...and I didn't even realize it until a few hours ago. How is that possible? (Well, too otherwise-occupied to turn on a tv, for one....) But now that it's occurred to me, I can't stop thinking about it, remembering that day six years ago and the weeks and months afterward....
I wasn't personally affected by any of the horrors of that day, but I still managed to be profoundly affected, if that makes sense. Any date I hear that's pre-9/11/01 -- the year someone was born, the year someone died, some historical event, whatever -- I reflexively think, "Wow, they didn't know yet what the world would become." It's become this morbid delineation in my mind: Before, and after.
I worked for an airline at the time. I was a secretary in the budgets department at TWA; our offices were at the Kansas City, MO maintenance hub. When the FAA grounded all flights, the airport didn't have enough room to house the planes so they sent some over to us. It was surreal: The complete silence in the sky for days (very weird when you work right near the airport) and all those planes -- American, United, Delta, Frontier, Southwest -- that weren't ours, lined up next to the TWA jets, just sitting there. Waiting for the world to get back to normal.
I cried for weeks, even at work. Which was fine; many of my coworkers did, too. Everyone understood. After two weeks, DH finally put a moratorium on the news because he was worried about the depth of my reaction. (The whole thing made him angry. It made me so, so, overwhelmingly sad.)
I'll probably avoid -- on purpose this time, lol -- any coverage of the anniversary tonight for the same reason. It's too overwhelming, even six years on. I can stand to remember my experience of September 11th, but I can't bear to watch the footage or hear the stories of the real people who experienced real horror and loss.
My heart and prayers go out to them, still.
~RCH~
6 years ago
1 comment:
I completely forgot about, too. Until yesterday afternoon. Maybe that's a good thing? I know Ray had to make me stop watching the news for a while.
I felt very disconnected from everyone in America when it happened. I couldn't even get a call through to make sure people were okay, the phone lines were so jammed. I went to the store and bought a newspaper that had the American flag on it and taped it to the front window because it was the only thing I could think to do.
At the very least I think it made everyone think about the safety we take for granted on a daily basis and brought a sense of patriotism back to our country.
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