Where were you?
"Where were you when the world stopped turning on that September day?
Were you in the yard with your wife and children
Or working on some stage in L.A.?
Did you stand there in shock at the sight of that black smoke
Risin' against that blue sky?
Did you shout out in anger, in fear for your neighbor
Or did you just sit down and cry?"--Alan Jackson's Song, "Where Were You"
Americans who lived through the events of September 11, 2001 will never forget where they were and what they were doing as they heard the news of the four crashed planes in New York, Pennsylvania and Washington DC that morning.
That autumn I had just begun my sophomore year at Ohio University and on that fateful Tuesday was sitting through my 8 o'clock Biology 170 class. As Professor DiCaprio lectured, we ferociously scribbled down notes not knowing what was happening to our country during that very hour.
As I left Biology the building hallways were jammed, as always, and I heard some mutterings about a World Trade Center attack. The crowd in general did not seem panicked or concerned though as I headed to my 9 o'clock class. I doubt that many of them had seen any of the news yet that morning.
I don't recall how I actually heard what was going on--perhaps a friend?--but by noon everyone on campus was tuned into the news stations trying to figure out how this massive attack on our country had panned out. Classes at our university were not cancelled and I remember not being able to skip my third class of the day, Greek and Latin in Medical Terminology, because we had an exam scheduled for that very day. And yes, our professor still administered the test; his purpose in doing so he claimed to prove that he wasn't going to let the terrorists who attacked our country stop us from carrying on with daily life.
For the days and weeks that followed 9/11 my two roommates in our sophomore dorm and I watched as story after story aired on every major network. There were stories of survival, but mostly stories of tragedy. We listened as recorded messages were played from those stuck in the towers calling home one last time. We watched as families searched for their loved ones missing in the first few days and then grieved as they realized their loss.
There were glimpses of hope among the stories of tragedy as our country united in a way I'd never experienced. During those first few weeks where the networks only played 9/11 coverage I cried tears of empathetic sadness for the families who lost loved ones and tears of joy as stories were shared where someone missing was found or someone survived somehow despite terrible odds. While I did not lose anyone personally, or know of anyone who did, I, like all Americans, felt deeply affected.
It was, in general, a depressing time for me as the stories played 24/7 on our television. My roommates that year and I did not see eye-to-eye on many things and I was over-committed between my sorority and my difficult course load. Not to mention my college fund dropped drastically in response to 9/11 due to a large amount of money having been invested in a New York City company that went under due to the events of that day. But anything I was personally experiencing did not even begin to compare to the losses I saw on television. I could not imagine being in any one of these people's shoes who lost loved ones and things far more valuable than a few years worth of college tuition. Having experienced my own tremendous (and sudden) loss just two years prior (my dad) I knew that loss meant a gaping hole in one's heart. But these people's sudden loss, at the hands of al Qaeda terrorists, seemed so much more a burden. I still cannot wrap my head around how terrible it must've been for all who were affected.
On Thursday morning Scott bought me this issue of People Magazine, at my request, and the cover story was by far one of the hardest things I've read since 9/11/2001. I'd heard of the children who were in utero as their fathers were killed that day, but to hear these very children's own thoughts was so striking to me. When one child pointed out that she doesn't have any photos of her and her own daddy tears sprung immediately to my eyes. While I sometimes dwell on all of the big moments in my life that my own father has missed out on (he died when I was 16), I am beyond fortunate to have many photographs and memories with and of him. Not only did these children lose their fathers, but they lost them in a tragedy that has shaped our entire country and everyone's future. Their daddies were lost too soon at the hands of evil terrorists. I feel for them and their moms who had to hold strong and care for themselves as they endured such loss.
The words sung by Alan Jackson about September 11th have always spoken to me. Here we were just going about our days while a terrorist group plotted and carried out the biggest attack ever to happen on US soil. Where were YOU when the events of 9/11 happened? How did the aftermath carry out for you?
The events of that day have forever changed our country. I feel sad to think of what my children and their children one day will have to face. This world is full of sadness and tragedy, of evil and wrongdoing. I thank God that this is not our forever home, and that one day we will be in a place where terrorists cannot take anything from us--not our loved ones, not our sense of security and safety, not anything. I thank God that anything we experience here on earth does not even compare in time nor magnitude to the joy we can experience in Heaven eternally!
"Did you weep for the children who lost their dear loved ones
And pray for the ones who don't know?
Did you rejoice for the people who walked from the rubble
And sob for the ones left below?
Did you burst out in pride for the red, white and blue
And the heroes who died just doin' what they do?
