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Thoughts on 9/11
Sep. 11th, 2009 08:49 am"My God, what a horrible mistake!" was what I said when I found out a plane had flown into the World Trade Center - and that it wasn't a joke.
Eight years ago today, I was working as a receptionist for a marketing research facility in the Back Bay. I had just started the job. This was before Twitter (and I couldn't surf the web at my desk anyway), I didn't carry a cell phone and there was no radio at my desk. One of the guys who worked evenings called in to tell us what was going on. We all were scared out of our minds - was Boston next? Were friends and family members who lived and worked in NYC and Washington still alive? What happens next? WERE WE STILL SAFE???
In the months and years that have followed, others have shared with me their experiences of 9/11 and what came after. The pastor who ministered to the firefighters, police officers and rescue personnel for months after 9/11 and was never the same. The daughter whose dad is a NYC firefighter. The client that was en route to my facility on 9/11 who called to cancel his focus group because his company offices were located in the World Trade Center and had been destroyed. My cousin who was working on the opposite side of Manhattan when the planes crashed into the towers. The classmates, relatives and friends of mine who joined the armed forces or the TSA and the ones who were already in the armed forces and were mobilized. The teachers who tried to help their students makes heads or tails of what happened. The friends who came home from a trip to NYC on 9/10 - one day earlier than planned - thanks to an upgrade from Amtrak. The relative that got to the airport late missed her flight out of Logan. The folks who worked at the World Trade Center who called in sick or were out of the office on business. We all have a story about 9/11/01 - some of us were impacted much more tangibly than others, but this was a direct attack not just on America the country, but each and every American.
Today, my thoughts are with the families of those who perished on 9/11/01. My thoughts are with those who toiled long, hard hours at the sites of the attacks - helping the wounded and searching to find the deceased. My thoughts are with the soldiers and their families, not just the ones who gave their lives but the ones who are sacrificing every day still.
Eight years ago today, I was working as a receptionist for a marketing research facility in the Back Bay. I had just started the job. This was before Twitter (and I couldn't surf the web at my desk anyway), I didn't carry a cell phone and there was no radio at my desk. One of the guys who worked evenings called in to tell us what was going on. We all were scared out of our minds - was Boston next? Were friends and family members who lived and worked in NYC and Washington still alive? What happens next? WERE WE STILL SAFE???
In the months and years that have followed, others have shared with me their experiences of 9/11 and what came after. The pastor who ministered to the firefighters, police officers and rescue personnel for months after 9/11 and was never the same. The daughter whose dad is a NYC firefighter. The client that was en route to my facility on 9/11 who called to cancel his focus group because his company offices were located in the World Trade Center and had been destroyed. My cousin who was working on the opposite side of Manhattan when the planes crashed into the towers. The classmates, relatives and friends of mine who joined the armed forces or the TSA and the ones who were already in the armed forces and were mobilized. The teachers who tried to help their students makes heads or tails of what happened. The friends who came home from a trip to NYC on 9/10 - one day earlier than planned - thanks to an upgrade from Amtrak. The relative that got to the airport late missed her flight out of Logan. The folks who worked at the World Trade Center who called in sick or were out of the office on business. We all have a story about 9/11/01 - some of us were impacted much more tangibly than others, but this was a direct attack not just on America the country, but each and every American.
Today, my thoughts are with the families of those who perished on 9/11/01. My thoughts are with those who toiled long, hard hours at the sites of the attacks - helping the wounded and searching to find the deceased. My thoughts are with the soldiers and their families, not just the ones who gave their lives but the ones who are sacrificing every day still.
