Writer's Block: Infamous
"In your lifetime, what date sticks out...?"
I've read a bunch of posts that cite 09/11/01 as a significant date. On this day, the Twin Towers in New York were destroyed. I am well aware of this historical event. I was even around for it. I was 11, nearly 12, years old on September 11, 2001. However, this date strikes no chord, least of all a chord of sorrow, in my heart. THIS is what I am writing about.
When I was in seventh grade at Huron Valley Catholic School, 9/11 happened. HVCS was a Catholic school for kids K-8. From what I heard, every staff member was informed of the tragedy. Every staff member was also, I am informed, instructed to keep silent about the event. They were not to tell the students. This was so the younger students didn't freak out about the event.
I remember details from this day, now. I recall vaguely hearing an announcement on the radio on the way to school regarding planes, the World Trade Center, and terrorist speculations. I disregarded this announcement; I disregarded everything on the radio that wasn't music. I was 12. I also, for reasons I have yet to understand, remember what I was wearing. I was wearing a skirt, printed with photos of Route 666 in the American Southwest. I remember it was very windy on September 11th. The wind blew my skirt around as I went from the main building to the portable classrooms. My biggest worry on that day was what exactly the definition, and proper use, of a "noun" is.
I arrived at my father's house that afternoon around 3:00, after school, on 09/11/01, and saw the newspaper. The Ann Arbor News is an afternoon paper, so there was a picture of the second plane crashing into the WTC. I looked at the picture, the headline, and addressed the following question to my father, who was standing in the kitchen: "So, the Towers are just...gone...now?" "Yes," he replied, but offered no other explaination.
It was only after speaking with my best friend at the time, and neighbor, Tina, that I realized what had really happened. At her public middle school they had watched the news. Each student was informed.
Of course, in the coming weeks I heard a lot about the 9/11 attacks. Still, they never had an impact on me the way - I imagine - they have had on Americans who experienced them as they were happening. I feel like these events were something historical I was merely educated about, not something I lived through. It is entirely surreal.
In conlusion: I dated a guy for a (very) short time whose birthday is on the 11th of September. That day is first his brithday, then a day of national rememberance. Goes to show you what your kids'll get out of Catholic School. Fuckers.
There you have it: More proof I'm not your average American! Hmm.
I've read a bunch of posts that cite 09/11/01 as a significant date. On this day, the Twin Towers in New York were destroyed. I am well aware of this historical event. I was even around for it. I was 11, nearly 12, years old on September 11, 2001. However, this date strikes no chord, least of all a chord of sorrow, in my heart. THIS is what I am writing about.
When I was in seventh grade at Huron Valley Catholic School, 9/11 happened. HVCS was a Catholic school for kids K-8. From what I heard, every staff member was informed of the tragedy. Every staff member was also, I am informed, instructed to keep silent about the event. They were not to tell the students. This was so the younger students didn't freak out about the event.
I remember details from this day, now. I recall vaguely hearing an announcement on the radio on the way to school regarding planes, the World Trade Center, and terrorist speculations. I disregarded this announcement; I disregarded everything on the radio that wasn't music. I was 12. I also, for reasons I have yet to understand, remember what I was wearing. I was wearing a skirt, printed with photos of Route 666 in the American Southwest. I remember it was very windy on September 11th. The wind blew my skirt around as I went from the main building to the portable classrooms. My biggest worry on that day was what exactly the definition, and proper use, of a "noun" is.
I arrived at my father's house that afternoon around 3:00, after school, on 09/11/01, and saw the newspaper. The Ann Arbor News is an afternoon paper, so there was a picture of the second plane crashing into the WTC. I looked at the picture, the headline, and addressed the following question to my father, who was standing in the kitchen: "So, the Towers are just...gone...now?" "Yes," he replied, but offered no other explaination.
It was only after speaking with my best friend at the time, and neighbor, Tina, that I realized what had really happened. At her public middle school they had watched the news. Each student was informed.
Of course, in the coming weeks I heard a lot about the 9/11 attacks. Still, they never had an impact on me the way - I imagine - they have had on Americans who experienced them as they were happening. I feel like these events were something historical I was merely educated about, not something I lived through. It is entirely surreal.
In conlusion: I dated a guy for a (very) short time whose birthday is on the 11th of September. That day is first his brithday, then a day of national rememberance. Goes to show you what your kids'll get out of Catholic School. Fuckers.
There you have it: More proof I'm not your average American! Hmm.