today was just another day.
so today was an odd day.
y'know honestly, i didn't even realize today was today. i sorta just felt like it was an ordinary day. and by golly that's how it should be.
but of course, today got thrown in my face like nobody's business. it was everywhere - in your face, in your mouth - pounded into our collective conciousness.
honestly, i didn't want to remember. i didn't want to give glory to such a terrible day. i didn't want today to be a milestone of grief, anger, mistrust, hate, confusion and struggle. i didn't want today to be today.
my friends, today was september 11th, 2006 - the five year anniversary of 09/11.
on that day, i was a student at rutgers just across the hudson river. i woke up to my roommate shaking me, "dude... a plane just hit the world trade center." of course, i didn't believe him so i told him to shut the hell up as i rolled over and went back to sleep. "derms, i'm not kidding." i sighed, hopped down from my bunk and went to go take a look. he wasn't kidding. from our suite window on the 10th floor, we had a clear view of the new york skyline. the twin towers were ablaze, and black billowy smoke poured out of the buildings.
as we watched the blubbering anchor on our tiny TV try to piece together what was happening, the second plane slammed into the towers. it was a sickening sight. none of us could believe our eyes. we sat there in silence. dumbfounded.
slowly, we started to move again. some of us couldn't watch anymore. i had class. i cursed under my breath as i got ready to go. class was class. i don't know how our professor kept it together as she held session. she was probably instructed not to talk about the day's events... but i don't know how she didn't. she eventually let us out early, telling us to "stay safe." as my friend jon and i made our way through the hallways, we passed by one of the art studios. every TV that day was tuned to the news and the one in the studio was no different. stunningly, they were analyzing how the towers fell. jon and i looked at each other. "no way." we bolted down the hallway to the nearest city-facing window. we looked in vain for the towers. "is it there?" "i can't see it." "there?" "where is it supposed to be??" and then we realized that giant cloud of dust and ash was all that was left. that giant cloud eventually became a hazy mist that enveloped the city. we walked away wordlessly.
our school became an emergency triage point. all through morning, noon and night, sirens echoed across our empty campus. hearing the constant wail of emergency response vehicles was horrifying. it was like you couldn't escape or block out what had happened.. our dorms became a shelter for displaced new yorkers. we had blood and food drives. as a whole, we came together to help in whatever way we could. i wish i did more. most of us were indeed paralyzed by the images we saw on TV, afraid to move, afraid to act. afraid to show our true emotions. afraid to live and even more afraid to die. those were dark days for all of us.
i didn't want to remember today. but if i have to, darnit, i'm going to remember it on my own terms. i'll always remember what i saw, felt and heard. those memories have been imprinted on all of our lives. but i want to choose what i remember most. and i remember being moved by the selflessness normal people showed that day. i'll remember all the brave firefighters, policemen and paramedics from every part of the tri-state area coming together to help. i'll remember common, decent people opening their doors and hearts to give shelter and rest to the weary, nourishment to the hungry, and shoulders to cry on to the broken. though the day proved evil men do exist in the world, so too did it prove good men and women exist as well.
i choose to remember those good people. and i choose to know that tomorrow will be shaped by those good people. because today is just a day, and tomorrow will always be the most important day of all.
rest in peace, all ye brave souls. may ye find peace and love in Heaven. lost and fallen heroes, God bless you all. amen.
-september 11th, 2006
y'know honestly, i didn't even realize today was today. i sorta just felt like it was an ordinary day. and by golly that's how it should be.
but of course, today got thrown in my face like nobody's business. it was everywhere - in your face, in your mouth - pounded into our collective conciousness.
honestly, i didn't want to remember. i didn't want to give glory to such a terrible day. i didn't want today to be a milestone of grief, anger, mistrust, hate, confusion and struggle. i didn't want today to be today.
my friends, today was september 11th, 2006 - the five year anniversary of 09/11.
on that day, i was a student at rutgers just across the hudson river. i woke up to my roommate shaking me, "dude... a plane just hit the world trade center." of course, i didn't believe him so i told him to shut the hell up as i rolled over and went back to sleep. "derms, i'm not kidding." i sighed, hopped down from my bunk and went to go take a look. he wasn't kidding. from our suite window on the 10th floor, we had a clear view of the new york skyline. the twin towers were ablaze, and black billowy smoke poured out of the buildings.
as we watched the blubbering anchor on our tiny TV try to piece together what was happening, the second plane slammed into the towers. it was a sickening sight. none of us could believe our eyes. we sat there in silence. dumbfounded.
slowly, we started to move again. some of us couldn't watch anymore. i had class. i cursed under my breath as i got ready to go. class was class. i don't know how our professor kept it together as she held session. she was probably instructed not to talk about the day's events... but i don't know how she didn't. she eventually let us out early, telling us to "stay safe." as my friend jon and i made our way through the hallways, we passed by one of the art studios. every TV that day was tuned to the news and the one in the studio was no different. stunningly, they were analyzing how the towers fell. jon and i looked at each other. "no way." we bolted down the hallway to the nearest city-facing window. we looked in vain for the towers. "is it there?" "i can't see it." "there?" "where is it supposed to be??" and then we realized that giant cloud of dust and ash was all that was left. that giant cloud eventually became a hazy mist that enveloped the city. we walked away wordlessly.
our school became an emergency triage point. all through morning, noon and night, sirens echoed across our empty campus. hearing the constant wail of emergency response vehicles was horrifying. it was like you couldn't escape or block out what had happened.. our dorms became a shelter for displaced new yorkers. we had blood and food drives. as a whole, we came together to help in whatever way we could. i wish i did more. most of us were indeed paralyzed by the images we saw on TV, afraid to move, afraid to act. afraid to show our true emotions. afraid to live and even more afraid to die. those were dark days for all of us.
i didn't want to remember today. but if i have to, darnit, i'm going to remember it on my own terms. i'll always remember what i saw, felt and heard. those memories have been imprinted on all of our lives. but i want to choose what i remember most. and i remember being moved by the selflessness normal people showed that day. i'll remember all the brave firefighters, policemen and paramedics from every part of the tri-state area coming together to help. i'll remember common, decent people opening their doors and hearts to give shelter and rest to the weary, nourishment to the hungry, and shoulders to cry on to the broken. though the day proved evil men do exist in the world, so too did it prove good men and women exist as well.
i choose to remember those good people. and i choose to know that tomorrow will be shaped by those good people. because today is just a day, and tomorrow will always be the most important day of all.
rest in peace, all ye brave souls. may ye find peace and love in Heaven. lost and fallen heroes, God bless you all. amen.
-september 11th, 2006