Never Forget

It doesn't seem like 12 years have passed since the attack on September 11, 2001.  I remember exactly where I was and what happened on that day.

I was in 9th grade at Fort Dale Academy in Mr. Crook's English class.  I had his class 2nd period, so it was around 9 o'clock.  One of the football coaches came into the room, whispered something to Mr. Crook, and left.  We didn't really think anything about it until he came back a little while later and whispered something else to our teacher.  When he left, Mr. Crook stood up and told us what was happening.  He said that a plane had hit the World Trade Center in New York, and that at first they thought it was just an accident, but that a second plane had hit the second tower, so they thought it might be a terrorist attack.

We walked across the hall to the computer lab and some of the boys helped the computer teacher roll an old TV out of the storage closet.  About 4 or 5 classes had come into the room, and there were middle and high school aged kids sitting and standing everywhere.  The only way we could see the news was to use rabbit ears with the TV.  The rabbit ears that our teacher had were broken, so someone had to stand behind the TV next to the window and hold them.  My friend and I volunteered and took turns holding the rabbit ears while we watched.

We got it all set up in just a few minutes and watched the second tower fall.  Some of the kids were crying.  Some had relatives and friends who lived in New York or worked for the government and they were obviously concerned and scared.  I don't really remember being scared.  I guess I was shocked.  This just didn't seem like the kind of thing that would happen in America.

After that, there was a school-wide assembly.  Our headmaster talked and there were some preachers there that led the student body in prayer and then we dismissed early.  We watched the news all day at home, and that night we went to a prayer service at our church.

I remember talking about it every day at school and watching the news all the time to see if they had found more survivors in the rubble.  I watched President Bush give his speech from the pile of rubble and clearly remember on of the people in the crowd yelling that they couldn't hear him.  He yelled back, "but we can hear you!"  He hugged the first responders and cried with them.  I was proud to call him my president.

What happened that day was horrible, but it seemed like we were united as a country in a way that we'd never been before.  People started being more kind to each other.  We banded together and it seemed like, for a little while, our differences didn't matter so much anymore.  We were Americans, and people seemed proud of that.  There was pride and honor in serving our country as a soldier or a first responder.  People started wanting to support American business and buy American products and flags were everywhere.  We wanted people to know that we were not going down that easy.  What happened was horrible, but we seemed to rally together and come back from it more determined than ever to protect our freedom and what we stood for as a nation.

I hope that we never forget 9/11.  I hope we never lose pride in this great nation and the people that make it up.  We are fighters and survivors.  We are inovators and creators.  We are mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, soldiers and teachers.  We are Americans.

We often let our differences tear us apart.  But today isn't a day to focus on those things.  Today is a day to remember the lives that were lost and the families of those that were taken.  Today is a day to be proud of who we are and where we come from.  Today is a day to be thankful for the soldiers and first responders who keep us safe and protect our freedoms.  It is a day to be thankful to God for the way He has blessed us as a nation.

"If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." 2 Chronicles 7:14

I also just realized that I need to add one more item to my Bucket List - I want to see the 9/11 memorial in New York.