My Memories of September 11, a Little Late for the 10th Anniversary

The flag hanging from our porch

  Everyone who remembers September 11, 2001 can recall exactly where they were when they heard the news.  I’m a little late on this, but I’ll share some of my memories of that day.  I was fairly new at my job, having been there about four months.  It was a little humid, but it looked like it was going to be a nice pleasant day as I drove along I-95 to my workplace in Princeton, NJ.  Everything was going as normal for the first few hours, but I started to notice something as I saw all the supervisors and managers talking with each other with concerned looks on their faces.  It wasn’t long before I found out what it was about, as I walked by a woman who had a radio at her desk.  I thought I heard the radio announcer saying something about a plane crashing into one of the World Trade Center towers, and I knew something had happened  I also heard a woman saying that the Capitol Mall was on fire.  I finally put it all together when I asked my friend Bernard, who worked next to me, and he confirmed that two hijacked planes had crashed into the World Trade Center towers, making it obvious there had been a terrorist attack like none other before or, so far, since.  

  A while later, an all staff meeting was called in the main auditorium/conference rooms, the chairs were arranged with two monitors set up showing live footage from ground zero.  By that time, both towers had collapsed.  I then found out it was the Pentagon, not the Capitol Mall that was on fire, although the Capitol Building was later revealed as an intended target.  I forget exactly when and how I heard about flight 93 crashing in western Pennsylvania.  We were addressed by the CEO, a good man who had friends working in the World Trade Center.   After addressing the situation, he closed up shop for the day, and I was soon on my way home.  I had no idea what might happen next.  I had a feeling that theterrorists might not be finished yet, and since there are several nuclear power plants within 200 miles of me, my concern was that they might be the next target.

    Back home, I spent the rest of the day watching the news, on television and online.  I walked out onto the golf course near my home that night, and since all planes had been grounded, the sky was unusually silent.  Since I live in a metropolitan area, near several airports and military bases, the sky was normally full of lights from low flying planes, but not that night.  All aircraft had been grounded, and the highways of the air were closed.

  Although business would soon return to normal, there were some things that would not be the same again.  If nothing else, we now had a reason to always be looking over our shoulders.  Something like this didn’t seem unthinkable to me, but just so highly unlikely that I didn’t think it was much to worry about.  It did happen, however.  And it did provide some inspiration and patriotism.  In the aftermath, outgoing New York mayor Rudy Giuliani was transformed from tabloid fodder to a national hero.  The NYPD and FDNY, to whom risking life and limb was their livelihood, would get hero status as well.  It became fashionable to display American flags, although it was apparent many people weren’t familiar with flag etiquette.  The words “God Bless America” began showing up on signs everywhere.  Perhaps a spirit of patriotism could help today.  It won’t make the economy better by itself, of course, but it may inspire something positive that can make a difference.