Dedicated to those who were lost, survived and helped on that day... We will never forget!
For the last few weeks I have had been thinking about a lot of things. One of these things I have been thinking about is a tragic event that happened 10 years ago in New York, Virginia and Pennsylvania. I knew the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks where coming up and the best way I know I can pay tribute is to write down my personal thoughts and feelings and what I remember from that day. Before I start writing down my thoughts and recollections of that day I want to say that in no way do I want to make it seem that I understand or can comprehend what the victims and their families went through. What I want to do here is just share what I remember and what I think about the sad events.
Let's start with what was going on, on September 10, 2011.... I was trying to get to bed as the next day would be a big day for me. It was going to be my first day of work at Starbucks Coffee. The next memory I have is of my sister walking into the room, waking up me and my Dad by saying "An airplane just crashed into a building in New York" At the time, I really thought nothing of it. It was something that happened and I honestly did not pay much attention to it because I was more concerned about going to work on my first day. I remember watching more of the coverage before I went to work. While I was on the way to work the second plane hit the towers. I get to work and this is the only topic of conversation. As I was being introduced to customers that would become my regulars, they would ask me what I thought and tried to give me updates on what was happening. The oddest thing was that every update was different, there was no consistency in the messages and the information. My manager at the time got a phone call from the district manager and he was directed to close the store early and evacuate the staff. Mainly due to the reason that we were in a gas station and that we were close to San Francisco airport.
After work, I headed home, I had the radio turned on and still hadn't realized the significance of what was happening. I get home and I rest for a bit, I call my girlfriend (who is my wife now) and we started talking on the phone, we were both watching the coverage of the attacks on t.v. I remember how we were comparing the coverage of the news on NBC, FOX, ABC and CBS versus the coverage on the Spanish channels Univision and Telemundo. The American channels started off showing a lot of the real time events, but soon they would show, what I felt was censored coverage. On the Spanish stations the footage was raw, emotional, uncut. The best example was of the people who decided, well actually I should not assume that it was a decision for all of them, but the ones who dropped out of the building. I remember only seeing the footage once on the American stations, but on the Spanish broadcast they were showing it and showing how real the tragedy was. This was the moment that I realized that this was a watershed moment in the history of the United States.
The world changed in an instant. They postponed all sporting events, any outdoor activities and there were no flights allowed. The sky was silent, it would be some time before anyone would hear the sounds of a plane in the skies. One thing that changed as well was the emergence of the colors Red, White and Blue. It was at this time that it seemed that everyone put aside their differences and stood up for the United States of America. 'These colors don't run' would be on various shirts, posters and stickers. One thing I remember clearly is going to my History of San Francisco Class on Thursday 9/13/11 and our teacher Ms. Alioto standing in front of the class, holding back tears and just holding up the front page of the San Francisco Examiner that read "BASTARDS" with a picture of one of the planes crashing into one of the towers. That moment stands out to me and I will always remember what I was thinking during that time.
I was looking for a deeper meaning to what the attacks meant. We were talking about it in class and I voiced concerns that I felt that this could only be the beginning, that this was the warning shot. Using planes from American and United Airlines, which I thought was a message to 'Unite America' as we are really a country of people who are together but always separate. There was a lot of uncertainty going on, I had visions of an attack on the Golden Gate Bridge and other landmarks. It was not a fun time for my imagination to be running wild.
I remember that year was the year that Barry Bonds was going to set the single season home run mark. The San Francisco Giants and all of Major League Baseball, as well as other professional sports had begun to wear hats or uniforms with the United States flag on it. Chants of 'USA USA USA' would ring throughout the stadiums. We were all Americans now. We all had a common threat and we all pulled together. But to believe that it would be that way going forward was a fantasy that would never work.
On the first anniversary of the attacks, as I did every year of my time at Starbucks, I would wear all black and reflect with a moment of silence the lives that were lost and the families that continued to struggle with their loss.
Jintotepe in Nicaragua. When we were approaching Ground Zero, I don't remember where it was but we saw this flag with a list of names on it, memorializing the many lives that were lost. I also remember seeing a firehouse station with a mural dedicated to the fallen brothers of the NYFD. Being there at Ground Zero, where this tragic event happened was unreal. I could feel the sadness, the emotional toll and I could still feel people were there. This turned out to be the final resting place for a lot of people. I did get choked up, I held back tears, it was really heartbreaking. You could see the holes where the towers had been, my mind raced with the images that were shown of that day. My mind replayed the footage of the planes hitting the towers, the collapse and the cloud of dust and debris. I paid my respects to those who lost their lives and I also paid respect to the men and women of all of the rescue teams that were there to help and for those who lost their lives trying to help.
This year, 2011, marks the 10th anniversary of that dreadful day. For the past few weeks I have been just revisiting the images, the stories and tragedies of the events. I wanted to remember the people and not forget them. There are a lot of people who say "9/11 we will never forget" This moment in time is a big part of history. Only time will tell how the world looks back on it. There are few national moments that happen where you remember where you were or what you were doing when it happened. I remember.
On this 10th anniversary, I will remember those lost with a moment of silence and a moment of prayer. I wish all of the victims, first responders, families and survivors peace and love. I pray to God that nothing like this tragic event happens again.
