-a date never to be forgotten, forever embedded in our memories-
On September 11, 2001 I was only 4 years old, a preschooler who had only four hours of school. My mom had picked me up from school and seemed to be zoning out. I plopped down in the middle of the living room floor with my barbie dolls and stuffed animals I was planning to play with for the rest of the day. I remember my mom calling friends and stuttering,"Turn on, turn on the television. We've had a terrorist attack." My mom rushed to the remote, turned on the TV to see if anything else had occurred while she was gone, and as we waited for the picture on our ancient TV set, we could hear the audio of anchors babbling. As the screen came on it was of a reporter standing on the scene of the first attack. My mom was already freaking out. Of course me being only 4, I wasn't understanding what was going on. My mom's voice got urgent as she began talking and calling other family members. I just sat there continuing to play tea or whatever with my toys, occasionally looking up at the screen to see the bright colors and many upset faces. There was one reporter that particularly caught my interest, most likely because of his tone of voice and I continued to watch a repeat as the second plane rammed into the south tower. I remember thinking it was a movie trick or something. Soon after my mom recovered from her initial shock, I was told to go in my room. I don't remember much after that.
Now nine years later, September 9, 2010, we spent our entire eighth grade week in Social Studies remembering everyone lost in this tragedy. Of course we had known about the airplanes that crashed into the Twin Towers, the Pentagon, and little of the struggle of the airplane that the passengers had tried to take back control of. We watched a program that had an immediate affect on everyone. We saw the most destruction in those 40 minutes of class that had never been revealed to us before. I never knew how many people actually rushed towards the towers after it was hit. I never imagined how such a secure and sturdy building could become a trap from the deepest pits of hell. I couldn't believe that people had actually chose to jump from the highest floors of the tower to their own death, wishing to end life not by the hand of terriosts but rather themselves. All the beams and iron poles and what not sticking out from mounds of rubble. The amount of ash, debris, crumpled vehicles, bodies, and rescue members cascading the streets. We left class with tears in our eyes. Unbelievable.
9/11/11 The Tenth Anniversary now has come upon us, and as I watch TLC, the History Channel, MSNBC, and all other programs from the day America will never forget. During this year I have matured an extraordinary amount and I watch now with new eyes. I noticed all the emergency personnel, the structures, how it was hit, all the hazards, everything that could go wrong and everything that did. I paid closer attention to the expressions of those in the videos, the emotion. Through my mind I was brought to the scene. I wanted to run and help, but I was afraid that I would've been paralyzed from the intensity of it all. I wonder what I would've been able to do if I was there.
I started off with the news footage from that day. I came across the reporter I had seen when I was four and broke down from the Déjà vu, but now understanding the extent of what I was really seeing. People losing their lives.
I had only gotten this feeling one other time while I was tracking the cell that produced the Tuscaloosa tornado. I began watching this cell as it got a hook as it crossed over from the MS border into AL. I sat there for about an hour watching as the cell produced a deadly EF-4 tornado straight into a densely populated town; Tuscaloosa. I watched it live on TV, and there is no feeling worse than that, watching peoples lives being uprooted, tossed around, and demolished in seconds. It is a moment I will never forget.
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| A photo of the TV from April 27, 2011 Epic Outbreak. |
I continue watching and looking at pictures realizing that one day, I will have to see this too. Maybe and hopefully not in the mass scale of 9/11, but I know that it is inevitable because of my career choice. I just hope and pray that I will have the courage when the time arrives to react in such away that the rescuers, first responders, emergency personnel, and volunteers did in all of the events of 9/11.
God Bless America.
These are the photos that affected me the most.
