10 years ago:
I had quit work and returned to school full-time for a certificate in web design. I didn't have a class until the afternoon so I was puttering around with Good Morning America on in the background when it all happened. I called my older brother who lived in California at the time since I needed to hear a voice. It helped a little bit to talk to him but the overwhelming feeling I had was that I was glad my parents weren't around to see this happen.
That afternoon as I headed to class, I remember how eerily quiet it was between the somber people that I passed and there being no airplanes in the sky.
Today:
I tried to avoid the saturation of 9/11 info on the TV stations for the most part and instead, celebrated the start of the NFL season by actually seeing the Detroit Lions win (however, the Pittsburgh Steelers lost) while starting the coinciding Bad Food Sundays with fried chicken.
The reason I tried to avoid all things not hosted by ABC's David Muir (who I'm really developing a crush on) is because I think, while a tragedy, Americans have the luxury of wallowing in these memorials on every anniversary and carving out areas of the country for tributes that cost millions of dollars which is sickening to watch while these things happen on a more regular basis in other countries and people grieve and continue living their life, never knowing when the next car in the village square will explode as they are doing their grocery shopping. I don't think we, as a country, learned anything of value from 10 years ago.
Did I mention that the Lions won today?
4 comments:
You're right, of course, viz. this sort of thing happening all over, over and over. The difference is, it had never happened here before. Thus we were confronted with some very unpleasant facts about the world we live in and human nature. As cliche as it's become, 9/11 was this generation's 12/7, a date which had a similar effect on the populace. For that reason, I think, the memorials exist. Who knows whether citizens six plus decades hence will think about it the way we do, much like my view of Pearl Harbor was different than that of my Dad, who lived then.
Cheers.
On the bright side, we have had numerous freedoms once bestowed upon us by founding fathers stripped from us in the name of security. I don't think I feel anymore secure.
R. - Where does the Oklahoma bombing fit in? I think of that as a terrorist act as much as 9/11 was.
Ed - I know. I have to put so much more thought into my footwear and my socks the few times I've flown since than I ever did before 9/11. I love the stories from yesterday of a plane being landed because there was suspicious activity in the bathroom and it turned out to be people 'making out'. *mental note to self: never try this on 9/11*
I still think it was odd that I flew out of NYC this year, on 911! After I was back on USA soil, it was time to switch to faster modes of transportation. Good post!
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