This post is a bit dated considering last Sunday marked the 10th anniversary of 9/11 and the moment we were changed forever. The most common questions asked regarding this event were: "Did you remember where you were and what you were doing when you heard the news?" I certainly did just like how I remembered where I was and what I was doing when I heard about the death of Princess Di and when in 1986, the Challenger blew into pieces in the sky. For those who were around my parents' ages and older, the assassination of JFK and Martin Luther King. Those events do not compare to this terrorist act that left 3,000 Americans dead but those questions that most of us can answer after many years are interesting.
When I heard the news, those moments passed were masked in silence as my mind was desperately trying to get off the spinning wheel of confusion. What? Where? When? How? And most importantly, why?
Ten years forward, last Sunday morning as Neva was building a fort for Jessie, Rainbow Brite, Adventure Aquarium mermaid, the poodle dog, and last but not least, the Chesire Cat, I was watching the 9/11 special and got caught up in the moment. Tears started to pour as I remembered that frightful day and the lives that were lost. Neva tapped at me and asked why I was crying. Whoo.
Neva listened carefully about the ill-fated day we experienced and I showed her some pictures and answered any questions she had. The hardest question she had was ... "why?". How do I explain hatred? Instead, I explained how people misunderstood each other and became confused with the truth. (Best I can do for now). She immediately drew this picture and I was surprised at how detailed she drew of the planes.
The next day when Neva came home, she told me her class had discussed 9/11 and she was able to explain to her class about what happened. I was grateful I was able to empower Neva the opportunity to tell her a very condensed version of 9/11 to her classmates. After all, this is a very important part of their history.
Where was I and what was my 9/11 story? My story is much like most and not as interesting as some. The weekend before Tuesday (9/11), I was in Manhattan with my friend visiting friends there for the weekend. We went to Times Square and had a wonderful weekend. I vaguely remembered discussing visiting landmarks such as the Empire building and WTC but those plans never were constructed. We hopped on the Greyhound bus that Sunday evening and for those who know NYC, we traveled for a while in the tunnel and I complained to my friend about how I was missing the view of NYC. Finally, when we emerged from the tunnel, I could only see the skyline but good enough of a view to identifying the WTC and Empire building (with my friend's help) because it was my first visit to NYC. I admired it so tirelessly and my friend can vouch for this :).
At the time, I was living in Frederick, MD. and I traveled to Washington, DC every night because I was employed at Gallaudet University. I worked the graveyard shift so when I came in on Monday night after my weekend in NYC, it was technically Tuesday morning, 9/11. After my shift ended at 8:30am, I stopped by at a friend's house for java before heading back home. Little did I know that the plane already hit Tower 2 and a plane was coming for Pentagon. At around 9am, I left and drove past the Pentagon toward Frederick. A friend of mine paged me and was sounding weird about some building being bombed and all. I wasn't exactly understanding because of several factors: I was driving, I was definitely tired and that scenario did not make sense to me at all.
I hurriedly went to my apartment and turned on the television. It took me about...maybe five minutes to finally realize that we have been attacked. Maybe I'm dim-witted but it took me this long to connect the dots because...I never thought, like many, that we would be attacked in such a way. Then for the next two days, I was glued to CNN and bawled my eyes out every five minutes. It was until when a psychologist came on CNN and urged people like me who had been watching CNN nonstop to turn off the TV and try to get on with my daily chores and when I did, I finally could live again. I could not return to Washington, DC because all entrances to the city were blocked. It was until Thursday night I finally could return.
God bless USA!
