12.9.08

9/11

102 minutes that changed America









Did anyone else watch this last night on the History Channel? Basically it was a documentary on the 102 minutes between the first tower of The World Trade Center being hit to when the 2nd tower fell captured on film by several NY residents with their video cameras. It was very interesting to get that personal perspective with such raw emotion. Even now, seven years later, I still am pushed to tears when I think of the despair those who were trapped had to deal with. The hardest thing for me to watch is the bodies falling out of the building. I can't begin to imagine having to make that decision. It truly breaks my heart.

New York City is a very dear place to me. Even before I lived there, I had fallen in love by just visiting a few times. In July 2001 (2 months before 9/11) I was visiting the city. A friend of mine who was living there at the time and I went to the top of one of the towers one night and I remember thinking, "If anything were to happen to any of these buildings, it would just be a domino effect. Everything is too big and too close together." On the morning of 9/11 my mom came into my room and turned my TV on and I, like the rest of the country, was in complete shock. I was just there. There was no way this was really happening.

Each time I went to Ground Zero, a flood of emotions would rise again. Sometimes there was an old man sitting on the ground playing Amazing Grace on his flute. That was a real tear jerker. And one other time there was a man trying to sell a "memory book" of pictures taken that day. It was so infuriating because it is illegal to sell things at Ground Zero regarding 9/11 for personal monetary gain. And tourists would just buy like crazy. Augh!

Regardless of political opinions and beliefs, may we all try to remember and respect those who fight for our freedom and risk their lives to keep us safe.

Amen.




2 comments:

Michelle said...

Amen, too!

I wish I would have known about that documentary. Oh well, what can you do?

Becky, yep said...

The first time I was in NYC I went to the top of tower one. The next time I went to Ground Zero.
On this last trip I thought the ghosts there were stronger than ever. Perhaps it's my age, perhaps it that there isn't a strong monument yet.

Amen is a great word to end that post! Thanks Carly!