A great song from Alan Jackson in memory of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon.
I remember where I was on that day. My sister and I were just eleven years old, wildly jumping on our beds one school morning when we were supposed to be getting ready to go. We came running wildly out of the bedroom and into the living room, where our Mother sat horrified in front of the news screen, coffee in hand. She snapped to us that we needed to settle down. We still did not understand what was going on.
We arrived to school, to hear over the P.A. system what tragedy occurred. The news stations were on in all of the classrooms. It was starting to sink in what was really happening to my small sixth grade mind. The United States, land of the free, the greatest place to live, my home and my country whose national anthem and pledge of allegiance I dutifully sang and chanted. It suddenly did not feel so safe anymore.
All the students were sent home early. I dont remember what happened in my home that night. But I do remember the insecurity of suddenly not feeling safe. It was a terrifying concept to a naive eleven year old girl.
Where were you when the world stopped turning, that September day? Did you stand there in shock at the sight of that black smoke, rising against that blue sky? Did you shout out in anger, in fear for your neighbor? Or did you just sit down and cry?
To the men and women lost. The service men and women who bravely gave their lives to help others. To the families and children whose world's forever changed. You will never be forgotten. The world will never be the same.
2 comments:
I was an active duty Marine at the time and was on the range for my annual rifle qualification with my fellow Marines. We were no where near a television, so we all huddled around a radio instead, listening in horror as the events unfolded. I was terrified for a lot of reasons, but my heart went out to all the victims on that tragic day, and it still does.
Unfortunately, it seems we have forgotten, and as Darryl Worley says in his song "Have You Forgotten", I wish they'd show the footage every day.
: ( Spanish class, a whole country away in Canada. Yet, as your sister country, it felt much too close, as though our own home had been attacked. Despite the border waits and the duty fees, we're partner countries, and many of us here still feel for the losses over there.
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