Do You Remember Where You Were?

I don't think any of us will ever forget where we were or what we were doing September 11, 2001. I know I won't. It started out routine enough but changed dramatically by mid morning. Katie was 6 and we had just started school for the morning. The phone rang and I thought about ignoring it but decided to see what was up with my friend/neighbor. She asked right away if I was watching the news, which I wasn't. "Turn it on!" she said. I was confused by the images and thought we were seeing scenes from a terrible 'accident'. We stayed on the phone trying to decipher what we saw. And together we watched the second plane hit. It was awful. I remember leaning on the counter, hovering close to the screen, making sure I'd really seen what had happened. It was clear that the crashes were no accident.

The rest of the morning went by in a blur. BIW sent folks home early. The Navy readied ships at the Iron Works to head out to sea. The Brunswick Naval Air Station went on high alert. And every TV set in our house was on a different news channel trying to get information about what was happening. As reports came in about the other two hijacked planes that crashed that day I remember being afraid for our country. Would any more attacks happen? I remember wanting to be with my family, needing to feel the security that comes with that. I remember the subdued way people had about themselves that day in the store. I remember tucking my kids into bed that night, hugging them extra tight, and feeling so thankful for the hum of the Navy P3s flying overhead. I felt safer knowing our military planes were close by, watching out for us.

The images of 9/11 will stay fresh in our minds many years from now - thanks to TV and Internet. It must be so difficult for those who lost loved ones or lived through the horror of it all personally, to see the images. I'm sorry for that. But for the rest of us, we shouldn't want to forget or push aside memories of that terrible day. Let's remember that from the tragedy of that day many renewed there faith in God and our country; our President and our military. We came together as Americans in a patriotic union against terrorism. Let's remember that the war in Iraq is unfortunate but necessary. So instead of belly aching about it let's be thankful for those who without hesitation jumped into a jet or onto a ship on 9/11 in order to secure our borders. Or those who readied themselves to leave their families to go and fight on our behalf. They believed in the importance of the cause then and still do. Shouldn't we?