I will #NeverForget, EVER!!!
This Sunday, September 11th, 2016 is the fifteenth anniversary of the awful terrorist attacks on the United States in New York, Pennsylvania and Maryland using commercial aircraft as the weapon of death and destruction, as disgusting as that may be. Naturally this day is filled with a lot of sadness, as it should be, but it’s also a day of great inspiration and hope for the future.
September 11th, 2001, was, with a single doubt THE most memorable day of my lifetime. It was absolutely surrealistic, like I was in the twilight zone, and certainly not in a good way. As with most of you I might imagine, it’s like a bad nightmare that doesn’t seem real, yet you know it is and can’t get rid of it from your memory banks.
On this 15th year memorial, I would like to share three topics about this important day in the hopes of more healing which are (1) My Memories, (2) Inspiration from Sadness and (3) Future Generations.
My Memories
I woke up early to watch the stock market news on TV at 4am PST (7am EST) as I normally do. It was like any other normal day until about 5:47am PST (8:47am EST). At. 5:47 EST the first plane hit the North Tower of World Trade Center. I left for work at 6:00am PST thinking this might be a horrible accident, and as tragic as it might be a few casualties, then end-of-story.
However, unfortunately, it was no accident and when I got to work it became clear that the United States was under attack.
At our work office of 100 or so persons, my office had the only TV in the building, and I’ll never forget the stream of concerned persons coming to the office to get updates. You have to remember that in the early morning hours this event was still unfolding. I witnessed a full-range of emotions seeing these people come to witness the events unfold. Caring, sadness and loss. The attack seemed to be getting worse and worse by the minute. Watching these powerful images on TV together left us helpless on how we could directly help, however, I GUARANTEE, without a doubt, that we were together in spirit for the victims and fantastic responders.
In particular, I’ll never forget how ‘empty’ I felt on the drive home that day. I vividly remember the emptiness of the highways. I remember each American Flag that was proudly flown along the highway I traveled. And I remember this horrible, awful, disgusting kick-in-the-gut that my proud country was attacked by such cowards.
Inspiration from Sadness
The memory of 9/11/01 typically invokes a feeling of sadness among most people. I’ve heard that something like 20% of Americans were personally affected by this tragedy. And to be sure, it is a really sad day, yet it’s also a day of Inspiration.
However; today, as I’ve seen with each memorial for the past fourteen years there is wonderful stories of inspiration from the families and loved ones of those that were lost. Their strength to speak-up and be public about their loss is simply amazing to me. These families are awesome!
Specifically, during the remembrances’ I witnessed on TV today, never did I hear a disrespectful word uttered, nor a vicious attack and only love for others. Each and every person that spoke today did with grace, dignity and confidence. These were such an inspirational bunch of people that have suffered so much incredible loss. It was so beautifully sad actually.
Future Generations
Now it’s time to move-on and future generations that are affected by the events of 9/11/2001. One of the things that really struck me profoundly was that High School Freshman this year weren’t even born or were just infants on that terrible day. That means this whole new, next-generation of American’s will not have lived this personal experience or felt the pain of this awful reality. They can only learn this through teaching in some form or another and we MUST tell the Truth.
It’s important that we continue to share the true facts and not a fabricated narrative. Those who committed these crimes are clear, why they did it is clear and what they want to achieve is clear.
These 2,997 innocent victims of the 9/11/2001 attacks are hero’s that did nothing wrong and deserve nothing but for their stories to be told and #NeverForget. Their crime was going to work on that day – that’s all -, trying to make a positive difference for themselves, friends and family; if you can believe it.
God Bless to all 2,997 killed, the thousands injured and the millions of families forever affected.
Sincerely,
Kevin