9/11

To think that ten years have passed seems unreal. I remember September 11th, 2001 and feel the emotions like yesterday.

I was watching television with my sister. We watched the flames on World Trade Centre Tower 1 and then watched the second plane hit World Trade Centre Tower 2. Even though my sister (age 12) and I (age 17) were living as far away as possible in Australia, it was a shock, and we both screamed. My Mama walked into our family area and asked what movie we were watching. We told her that it was no movie; it was New York City. We watched together as the towers crumbled and then watched as the Pentagon was hit and then new reports of a plane going down in Pennsylvania. It was unreal.

I remember not wanting to go to sleep that night. I couldn't sleep with so many people harmed, so many lives lost, and no idea yet if I had seen the last of the attacks. When I did eventually fall asleep, I didn't sleep that well. Every time I'd close my eyes I'd feel I wanted to be there to help. I prayed. I woke up to more devastation. I remember all the doctors and nurses waiting to help people pulled from the rubble. Except that there were none. They stood there in their scrubs clean. Unreal.

It was the first time I'd heard the name Osama Bin Laden. I remember how foreign that name was to me and wondered how this person could cause so much damage. Mostly I wondered why he would ever want to.

Since then, I am lucky enough to have visited New York many, many times. It is the most fascinating, energetic and wonderful city in the world. I met my future husband there. My love for New York is immense and everlasting. I hadn't been to Ground Zero until this past April on about my 6th visit to New York. Until then I couldn't bring myself to stand where the towers once gazed over New York. The experience was unreal. What is most confronting is the open space. There is an enormous space where the towers once stood. 

I now live in Pennsylvania and travel to New York regularly. It's obvious that ten years have passed, but my memory of those days are so vivid I know I'll live the rest of my life feeling like September 11th 2001 was yesterday. My prayers, respect and admiration for those who first responded, those who continued to respond in the days after, and those who today continue to work on the memorial will never waiver. The goodness of humanity will prevail.