I woke up today and hung my flag outside and thought ...my, my, my, so it's been that long? Eight years have passed since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Memories of the attacks may have faded for some, but for others the pain of that day will never leave them.
The Commander in chief three years ago called 9/11 "Patriot Day" .... Let's see what has been done since 9/11. We went into Iraq for NO reason at all, forget about Osama Ben Linden; remember him and his donkey in the hills? We can't seem to capture any of them! the US murdered over 35,000 Iraqis (these we can forget) for revenge, despite the fact they had absolutely NOTHING to do with 9/11. We have lost close to 5,000 GIs, again for a big FAT nada. Now along w/the victims of 9/11, our total comes out to 7,500 dead Americans. Some trade, eh folks!
But still “Every Sept. 11, I take a deep breath and reflect,” remembering the terrified call I received from my daughter that morning from NYC, she having witnessed the second plane strike. Then a call from my husband saying the towers had been hit, WHAT, I thought!!! Then another call saying they had collapsed! I had no visual or mental concept of this; I could not even bring it into my thoughts ... huh?? ... Are these people all "on something" outside this business where I sit, and everyone around me was working!! And just wondering if the world was all crazy outside the confines of my 9x9 office ... Finally an announcement over the PA system came on stating that there was a strike of two planes hitting the WTC (yes, they were not on top of announcements first, first was that security was in place since I worked for government contractor.)
Once home and seeing the films on TV that afternoon, that were shown over and over and over again of the strike of the planes and collapse of the towers was just so surreal to me. I use to watch the towers being built; you could even see them from Jones Beach as they towered over the south end of Manhattan Island.
A few weeks later I was down in NYC visiting my daughter and we went down to the site. The devastation at the site was indescribable. Just imagine a 110-story building collapsed into about three stories of melted, twisted metal. We went to a store front "museum" of sorts with photos, everyone was weeping, and outside you could hear the F-15 jets flying over ever so often - keeping NY from another attack ????
Construction is now underway at Ground Zero for a 9/11 memorial, and this is encouraging. I saw the building rising last time I was in the city. I also have stopped to touch many iron beams set up in memorial, in and around the city and Long Island, as well as Syracuse, and each time the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, I get goose bumps, I shudder and tears come to my eyes for the horror of it all. Somehow I hope the Ground Zero Memorial will be a positive way to overcome all the pain that plagues the lives of those of us who were left to carry on.
This is the Memorial in Syracuse
And a final picture ... this is our flag which we place in front of our home. It is a very, very, very special flag since this flag flew over the United Staes Capital in Washington, DC in memory of our daughter Jodi.
Click to enlarge certification:
4 comments:
Its amazing how much time has passed since this has happened. I dont know anyone personally that got killed in this but its still sad to hear about people that do know others. I remember waking up from sleeping and it was all over the tv. My husband was driving down the road and the radio station he was listening to broke in for a emergency broadcast..
I can feel your pain, my dear and I send you Hugs. What a horrific day that was and the aftermath---still being felt. And, indeed, wat have we accomplished since then? More devistation, it seems.
That is a beautiful Memorial in Syracse....And that the Memorial at the site has taken this long to even begin--well, it is shameful really.
It had to mean a lot to have the flag flown in memory of your daughter, but I know, you wish it hadn't had to have been flown, at all. Bless you, my dear.
That was one of the most poignant days in my life... I will never forget the fear I felt (and I don't scare easily)
Sending you a big HUG
So many memories....
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