I had just dropped my daughter off at
school, then drove to a nearby store to pick up a couple of things.
On the way home I turned on my car radio and heard the news about a
plane crashing into the World Trade Center. They were speculating
that it must have been a small private plane of some kind.
When I got home I turned on the TV and
saw the second plane hit the south tower. I was watching NBC so it
was Katie Couric and Matt Lauer & Al Roker who were starting to
speculate that it might have been a terrorist attack.
I called my husband, who was in his
office at the church where he worked in Annapolis, and told him what
had happened. They brought a TV into the office and turned it on to
try to bring in one of the local channels. The TVs there were used
for showing videos to classes only so there was no antenna or cable
connection. After a few minutes of barely getting a signal they were
using a wire as an improvised antenna and watching the news there.
I called one of my friends whose son
was in my daughter's class. We were both at home, alone, trying to
make sense of it and we stayed on the phone for quite a while, just
taking a little comfort in the sound of a familiar voice. Some
parents were bringing their kids home from school but I decided
letting my daughter's day continue as normally as possible would be
best until I knew there was a reason to pick her up.
After the plane flew into the Pentagon
my husband came home and together we watched the news. We learned
later that the father of one of our daughter's friends worked at the
Pentagon. His office was in the section that was hit but he was out
of the office that day.
My life was not directly affected,
though. I wasn't there in New York or DC. But DC is just a half hour
west of us. Our house is in the flight path of BWI airport so the
sound of planes overhead was common. Suddenly there were no airliners
in the skies at all. But we did see fighter planes turning overhead
as they patrolled the skies over DC. Midshipmen in their uniforms had
been a common sight around downtown Annapolis but now they were
restricted to the Yard (campus). While we had always been able to
drive through the Naval Academy no vehicles were allowed anymore
unless they had a Department of Defense sticker, a rule that persists
to this day. The main entrance to the Academy was changed to allow
for tighter security checks.
I remember the first time I saw a
passenger jet overhead once they'd been cleared to fly again. I heard
it first, then stopped in my tracks and watched until it was out of
sight. My heart was heavy for those who had died because an enemy had
used those as weapons.
Much has been said and written about
9/11 and I don't think I can add anything to the narrative. When
these anniversaries roll around we can't help but turn our attention
to those events, though, still trying to make sense of it all, to
find some lesson that will last.
I keep thinking of all the people who
started that day like any other, getting dressed and going to work as
usual. Many found strength and compassion beyond their wildest
imagination before the day was done. Lives were lost that day, but
many lives were also saved. By ordinary people who started their day
like any other. Police officers, Firefighters, or just the guy who
worked in the next office.
We need each other.
People may argue about the details of
history and the political and diplomatic response to the events of
9/11 or the lasting cultural impact but one thought rises to the top
for me whenever I turn my attention to that day.
We need each other.
Life is precious. Each and every one.
And we need each other.
I hope we think of that as the news
media grows tired of this topic and returns to reporting on the race
for the presidency as if it were a sporting event. Which party is
winning, which politician is losing this week and what will it all
come down to on election day? How you cast your vote determines how
the government functions at all levels from the White House down to
your neighborhood.
We need each other.
To work together
To look after each other
To make life better for everyone.
Because life is precious.
Each and every one.
