Never to Forget
Woman in the Middle | September 11, 2015There are a few dates in my history that I would rather forget. I don’t like remembering the days that my parents and grandparents died. I would rather remember their life, not their death. Then there is 9/11. Gosh, I would love to be able to forget that horrible day, but I can’t and I shouldn’t.
I never have been one to have the TV on in the morning. It is a distraction that just slows down the process of getting out the door. This was particularly true when my girls were young. There is nothing about watching cartoons that makes a child get ready for school faster, at least in my experience. So, on the morning of 9/11 I was getting my then 11 and 9 year old girls ready for school, blissfully unaware of anything going on out of the ordinary.
When my phone rang I was irritated because it was another thing slowing us down. I answered and it was my friend Jesse. She said, in an urgent way, “The twin towers fell!” Out of the blue like that, I was completely confused. I had to ask her what she was talking about. “The twin towers, the world trade center, its down!” At this point, it still sounded like crazy talk. I told her I would go turn on the TV right away and we hung up.
I turned on the TV. I am sure you remember the coverage. The smoke, the video of the towers falling over and over again. My girls came in the room and wanted to know what was happening. I snapped out of my shocked stupor and turned off the TV. I would figure out what was happening after I dropped them off at school. They didn’t need to see all of this right then.
It is certainly a morning I will never forget.
Last night , at our local park district meeting, our general manager had an item on the agenda to remember 9/11. It turns out a childhood friend of his was on the first flight to crash into the World Trade Center. Her name was Cora Holland, She was 52, a wife, a mother, and a grandmother. She boarded in Boston, on her way to Los Angeles to visit her mother. This really brought home how far reaching the 9/11 tragedy was. For Cora Holland and all the others who died that day, we will never forget, no matter how much our aching hearts would like to.
Well said and so true. I was also informed by a friend calling since I did not have the t.v. on. A horrible day we will definitely never forget.