I’m downstairs eating my breakfast. My wife was upstairs finishing getting ready. We’ll both be ready to head to our offices soon for a normal day of work. Turns out – everything about that September 11, 2001 day was extremely abnormal.
I see and hear a shocked Matt Lauer on The Today Show utter the words with that deer in the headlights look: “There evidently has been some type of explosion here in New York City at one of the World Trade Center Twin Towers!” I rush upstairs to tell my wife and I flipped on the TV to show her what I had just heard. We both stop in our tracks and view with horrific amazement what we were seeing. We neither will ever forget that 3 minute span of time and what that day held for us and the rest of this world.
Our immediate reaction as the day grew more intense with a second plane crashing and the obvious loss of life that would occur was for us to hear from our 4 kids. We found them wherever they were – all on college campuses and in classes. “Just checking on you – want to be sure you are OK …. Just needed to hear your voice!” Nothing else needed to be said but knowing that we were the blessed ones that had no one in that destruction and we could have the privilege of hearing each child say …”We’re fine!” was a very rich blessing for these two parents on that day!
Our world changed that day in a myriad of ways. I’ve tried not to complain at the inconveniences it has caused me personally simply because I’m grateful for the safety and security of knowing there is always an effort to protect me and mine. So many work hard daily to improve that protection. I’m grateful for it. Oh – don’t get me wrong! I have and I do get angry at those that caused this. Sadly, it’s getting less hard to believe than it was that day. Violence seems to be increasing weekly in this – the free America and having to look over your shoulder is becoming more of a norm than an occasional thought! That hurts but it is where we are at the stage in our world. We can only pray and hope we can turn the corner to a more “love one another” environment as time progresses. One can only hope!
A friend sent to me a couple of days ago the following photographs that I think capture what we all saw that day in so many painful ways. Take a big breath and spend a moment to honor once again those we lost and those that families, friends and co-workers left behind. We have all changed and I so wish we could say it was for the better and maybe in some ways, true! But to those who had such horrendous losses in their world, probably not!
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