I was taking a shower that morning, and heard the phone ringing. I didn't think much of it, as I had plans to meet a girlfriend for lunch later that day. I finished showering, decided to dry my hair before listening to the answering machine message. But the phone rang again, and yet again, encouraging me to stop everything and answer the call. It was my girlfriend telling me the USA had been attacked, that a plane had hit one of the Towers of the World Trade Center and another one had gone down in a field somewhere in Pennsylvania, and equally nightmarish - a living nightmare - was the news that our Pentagon had also suffered an attack....all of this happening within a very short span of time on the clock of that September morning.
This was difficult to even picture or fathom, because this type of thing just doesn't happen to America. Or, it didn't. Up until that day, our country had lived in a unique bubble, safe and never assailed by outside forces in this modern age. The bubble was broken that day.
I turned the TV on and watched, horrified. The second plane hit the second of the World Trade Center Towers before my eyes and the eyes of the whole world. Comprehension and terrible understanding sank in. As I left my house to drive over to my girlfriend's house, I noticed the absolute hush over the day. Some of this hush was due to all airplanes except for military being grounded, but it was more than that.
There was a hush in nature.
No birds were singing. I remember that very clearly, and I stood outside listening for a good 15 minutes, looking around me, but the sounds of nature were silent. My home at the time was surrounded by heavy tracts of woods, so there were always the sounds of birds chirping. But not that day. It was silent outside. There was no breeze. Just a still hush over the world that was palpable. I will never forget how it felt, as though the world was holding its breath for the people who perished that day.
I spent the day getting in touch with everyone I love the most, making sure they were safe. There was an intrinsic need to connect with them, and I learned I was not alone in that need. Phone lines and computer servers were overloaded with extremely high levels of activity that day. I grieved at what a great loss we had incurred and struggled to make sense of it. There is no sense to be garnered, obviously. The only positive thing I can take from it is that we survived it. Our country survived, but thousands of innocent people died. This many years later, the memories are still vivid and fresh, and for many....still raw.
I've read other people's thoughts of where they were that day. I was in Knoxville, Tennessee, living my very ordinary life, safe and far from harm's way. That prompted me to share my memories and what still stands out so strongly in my memory was how quiet the day became. For those who believe this planet is inanimate, without reaction to tragic events, I would hold that memory out as an example of the exact opposite.
I felt the earth react and give quiet tribute to the ones who left us.
I remember that day in fine detail as well, it will never leave my memories.
ReplyDeleteLaunna, it was polarizing for the whole world, I think. As painful as it is to remember, I hope we do not forget. This is a moment in history which should never, ever be forgotten. Thank you for visiting and sharing your thoughts. <3
Delete- Dawn
A great tribute. I remember the quietness and the ashes falling, people in masks walking by, all dazed and just walking. The next day was eerier still. I got off the subway and went upstairs. There were no cars. Only tanks, guns, and soldiers. Lower Manhattan was like a scene out of a movie.
ReplyDeleteMary
Mary, I cannot imagine how dramatic the impact of that day's events were for those of you who lived in the city. In many ways, I am without words to express my thoughts. Blessings to you, and thank you for sharing your experiences of that terrible day. I hope you have found a way to come to peace about it.
DeleteNamaste',
- Dawn
Oh my Dawn, I can so relate to the silence. The shock and horror. The bubble bursting in our faces as thousands of innocent people perished. I will never forget where I was that day—and the trauma. It's still there, lying just beneath the normal.
ReplyDeleteSending prayers to all the families touched by this tragedy.
I love you Dawnie...thank you for posting this.
Leah
"...It's still there, lying beneath the normal." How very beautifully and clearly put, Leah. It is a psychic wound on our country and our people, I think, and each anniversary scrapes the delicate scars bloody again. I don't know if complete healing is possible. I wish for it to happen for us, but the event itself was so dark, so evil, so empty....how does a Nation built on freedom recover from such a thing? What I remember the most was the days after, where the country was painted in patriotic red, white and blue. Healing may still be distant, but pride, patriotism and fervent love of country is strong here. That has sustained me each year.
DeleteI love you, my dear girl. Thank you for lending your evocative spirit to this thread. <3
- Dawnie
Thank you, Dawn, for sharing this most heartfelt reflection. That nature, itself, quieted in grief, I find so incredibly moving.
ReplyDeleteIf you visit my blog today, you will read of my experience. Maybe, it will explain why I didn't notice that the birds had ceased their song . . .
Love and blessings always, my dear, and thank you for sharing your remembrance. We are all richer for it.
Martha, I will truly never forget that hush that cloaked the world that morning. It lasted for hours - I noticed the absence of sound each time I stepped outside. I think the earth wept that day.
DeleteI will, indeed, visit your blog in return and share in your own experiences.
Love and blessings to you in return, my dear friend. <3
- Dawn
Well said, I remember I was about to board a plane. It's the one day that is etched on all of our hearts.
ReplyDeleteBrenda, your experience that day must have been truly incredible. I've spoken with so many people who were stranded far from home that day, due to complete grounding of planes. I had to fly to Florida for a job interview the following Monday and it was a surreal experience. On one big plane, there was me, a married couple, the flight attendant, the pilot and co-pilot, and one very watchful Air Marshall.
DeleteYes, I agree with you - it is a day that is etched in our hearts, and I think it should be. Thank you for visiting and leaving such a thoughtful comment.
- Dawn
Being in New York and on my way to work that day, my world started spinning. I was uptown away from the calamity, but the smoke traveled for miles and we could smell it for weeks, people rode the trains silently like zombies, shocked, searching each other's eyes for answers. Why, why did this happen to us? For New Yorkers to be shocked into silence is a big thing. I was traumatized by the tragedy and all we lost, but revived by the unity we expressed in our pain. What hurts the most is that we have lost that unity and it's a shame that it seems only a tragedy of epic proportions can bring us together.
ReplyDeleteTameka, I cannot imagine the impact felt by those right there in the specific locations where this attack happened. I don't feel that we've lost that sense of unity completely; I know I feel it, and I see it expressed on a regular basis by the people in my immediate sphere. I think if it exists in my small world, it must also exist on a larger, national level. Perhaps it's the tragedies that prompt us to give it voice?
DeleteMuch love to you, and thank you for sharing your own experience of that day. <3
- Dawn
Yes, I remember. I was on my way to work. When I got there, I went to my office in shock and then cancelled my classes for that day and went home.
ReplyDeleteGalen, I'm glad you were able to go home. I'm glad I wasn't working that particular day. Many companies allowed employees to either go home early, or they had televisions turned on so people could watch the coverage. It was definitely a day that our country stood still.
Delete- Dawn
I wrote about my memories a year later, and reprinted it on my blog back in 2009 (I think). It's still a horrific memory, though I do remember the fabulous support I received here at work (I'm the only American here, or was at the time).
ReplyDeleteSadly, I think too many people have forgotten, at least the lessons that day taught us.
Dave, I know that a lot gets pushed to the side burner in the midst of daily living. I would hope, however, that those of us who were alive the day this happened to our country will never minimize or marginalize the tragedy. It warms my heart that you were given support at work, as an American. I've read of other Americans who were far from home that day, and they have similar stories about being embraced regarding the attacks. That speaks volumes about the integrity and beauty of the human heart, I think.
DeleteMy memories of the days after the attacks are of seeing our country stand strong, and of American Flags flying defiantly and proudly. Today, in my part of the world, I see that same thing playing out. We should be this defiant and proud each day, and our Flag should fly proudly each day. Perhaps, though, the fact that it happens on this day, so strongly, is fitting.
Much love,
- Dawnie