Where were you?

Tomorrow is the 10th anniversary of 9-11, the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and wherever else they were heading when the heroes in Pennsylvania stopped them.  It's one of those days that you will always remember where you were when it happened.  I was at work, at AT&T and my friend Jason came in and told us about the 1st plane.  We went to the lounge to turn on the tv just as the 2nd tower was hit.  We started out stunned at whatever mistake had been made by the 1st plane to utter disbelief as we figured out that someone had done this on purpose!!   As the stories rolled in and the news played the pictures over and over, our world changed forever.  How could someone do this on purpose?   Why?

I guess its the days that change the world that you remember where you were.  My dad spoke of Pearl Harbor.  I was in the 1st grade when John Kennedy was shot.  I remember thinking even as a 6 year old, who would shoot our President?   I remember the deaths of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy but not as clearly.  I remember the day Elvis died.  And I will always remember those planes hitting those towers.

The world has changed a lot in the last 10 years and sadly most of it has not been for the better.  We went after Saddam Hussain and Osama Bin Laden and now they are both dead.   But we are involved in wars that stem from this incident and have lost way too many more American lives.  Our distrust for the people from the middle east has escalated.  No one can honestly say they don't have a little resentment for the guy who owns the 7-11 or "Bob" at the other end of the tech support call, even if we don't know exactly where they are from.  I know I tend to judge the entire culture and Islam by this incident.  I'm not saying it's fair.

The New York City first responders will forever be defined by this incident.  All first responders everywhere I think.  They are seen as heroes who do their jobs everyday for little pay or glory and sometimes too little respect.  I think the recognition and appreciation of what they do every day is a little star next to the cloud.

One of the second graders at my school asked me the other day why there was a flag on the calendar on Sept 11 and I realized as a 7 year old she probably had never heard about this day.  Yesterday our principal played "Proud to be an American" and my junior high bus students sat quietly and listened but I have to wonder what they know.  I read that in Japan, Pearl Harbor is not taught in school.   They are taught that we attacked them.   Let's never let that happen here.  Our future generation needs to know what happened on 9-11-01...about the attacks and about the heroes.  And about the mettle of Americans who lived through it all and came out of the smoke proud of their country and who still believe in the American dream.