Never forget. So far, I don't think I've been given the chance to.
I remember the day very well. My morning started off like any other. Alarm went off at 5:30. I hit the snooze 4 or 5 times. Finally dragged my ass out of bed and into the shower. Got out, grabbed a cup of coffee, and shook KG awake. Then I flipped on the TV to CNN for a dose of morning news while I smoked a few butts and had my cup of joe.
It had been a slow news week, and the biggest items were shark attacks and a missing intern. Not much else happening that clear, bright morning.
KG and I left for work. She hopped on the T and headed into Downtown Crossing. I walked over to the Hood building to start my day.
A few minutes before 9, my sister emailed me to tell me a plane had crashed into one of the Twin Towers. We joked about it a bit, and that was that. Then people in the office started talking about it, so I tried to get on Boston.com to see what was up. No luck, the net was jammed.
Things unfolded quickly after that. I spent time running between the TV in the lobby and doing my job. KG and I emailed each other back and forth. Finally, after news came that the Pentagon had been hit, I started feeling a little scared. The whole world seemed to be coming undone.
KG works in the financial services field. That morning, Wall Street had never opened. So, her company sent them all home. We had the option of leaving, but in my field, people don't stop being sick just because fucked up shit is going down in NYC and DC. So I stayed.
There are a few things about that day that still stick with me. First and foremost was the overwhelming feeling of dread and fear during those first hours. Not knowing what was going on, how big the attack was, or where the next possible target was was scary. Damn scary. And not to harp on it again, but there was absolutely NO WORD from our fearful leader.
The second thing that still haunts me is the images. Hour upon hour of sitting on the couch, watching the horror in New York unfold, and be replayed again and again and again. Watching those towers fall, it looked unreal. Too much for the mind to handle.
Lastly, and most profoundly, was the lack of planes in the sky. We lived in Somerville and spent many an evening on the porch. Planes were so much part of the scenery that we didn't even notice them. Until they were all gone. No vapor trails in the empty air. No roar of engines. Nothing.
But, like most people, I moved on. No one I knew died that day. Thankfully. Life continued. The world kept turning.
Some things about the world have been changed beyond repair. There's two huge ass buildings in New York that are gone. Their skyline has been altered forever. 2,400+ people ceased to be that day. Americans willingly pissed away their civil rights to protect themselves from terrorists with a little thing called the Patriot Act. Thousands of Americans who were guilty of nothing more than being "sand niggers" were jailed without being charged and denied legal council under that act. Afghanistan had a lot of bombs dropped on it. Sales of American flags went up. "Never Forget" became a mantra. A new term, "post 9/11" was entered into our lexicon. Dubya decided to destroy Iraq.
I'll say this... terrorism is the greatest thing ever for the government of this country. Americans are not brave people, and as a rule, they don't like to think for themselves. Tell them they are under constant threat from sleeper cells waiting to blow up their malls and disrupt their holidays, and they'll let you do any damn thing you want. Wire taps? OK. Search and seizure without warrants? OK. September 11th security tax on airline tickets? Don't even question that. They give us a color coded threat meter and talk of "chatter" all so we can live under a constant pall of fear, but continue to go about our normal lives.
I'll eat my hat if the terrorist threat in this country is even one quarter of what we're lead to believe.
So, to all of you out there who were directly affected by the events of September 11th, 2001, my heart goes out to you on this sad anniversary. To every other person in the country, Happy 9/11 Day!
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