called at this time on the other line to let me know he was OK as well, having witnessed both planes hitting the WTC as he and his boss drove to their office in LM. Now my phone at work was ringing off the hook...friends, family, colleagues all trying to connect and be assured of everyone's safety. However, one person in our family was not accounted for...my aunt did not know where he was as he had an itinerary of NY (LM), Washington DC and LA. Finally, after 48 hours, we found out that he had switched his filming schedule and went to LA first. The next few days were numb for me. Grateful that my family was safe, but at the same time waiting to hear about friends, clients and acquaintances.

I can't say that I was fearful at any point. Crossing the bridges that span the San Francisco Bay held no anxiety for me. But what I did however was cry like I've never cried before. Going to the store, standing in line to pay for groceries, looking at the stranger behind me in line and bursting out crying, holding on to eachother. This still happens to a certain extent.

The other thing I noticed about my "reaction" was a more balanced outlook...yes, the people who did this were possessed by evil, yes, it made me sad to see other people in other parts of the world joyful over the recent events. But all in all, a greater dilligence on what is right and what is wrong has impacted my thinking. No longer do I take things for granted on any level. I am grateful that we as a nation have weathered this event so far - I say so far because now my main concern is that we as a country still must uphold those ideals of life, liberty, freedom and happiness to their most pristine state...meaning that we must look from every angle our actions in whatever circumstance. This is what 9/11 has brought out in me, a desire to uphold those ideals that allow people to fulfill their dreams here regardless of any differences. There's more I could write but for now I think this is enough. We are a nation of heros, of cowards, of greed and charity. We are a mixture of the best and worst in the world - it is my hope that we can foster the best, share it with the rest of the world and thus bring us all together in respectful harmony.