Three thousand fifty one children lost a parent on September 11, 2001. The most horrific day in the history of the United States. Even though it has been 10 years, I remember it as if were yesterday.
I was driving to work listening to the radio, it was short jaunt to work and as a manager my days consisted of dealing with problems but nothing could prepare me for what I was about to experience.
All of a sudden the music stopped and there was an emergency radio announcement I will never forget.
A radio announcer started talking with a shaky voice.. “There have been unknown terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers in New York and …” this was all I heard; I parked my car and jumped out, running as fast as I could.
Entering the retail store I was managing, an eerie chill went down my spine. This once bustling store was dead silent, no cashiers were at their stations, a large group of people were at the back of the store. The only sound was the television screens that were all portraying the ghastly event.
At least a hundred people stood frozen watching as the first airplane hit the tower. The sound of gasps broke the silence, people reached out, held the hands of strangers and some started to screem, others cried. The planes crashed the towers, black smoke billowing, it was worse than any horror movie.
With hands covering our mouths, eyes locked on to the television screens, the scene felt like a bad dream.
For anyone witnessing these events, the images still haunt our memories daily.
I couldn’t breathe. My parents were on a plane back from Boston and I knew it flew from Boston to New York before heading back to Oregon.
Pulling out my cell phone I started calling every one of my six brothers and sisters. “Where are mom and dad? What plane are they on, when are they supposed to be here in Oregon?
My questions were all met with the same response… no one knew.
The next twelve hours were the worst of my adult life, waiting for a call, not knowing if my parents perished in one of those planes.
Twelve hours past which felt like an eternity. The phone rang. It was my dad telling me he was stuck in Washington State and he was renting a car to drive home.
I, standing in my living room, collapsed onto the couch and sobbed for at least an hour. My daughter who was only seven years old at the time, said “don’t cry mommy, don’t cry.”
Collins English Dictionary defines Terrorism as 1. The systematic use of violence and intimidation to achieve some goal. 2.the act of terrorizing. 3. The state of being terrorized.
Well the intimidation worked, the state of being terrorized worked. I will never be the same, as well as millions of Americans will never be the same.
Our suspicious nature has gotten worst, our racial profiling, and stereotyping has increased to an incredibly high levels due to the horrific events of September 11th.
We are angry and we haven’t forgiven and it shows. The days of preaching peace… have given way to that of demanding war.
The truth of this statement is sad; our world will never be the same, and in my lifetime it will more than likely get worse. I feel for the next generation…that of my daughter… who wants peace but only sees sadness and violence.
Never will I take for granted our freedom, my family, my friends. We owe it to those who perished and to those families who lost loved ones, to never forget.
The people of the United States should all feel saddened …not just for the abundance of unspoken stereotyping, profiling, and terrorism, that this event caused, but for the loss of humanity that once existed in this great nation.
