Never Forget

Ten years ago today nearly 3,000 people lost their lives in the worst terrorist attack in US history. I remember everything about that day.

Mom and I were driving to school and instead of the usual morning radio talk, the hosts on all the stations were talking about planes crashing. We kept listening but no one ever stopped to clue in "those that just tuned in." I dropped Mom off at work (I had just gotten my license but didn't yet have a car so Mom and I were sharing hers) and headed over to school. I ended up getting to school an hour late because I got the schedule mixed up and thought it was a 9AM day rather than 8AM. Everyone was in gym for an unannounced assembly. That's when we were told we would all be allowed to call our parents and go home.

By 10:30, I was home and so were my father and my little sister. We all were completely glued to the TV for the rest of the day. I ended up picking Mom up early because everyone in her office had left.

That night I went outside and looked up at the sky. I have a beautiful city view from my yard and on clear days you can see all the way down to Long Beach (30 miles away). You can also see all the planes approaching LAX--but not that night. It was so completely eerie to see the only lights in the sky were from the stars. There were no planes flying--all planes in the US had been grounded by nightfall.

I couldn't sleep that night. Whenever I turned out the lights I felt an overwhelming fear. I had lost my sense of comfort and security--and I'm not sure if I ever fully got it back.



P.S. Neither Benny nor Chester was alive 10 years ago, but today they proudly wear their "red, white, and blue." <3