Did you look up to heaven for some kind of answer
And look at yourself and what really matters?"--Alan Jackson's Song, "Where Were You"
Were you in the yard with your wife and children
Or working on some stage in L.A.?
Did you stand there in shock at the sight of that black smoke
Risin' against that blue sky?
Did you shout out in anger, in fear for your neighbor
Or did you just sit down and cry?"--Alan Jackson's Song, "Where Were You"
Americans who lived through the events of September 11, 2001 will never forget where they were and what they were doing as they heard the news of the four crashed planes in New York, Pennsylvania and Washington DC that morning.
That autumn I had just begun my sophomore year at Ohio University and on that fateful Tuesday was sitting through my 8 o'clock Biology 170 class. As Professor DiCaprio lectured, we ferociously scribbled down notes not knowing what was happening to our country during that very hour.
As I left Biology the building hallways were jammed, as always, and I heard some mutterings about a World Trade Center attack. The crowd in general did not seem panicked or concerned though as I headed to my 9 o'clock class. I doubt that many of them had seen any of the news yet that morning.
I don't recall how I actually heard what was going on--perhaps a friend?--but by noon everyone on campus was tuned into the news stations trying to figure out how this massive attack on our country had panned out. Classes at our university were not cancelled and I remember not being able to skip my third class of the day, Greek and Latin in Medical Terminology, because we had an exam scheduled for that very day. And yes, our professor still administered the test; his purpose in doing so he claimed to prove that he wasn't going to let the terrorists who attacked our country stop us from carrying on with daily life.
For the days and weeks that followed 9/11 my two roommates in our sophomore dorm and I watched as story after story aired on every major network. There were stories of survival, but mostly stories of tragedy. We listened as recorded messages were played from those stuck in the towers calling home one last time. We watched as families searched for their loved ones missing in the first few days and then grieved as they realized their loss.
There were glimpses of hope among the stories of tragedy as our country united in a way I'd never experienced. During those first few weeks where the networks only played 9/11 coverage I cried tears of empathetic sadness for the families who lost loved ones and tears of joy as stories were shared where someone missing was found or someone survived somehow despite terrible odds. While I did not lose anyone personally, or know of anyone who did, I, like all Americans, felt deeply affected.
It was, in general, a depressing time for me as the stories played 24/7 on our television. My roommates that year and I did not see eye-to-eye on many things and I was over-committed between my sorority and my difficult course load. Not to mention my college fund dropped drastically in response to 9/11 due to a large amount of money having been invested in a New York City company that went under due to the events of that day. But anything I was personally experiencing did not even begin to compare to the losses I saw on television. I could not imagine being in any one of these people's shoes who lost loved ones and things far more valuable than a few years worth of college tuition. Having experienced my own tremendous (and sudden) loss just two years prior (my dad) I knew that loss meant a gaping hole in one's heart. But these people's sudden loss, at the hands of al Qaeda terrorists, seemed so much more a burden. I still cannot wrap my head around how terrible it must've been for all who were affected.
On Thursday morning Scott bought me this issue of People Magazine, at my request, and the cover story was by far one of the hardest things I've read since 9/11/2001. I'd heard of the children who were in utero as their fathers were killed that day, but to hear these very children's own thoughts was so striking to me. When one child pointed out that she doesn't have any photos of her and her own daddy tears sprung immediately to my eyes. While I sometimes dwell on all of the big moments in my life that my own father has missed out on (he died when I was 16), I am beyond fortunate to have many photographs and memories with and of him. Not only did these children lose their fathers, but they lost them in a tragedy that has shaped our entire country and everyone's future. Their daddies were lost too soon at the hands of evil terrorists. I feel for them and their moms who had to hold strong and care for themselves as they endured such loss.
The words sung by Alan Jackson about September 11th have always spoken to me. Here we were just going about our days while a terrorist group plotted and carried out the biggest attack ever to happen on US soil. Where were YOU when the events of 9/11 happened? How did the aftermath carry out for you?
The events of that day have forever changed our country. I feel sad to think of what my children and their children one day will have to face. This world is full of sadness and tragedy, of evil and wrongdoing. I thank God that this is not our forever home, and that one day we will be in a place where terrorists cannot take anything from us--not our loved ones, not our sense of security and safety, not anything. I thank God that anything we experience here on earth does not even compare in time nor magnitude to the joy we can experience in Heaven eternally!
"Did you weep for the children who lost their dear loved ones
And pray for the ones who don't know?
Did you rejoice for the people who walked from the rubble
And sob for the ones left below?
Did you burst out in pride for the red, white and blue
And the heroes who died just doin' what they do?
Did you look up to heaven for some kind of answer
And look at yourself and what really matters?"--Alan Jackson's Song, "Where Were You"
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