Remembering September 11th

[Date-source]

A week ago, we remembered the events of September 11th. To many now, it seems a historic event, something that occurred so long ago, sometimes before their birth or when they were too little to understand. Or it could have been something that happened around the world from them.  It was a distant, long ago thing.  

[Twin Towers--source]

But many of us remember exactly where we were when we heard the planes hit the Twin Towers in New York City. I was just waking up to get ready for work at a government clinic.  My mom told me that a plane had hit the tower.  I could only imagine it was a small teaching plane that had an accident.  How wrong I was. It felt very personal not just because a similar clinic experienced a bomb threat that day or because we listened to the news all day and recited with shock when we heard they'd traced the events back to a country from which we'd never considered the possibility of an attack.  

[Frantic calls-source]

My personal connection was that I went to college two hours north of the City. I was absolutely positive someone I knew must have gone down in the attack that day.  I tried to call friends I'd just left behind three years before, but all phone lines were jammed with people desperate to hear news from friends and family.  Later, I learned friends of friends had gone down, but no one I knew personally died that day as far as I know. But it still hit too close to home.  

[Ground Zero-source]

I saw the Twin Towers before they went down, when I was still going to college, and again the year after the attack, when they were still clearing up the debris. seeing it like that was like going to a funeral of someone I knew but not well.  The solemnity of the events hung over me as I looked out over the place of death of so many.  It seemed so unreal. 

[Moment of unity-source]

And for one brief moment, it felt like people from all over world, of all political stripes, were united with an acknowledgment of the tragedy.  The unity didn't last, but it was nice while it did.  Every year, we watch videos that remind us of the events of that day. Every year, it feels like it just happened a short time ago, the fear and urgency a current affair.  I love to hear stories of heroism and miracles of that day.  It overwhelms me to think of how many were lost that day, how many lost friends and family, but also how many could have been there to die but who weren't for whatever reason.  

[Unhealed would-source]

It still feels like an unhealed wound in history, a senseless tragedy that changed the world but not always for the good.  I guess it's like any loss.  We can decide how to react and what we learn from the events of that day.  For some, it means nothing.  For some, it means everything and changed everything.  It's worth remembering simply so it doesn't get repeated.  But is there some overall universal meaning in the loss, grief and death that day?  It depends on whom you ask. I just know I will never forget.