Growing up, I heard this comment a great deal about the
assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
It marked that generation, and many people talked about or compared
memories of where they were when they heard that President Kennedy had been
shot. It changed that generation
forever, and it changed our world forever back in the 1960’s. Based on the fact that I was three years old
at the time, I have no idea where I was when he was shot, and his assassination
didn’t impact me as directly or deeply as my parents and everyone from their
generation.
Our generation’s JFK Assassination is and was 9/11. It has
defined us and made us who we are. I’m
not quite sure if it made us better, in many ways, I think it made us worse,
but it definitely changed us. How could
it not? Throughout history, we had never
experienced such an unbelievable terrorist attack on US soil, and we weren’t
prepared for it in any way whatsoever.
It was unfathomable for this to happen in the US, but it did. It shattered our world, it shattered our
sense of security, it shattered our sense of invulnerability.
So where were you when those planes came crashing into the
Twin Towers?
At the time, I was working in Xenia, Ohio, and I was busy
preparing the budget for my division, Barco Simulation, getting ready for a
trip to Belgium the next week. I was
supposed to leave that weekend for Belgium to present the budget. As the events started to unfold, various personnel
at our division started talking, trying to figure out what was going on. Soon someone got a TV, and they set up a TV
in an open area, and everyone went there, mesmerized by the unfolding events,
trying to grasp how this could possibly be happening.
Me? I sat in my
office, busily trying to get my budget done.
I knew something big was going on, but I had no idea what. I knew, if I pulled myself away, if I got
caught up in whatever was going on, I would be done, I would never get my
budget done. So, I ignored it all, and
continued to grind away on my budget.
Periodically, I’d hear something.
I clearly remember, “Oh my God, here comes another one”, which I’m sure
was the second plane crashing into the second building. I pressed on.
I didn’t dare pull away from my task, I continued to work on that
budget.
It wasn’t until late in the day that I finally pulled away
and got a download of what all had happened.
I finally knew the gravity of the situation, and the devastation that
had taken place. I remember walking outside
late in the afternoon, and hearing the roar of fighter jets taking off from
Wright Patterson Air Force Base, and having no clue what that meant, if they
were just moving into position somewhere, or if there was more coming. Obviously, we also found out as the day
unfolded that there were two other planes that wreaked destruction, not to the
same level of notoriety, but still, very damaging.
I went home that night and watched the news to see all that
I had missed. The replays, the devastation
was numbing. To see those planes just
targeted, heading straight into the sides of those buildings was still too hard
to believe. The pictures, the stories
that unfolded were incredible from so many aspects. As I said before, it was a defining moment in
all of our lives, one of, if not the most important moment that any of us that
have lived through it will experience.
As I sat there, watching all of the footage, the stories, I just
cried.
Some other interesting personal stories for me from this were
that my boss, Jim Crane, was on his way back from Belgium that day. They never alerted the passengers what had
happened, but as they reached one of the furthest points in Canada after
passing over the Atlantic Ocean, they landed.
The landed at an Air Force Base, I believe in Newfoundland, and they
stayed there until the next day. I
remember hearing stories from Jim as he related the confusion and fear as they
landed there, but how well they were treated until they could return to the US
the next day.
As noted, I was supposed to go to Belgium that Saturday to
present our budget. Hernan Rodriguez,
our Sales Director, was going with me, and he and I had been talking about
whether we would go, whether we wanted to go, were we scared? We both determined that we would go, we felt
like it would be one of the safest times to travel. Once Jim Crane reached the States, I got a
call from him, and he very clearly told me, “You’re not going”.
As the years have gone by, 9/11 still remains a very painful
day for me as I’m sure it is for many of us.
While in many cases, I’m not much for nostalgic stories or stuff, when
it comes to 9/11, I’m all in. The
pictures and the stories of what happened, and the aftermath, both good and
bad, capture me each year when the anniversary is upon us. And I cry.
Every year, when we reach this anniversary and relive what happened, it
breaks my heart. Why do I cry?:
·
I cry for all of those innocent lives that were
lost for absolutely no good reason
·
I cry for all of those heroes who had no regard
for their own lives that ran into the devastation rather than out of it to try
to save people they didn’t know at all
·
I cry for all of those families that lost loved
ones, again, for no good reason
·
I cry for the brief patriotism that we
experienced where we somehow regained that love of country that we once had. I just wish we had sustained it.
·
I cry for the lost innocence, the lost security
that we all feel now due to this brief moment of devastation. We are not the same, and we will never be the
same.
·
I cry for our callousness and mistrust of the
rest of the world because of this. It’s unfortunate
that so many of us believe that all Muslims are evil because of the work of a
few.
·
I cry for my lack of ability to recognize one of
the most important moments in my life.
Rather than dropping everything, ignoring work, and fully experiencing
and living the moment, no matter how devastating, I shut it all out and focused
on my daily task.
So where were
you?
