Remembering 9-11
Every generation has that one moment that they will never forget. My grandparents said they would always remember the Stock Market Crash while my parents say they will never forget when JFK was shot. Other people will never forget the moon landing or the fall of the Berlin Wall. Unfortunately my generation will never forget where they were and what they were doing when 9-11 happened. This is my story.
I was in my last year of college attending CMSU, living in a small basement apartment and dirt-poor. I didn’t have a TV and because I lived in a basement I didn’t get any radio reception. Most of my days consisted of what many college students do; drinking, wasting time, and doing whatever it took to avoid class.
I made a premeditated decision the night before to skip my 9am class on Thursday, September 11, 2001. I don’t remember what I did the night before, but most likely it was not productive. The plan was to sleep until I woke up, make the short trip to my buddies house and continue to do unproductive things.
I woke up the morning of the 11th to the phone ringing. Slightly annoyed that someone had woken me up on this day of leisure, I ignored it, but by the third call in a row I decided to check my messages. That woke me up.
My wife will deny it until the day she dies, but I vividly remember a message, “JOHN! You have to call me! New York and DC have both been nuked!” I immediately called her back, and rightfully so she was really panicked. He twin brother had just joined the Navy and if this was the beginning of World War 3, he would be on the front lines.
We talked for a little while longer, calmed each other down, and got the real story. The second plane crashed while I was on the phone with her. This was when I decided to go to school. There I could hear what was going on and possibly find a TV.
My first class that day was a photography class. At the beginning of the class the teacher announced that learning about trivial things like photography would be inappropriate for a day like today, but if we would like we can stay in the class room and talk.
Eventually I left that class to head to my final class for the day, guitar. Yeah, I had a tough schedule that year. The teacher of that class told us that he only likes playing music when he is happy and would not be teaching today.
Having learned nothing about what was going on at school I left to go to my buddy’s house, she had a TV. When I arrived a few of my other friend were already there, all crowded around the TV. And because I left class early I made it just in time to see the second tower fall.
We watched the nonstop coverage all afternoon. We saw the planes hit the towers more times than we could count. Depending on the channel we were on we could see it at different angles. The TV stations would zoom in as close as they could to the people jumping from the buildings, and even at that time I remember thinking that it was sick and they shouldn’t be showing it.
That evening is a blur, I have no idea what I did that night. But I’m pretty sure I skipped class again the next day. I do remember having an overwhelming urge to help, but and equally strong feeling of helplessness.
September 11th happened in my last semester before I graduated, and walking through campus those last three months was very eerie. CMSU is located in Warrensburg, MO right next to Whiteman Air Force Base. Students at CMSU were used to the Stealth Bombers flying overhead. But after 9-11, those bombers gave a different message. They also were not the only planes in the sky, there were loud fighter planes as well, flying in formation.
I guess the strangest part for me was, I knew there were not supposed to be any aircraft in the sky, but there above me are aircraft that can take out a small country in the blink of an eye. And ultimately, keeping us safe.
Eight years later I look up at my calendar and see the day approaching. It says ‘Patriot Day’ now, and I have mixed feelings about it. Part of me thinks it should be a national holiday, no work, no schools, no mail, nothing. But another part fears that if that happened eventually there would be car sales and mattress sales that day and it would become another Memorial Day.
I know it’s cliché now, but the old George Bush saying, “If we [insert action here], then the terrorists have won” almost holds true. If we do shut down our country, do the terrorists win? On the other hand, are we not truly honoring the people that died by going about our daily lives as if nothing happened? There are still baseball games and rock concerts on 9/11, but should there be?
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