And then, on September 11, the world fractured.”– President Obama
Credit: AP Photo/Marty Lederhandler
On September 11, 2001, when the school day took a hectic turn … when my mom picked me up and we walked home as ashes fell from the sky… when I learned my NYPD dad had rushed out of our house that morning to get to Ground Zero … when we went to my aunt’s roof and watched the smoke rising from where the Twin Towers once stood… when I listened as it was declared a terrorist attack… I just hoped and prayed my dad would come home safely to us that night.
I thank God that he did, and I think of those family members who weren’t as lucky.
This year, as the country and world feels fractured in different ways, I hope we can all remember what happened after the tragedy of 9/11. Heroes, both first responders and regular people, ran in to rescue strangers. We came together. We lifted each other up. We wanted to move forward, united, to be stronger and better. All of our pain was valid, all of our hopes and prayers important.
May we always remember and never forget to come together to care about each other, and about humanity in those ways again…
Credit: AP Photo/Dan Loh
Jackie, I cannot begin to imagine what it was like living in NYC on that day. Thank you for sharing, XO
I remember not being able to communicate with my family for hours and having to wait 45 minutes to make a phone call from a public phone. I got my first cell phone the next week.