Today marks the 6th anniversary of that terrible day that terrorists decided to attack America. I remember driving to work in the Washington D.C. area, and hearing radio news reports of a plane crashing into the World Trade Center. I remember thinking to myself, “ah, some private pilot got too close to a building… no biggie, I’m sure that kind of thing happens all the time.”
It wasn’t until I got to work that I saw the first building burning, and it was only then that I realized the true nature of the “accident”… that was until the second plane hit. Followed by the Pentagon… At that point, everyone was in shock. I remember hearing news reports in D.C. that bombs were being exploded all over the city (thank God that these were not true).
That day, my company let us all go home early to be with our families. My home was situated on the flight path from Dulles Airport, and I was justifiably concerned about the safety of my family. My wife at the time was making phone calls to everyone she knew that might have been effected. One of our friends that worked at the Pentagon had narrowly escaped injury, but instead of coming home to dwell on it, he walked 10 miles to pick up his wife’s vehicle, and went back to the Pentagon to help drive people home. To him, it was the least he could do. I salute him and everyone else that made the extra bit of sacrifice to help others.
That night, the news agencies were saying for people to stay in their homes. But we wanted to do something… Anything to help. So we made the trek down to the local Red Cross to donate blood. When we got there, they actually turned us away because there was just too many people giving blood. Its a strange feeling to WANT to help, but not being able to.
The days following the attacks, I remember all the American flags and all the patriotism that filled the air where we lived. If you didn’t have a flag to fly, you stitched together some red/white/blue fabric together. People, who usually wouldn’t give you the time of day, were actually nice. There was no road rage, there wasn’t any animosity toward the other people. We were all bonded by what happened. I assume it was much the same way as those people that were effected by Pearl Harbor.
I was extremely proud of the people of our nation.
I don’t want to make a big deal out of this, but I did want to take a moment to remember this day in history. Remember the sacrifices that some people made to help others. It truly was, “The Day the Earth Stood Still”.
