9/11/11 - A Somber 10 Year Anniversary

I have been a bad blogger lately, however, I could not let this day go by without writing an entry. I have many thoughts and emotions about this somber 10 year anniversary of the terrorist attacks on our country; thinking about this day 10 years ago brings me right back to that day and the feelings of fear, uncertainty and sadness. I remember where I was at the very moment I heard about the first airplane hitting the WTC: I was at my desk on my daily morning phone call with Shell (she called me every day at work on her commute to her job down south, it was a long trip.) The radio station I had on broke into the programming to announce that there was news out of NYC of a small airplane crashing into the WTC. The speculation was that it was pilot error. As Shell and I discussed what we just heard, they broke into programming again to announce that a SECOND airplane had crashed into the 2nd tower. At that point, we both knew that it was some sort of terror attack, but still had no idea of the magnitude of these 2 crashes.

I remember the radio station switched the programming to keep their morning crew on the air for the entire day- they were as flabbergasted as we all were to hear about this terrible attack.

I remember being so afraid for my family members that lived in NY, especially since I knew some of them worked downtown in Manhattan. My cousin worked on Wall Street at the time and was only a few blocks away from all of that. My husband's cousin lived in an apartment building across from the WTC. It took hours to get word that they were ok- the cell towers were overloaded and we couldn't get through on the phone to call. My cousin ended up walking over the Brooklyn bridge to get to a train to take him home to Long Island. My husband's cousin had to evacuate his apartment, it was covered in dust from the explosions.

When the towers collapsed, it was the most surreal thing I have ever seen. It was sad and terrifying at the same time. We had no idea what this was and why it happened. We all learned that our country's citizens could band together in a brotherhood of common patriotism for our great country, that we could lend helping hands to friends, neighbors and strangers alike. The overwhelming pride and patriotism for the USA. We viewed our police, firefighters and military servicemen with more respect, awe and graciousness than ever before.

That day our country went to war to preserve our way of life here in America. Enemy #1 was named Osama bin Laden. President Bush gave his oath to protect our country from this man and all that he stood for. After nearly 10 years the promise that President Bush made was fulfilled when our Navy Seals team 6 found and dispatched bin Laden. It has come full circle.

I will spend this day reflecting on the past events of this day 10 years ago, but I will also continue to look forward to the future. I will never forget what has happened, but I know that we are resilient, we are proud, and we will persevere.

God Bless the victims, their families and all of the service men and women who have lost their lives in the war on terror. I pray for their souls and for peace for their families.

God Bless America, land of the free and home of the brave!!

A Day To Reflect- Never Forget

Today is 9/11/09, and 8 years ago today was the attack on our country that killed 3,000 citizens going about their day, not knowing that it would be their last. I remember that day and the following ones so vividly, it seems like it was only yesterday. I remember being on the phone with Shell that Tuesday morning during our daily morning call when she was commuting to work. At 8:46 am, I heard on my radio that there was a plane crash at the WTC tower 1... I remember saying..OMG how does a pilot do that by accident? My first thought was that the pilot was ill...maybe passed out or had a heart attack or something...then the 2nd plane hit and I knew that we had been attacked...it was such a sickening feeling... I remember Shell getting very upset... her hubby worked down in that area and couldn't get a hold of him for hours...My cousin worked on Wall Street and I feared for his safety as well... I was so relieved when he called us later that evening and let us know that he was ok...He had to walk over the bridge into Brooklyn and catch a train from there to get home to Long Island..it took hours he said. My hubby's cousin and then gf (now wife) had an apartment just a block or 2 away from there... their place was covered in soot and ash and the air quality was so terrible that they ended up leaving the place and moving out to CT nearer to her parents to get away from it. Despite all that, I feel fortunate that I didn't have a personal connection to a loss at that place. It could have been much much worse... I visited the site back in 2005. It was all cleaned up by then, but the surrounding buildings were still heavily damaged and had scaffolding and tarps on them. You weren't allowed to photograph any of them, they had cops there making sure that was not happening. Not really sure why, but they said it had something to do with security. It was never explained sufficiently.

So today I reflect on that terrible day and remember the victims of that attack, including the first responders of the NYPD and the Firefighters that gave their lives trying to save others. I pray for their souls, and I pray that something like this can never happen again.

God Bless America.

That's it and that's all....