As the last of 9/11 winds down, I wanted to share where I was when that fateful day happened and what it means to me every anniversary.
I was just a Junior in high school attending my 1st period study hall. I remember the class room being very dark because the lights were off and everyone was drowsy like most kids in the morning. While I was sitting there, bored out of my mind, the intercom went off.
The principal announced that a plane just hit the World Trade Center and suddenly all my half-asleep classmates sat up in their chairs, including me. Everyone looked at each other wondering if this was real. The principal announced that there would be an early dismissal and so we all walked home.
The walk home was quiet and lonely. Ironic because the sun was shining brightly and the weather was nice and cool. The streets felt very empty even though there were cars on the road and I remember bumping into a friend of mine who told me another plane was on a collision course.
When I finally got home, my mother made me a ham sandwich on a croissant roll. She turned on the TV and the news was flooded with images of the towers burning.
When the television showed images of the people staring at the windows contemplating their fate . . . I started crying with the sandwich halfway chewed in my mouth. My mother and I just sat there, tears running down our eyes from the flashes on the TV.
I couldn’t believe that those poor people became so desperate that they saw no other option but to jump. Just talking about this day makes my vision blurry and I can’t even stand to watch any imagery or documentaries about that day.
It is because of what happened on 9/11 that I wrote a similar scene in my 2nd book, but I made sure it ended the way I wished it would have ended in real life.
With a hero(ine) coming to save the day.
It saddens me that the further we get from the date, the tighter our lips become. Maybe it’s a coping mechanism, but for me, I will never forget and I will always keep the lives of those men and women lost, in my thoughts and prayers.
