Where were you?
By Lonnie Cruse
We all remember where we were eight years ago today, don't we? I was at home, sitting on the couch, watching television. Hubby was gone for the day, probably playing golf. I saw the report of the first plane hitting the tower. What a sad accident. Then the second plane hit the other tower and I realized it was no accident. I spent most of the rest of the day watching the news. Praying. And I found it interesting that the word "prayer" suddenly became politically correct to use on the news channels.
In the days that followed and more news came out about the reasons behind the attacks, writers were talking about it in various online groups. Some of us wrote our way through it, dealing with the horror and fear that way, others were totally unable to write, frozen by all that happened.
The attacks changed the landscape of downtown New York City forever and the way we all looked at our world, forever. We were no longer as safe, anywhere. I don't think I"ll ever forget the sight of the sky over our rural area . . . totally empty of airplanes all the next day.
I grew up in Las Vegas, Nevada, near Hoover/Boulder Dam, which was always considered to be a prime target when Russia was our country to fear. The A-bomb tests weren't much help either, for making area residents feel "safe." In elementary school, in the 1950's we had A-bomb drills where we had to duck under our seats (not much protection against a powerful bomb, but we bought into it) and we wore dog tags, like all American soldiers wear, so we could be identified in case of a stray A-bomb. It wasn't until we were grown that we learned we were virtually the only kids in America who wore them. As I said, that was the fifties. By 2001 Russia no longer seemed to be a threat, and most of us believed our country and its citizens were invincible. Meaning no country would dare attack us on our own soil. Now we know different.
Events like the assassination of a President, a bombing, or an attack on large buildings full of innocent citizens changes our everyday lives in many ways. If perchance it hasn't changed yours, then you don't watch much television and/or you haven't been through an airport lately. Whether or not we like those changes, we adapt. We have to. September 11, 2001 made huge changes in our daily lives or at least our perceptions of them. We don't take a lot of things for granted any more. And a lot of our troops are involved in a war that didn't exist then, at least not like it exists now. Don't we all know someone fighting over there? Several someones? Those are scary things.
Today is a good time to reflect . . . on how things were before September 11, 2001, on how they are now, but most of all, a time to reflect on those innocent victims who lost their lives that day. And on how the rest of us are surviving/coping.
May your days be blessed with family, friends, and little fear. May you never see another day so horrific that you'll always remember where you were and what you were doing at that moment.