9/11
I'm having a hard time here. Which is strange, because I wasn't really personally affected the way others were. I knew no one in any of the places that were hit. I've seen the Pentagon from the distance, but that's the closest I've ever been to any of the sites. Yet, I'm having a hard time.
My experience ten years ago: I was working for the company that handled Medicaid for Texas. That morning, I hadn't even turned on the radio in my car, since it was a three minute drive from my front door to the front door of the building (they were only about 300 yards apart, but I was driving because I was headed to do other stuff after work). The first I heard about what was happening was a coworker. She said, "Did you hear about the plane that hit one of the Twin Towers? They think it was, like, a Cessna or something." As I worked that morning, more and more information trickled into the cube farm. On everyone's breaks, we'd head to the cafeteria and watch the coverage on the TV in there. I was on my break when the second tower fell. It was surreal. During my lunch break, my friend and I went out to the fountain in front of the building because neither of us could deal with watching any more of the footage. When we got outside, it was SILENT. By then, all of the planes were grounded, so the regular noise of the planes headed in to the airport was gone. Even the birds weren't chirping. The silence was deafening and physically heavy on our bodies. That lack of sound will stay with me until the day I die. I spent the next several days watching as much news coverage as I could, and I think I got my fill then.
This morning, I watched the beginning of the Texans game. The ceremonies the NFL put together was just perfect. They timed it so all of the morning games started together. There was a moment of silence that stretched through the stadiums across the country. And one lone trumpeter played Taps. That was amazing and totally made me cry. At Reliant Stadium, they had firefighters unfurl a 100 yd flag across the field before the national anthem. As they started to pull it out, the players from both benches ran out and helped. It was an incredible show of unity. This also made me cry. But, strangely, what got me the most was the Budweiser commercial they showed during the first quarter. It showed the Clydesdales trotting across the Brooklyn Bridge and looking at Ground Zero from across the river. And then they all kneeled and bowed their heads. Yeah.
BTW, the Texans won against the Colts 34-7. We DOMINATED them. It didn't help Indiannapolis that Manning was out and their backup QB kept fumbling. I think it's fitting, actually to play football today. Just to show the world that while they tried to break us ten years ago, they haven't, and life goes on. We remember, we pay tribute, and then we go back to doing what we need to, because that's the most fitting tribute of all.
My experience ten years ago: I was working for the company that handled Medicaid for Texas. That morning, I hadn't even turned on the radio in my car, since it was a three minute drive from my front door to the front door of the building (they were only about 300 yards apart, but I was driving because I was headed to do other stuff after work). The first I heard about what was happening was a coworker. She said, "Did you hear about the plane that hit one of the Twin Towers? They think it was, like, a Cessna or something." As I worked that morning, more and more information trickled into the cube farm. On everyone's breaks, we'd head to the cafeteria and watch the coverage on the TV in there. I was on my break when the second tower fell. It was surreal. During my lunch break, my friend and I went out to the fountain in front of the building because neither of us could deal with watching any more of the footage. When we got outside, it was SILENT. By then, all of the planes were grounded, so the regular noise of the planes headed in to the airport was gone. Even the birds weren't chirping. The silence was deafening and physically heavy on our bodies. That lack of sound will stay with me until the day I die. I spent the next several days watching as much news coverage as I could, and I think I got my fill then.
This morning, I watched the beginning of the Texans game. The ceremonies the NFL put together was just perfect. They timed it so all of the morning games started together. There was a moment of silence that stretched through the stadiums across the country. And one lone trumpeter played Taps. That was amazing and totally made me cry. At Reliant Stadium, they had firefighters unfurl a 100 yd flag across the field before the national anthem. As they started to pull it out, the players from both benches ran out and helped. It was an incredible show of unity. This also made me cry. But, strangely, what got me the most was the Budweiser commercial they showed during the first quarter. It showed the Clydesdales trotting across the Brooklyn Bridge and looking at Ground Zero from across the river. And then they all kneeled and bowed their heads. Yeah.
BTW, the Texans won against the Colts 34-7. We DOMINATED them. It didn't help Indiannapolis that Manning was out and their backup QB kept fumbling. I think it's fitting, actually to play football today. Just to show the world that while they tried to break us ten years ago, they haven't, and life goes on. We remember, we pay tribute, and then we go back to doing what we need to, because that's the most fitting tribute of all.