I remember September 11, 2001 well. I was at home at my mom's house. I was working and waiting to depart for my study abroad trip to Ireland just one week later.
I was still in bed when she came upstairs looking shaken and told me to come watch the TV with her. I saw on TV when the first tower collapsed and then the second one.
It was like a bad dream. Totally surreal. My uncle and cousin were living in New York City at the time but we couldn't get through on the phone lines to hear any news of how they were doing. We found out later though they were thankfully okay.
Later that day I went to work my shift at the local grocery store. All the staff was shocked, and the customers too. It was weird that everyone was going about their business even though everything for our country and world had just changed.
A silver lining occurred though, as I was bagging groceries I looked up and saw a friend and I hadn't seen for two years. It was Des, from Ireland of all places. He had been trying to cross the Canadian border and couldn't get through since it was shut down. So he stayed with me and my family instead.
I remember returning to my college campus a few days later. I didn't go to Ireland for study abroad. My mom wouldn't have it. I wasn't totally sure I wanted to be so far from home with all the political uncertainty either. I remember there were yellow ribbons everywhere. I found myself hating those yellow ribbons. I just wished I could wake up from this bad dream. Or at least fast-forward to a time when the world was less distressed.
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Just a couple weeks ago the kids and I were looking for things to watch on Netflix. I came across a series of shorts called Scholastic: Tall Tales. It has 4 animated books, one of which is the story "The Man Who Walked Between The Towers." It is the true story of Philippe Petit who, in 1974, pulled off a daring stunt and walked on a wire between the Twin Towers for over one hour.
At the end of the story it explains that even though the towers are not there anymore, they are still there in memory.
Of course Big Bro then asked, "why are the towers not there anymore?" I just wished I had read the story description better beforehand.
"Because some bad guys knocked them down." was my only answer. I want to protect him from the adult ailments of war and terrorism.
I love the innocence of children. In their world war does not exist. In their view human suffering doesn't go beyond not getting exactly what you want the precise moment you want it. I want to hold on to that childhood innocence as long as we can.
In the meantime I will work and pray for a more peaceful world.
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