nine eleven

Today is September 11, 2005 and I’m writing this post from a plane. I couldn’t think of a more appropriate place.

September 11, 2001: it was a Tuesday morning, and I had just gotten out of my 8am Ideas in Mathematics class and was heading to the sub. We always went to the sub if we had any time between classes. As I was walking in this guy named Tim stopped me and asked, “Have you heard that two planes crashed into the twin towers?” “what are the twin towers?” “The world trade center in new york city.” I hadn’t heard, so I went on in and sat down with two girls from my sorority that were a year older than me. Molly and Erin. They filled me in on all they knew about the events. This was before 9:30, so we still knew very little. I remember Erin saying, “I bet some crazy stewardess went crazy and crashed the plane.” I then headed off to my film writing class. Our teacher gave us a walk, but told us to go home and watch the coverage. “Just think about all the producers in Hollywood. You know they are going crazy over this trying to get rights to this.” we still didn’t know it was a terrorist attack. So I went home and watched. The next few hours, perhaps days are a blur, because we didn’t do anything but sit in front of our Tvs.

I remember when I got back to the house Katie Couric was wearing black and I thought I wonder if she had already planned that or if she changed after the events took place. Typically she’ll dress according to mood. Especially if it’s a depressed mood. When I meet her I’ll be sure to ask her.

Lately I’ve watched hours of documentaries on the events of 9/11. I’ve been struck by several things. First of all, we have numerous chances during the Clinton administration to capture and/or kill Osama Bin Laden. We acted on none of these. Why not? However, I do not think that if we had of killed him 9/11 wouldn’t have taken place. His people were passionate, and we misread the warning signs. But that is another post.

I was struck by a woman who was on Guilianni’s staff. Her husband was the chief of the NYFD. He was in the first tower when it collapsed and didn’t survive. She kept on working even though she knew he was gone. She said that when the tower collapsed she felt a disconnection. She talked about how she would sometimes get angry at the fact that he chose work over her, and then she realizes that that was his job, and he died doing what he loved. I will never grasp how some people can be so brave on so many levels. That is a quality I will always covet.

Finally, I was watching one documentary and I was struck by the out pouring of gratitude for the NYPD and the NYFD. They had parades in NYC afterwards to celebrate them, and literally thousands of people lined the streets with signs and were screaming ‘Thank You’ at the top of their lungs. How do you begin to thank people that saved many many lives? It was wonderfully overwhelming to me.

It’s no secret that I love NYC. I never had a chance to visit while the towers were standing. So, new york. I love you and I miss you. And much like everyone else, I heart you.