911 - Never Forget

There are things in our lives that happen and change us forever. September 11, 2001 or as we know it as 9-11 is one of those things.

I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing. I was the registrar at Wharton High School and guidance was crazy busy with all of the new enrollment packages.

I remember the horror as we watched live TV and saw the second plane crash into the second tower.

I remember the news of the plane that went down as heroic men and women stopped the terrorist from reach that intended target.

I remember the first tower falling to the ground and almost feeling the weight of it with in me. Then the second one fell and no words were spoken around me, only silent tears running down adults and high school student’s faces.

I remember the ash filling the city like a gray snow, covering anything and everything in its path.

I remember the need to hold my children close to me although my daughter was away at college and my son was in middle school.

I remember the pandemonium that began with parents coming to pick up their children (high school children) and take them home.

Everyone knew someone who may have been there and even if they didn’t we all felt pain and loss as we watched people searching for their loved ones. Firefighters, policemen, brave men who wept as one of their own perished.

New York is our city, the very heart of our nation and it had been injured.

Then stories began to be told.

Stories of true hero’s and heroines, who risked their own lives for others. Stories of normal everyday people who believed we are a nation of strength and helped those of us who felt broken believe it too.

Yet will all of the tragedies, I saw a national come together as one. For a time we didn’t worry about the color of someone’s skin, or what their bank account said or for that matter what their religion was/is.

Instead,

We remembered that we are a nation made up of individuals who believe in a common ground.

We remembered that we are ALL American’s and how dare someone do this to us on our soil.

We remembered to hug our kids, kiss our spouses, and wave to our neighbors each morning.

We remembered what it meant to believe in what America stands for.

During the days that followed, we wept as we watched loved ones say farewell to those who had passed on.

BUT…

We also felt a pride of the Red, the White, and Blue and although it hurt to see the very heart of our nation look like a battle zone, we grew, we stood a little taller, and yes we knew that we would never forget.

Thank you to those who gave their lives to save others. Thank you to those whose loved ones gave their lives and may peace fill your life forever.

I’m proud to be an American. We may not be perfect, Lord knows we have our faults, but we are still the greatest nation in the world and I for one am blessed to call America my home.


Vicki