Remembering September 11th

With all the excitement of the fashion shows yesterday, I would be remiss to not mention the six year anniversary of the September 11th attacks. I had been anticipating the date since the beginning of September - wondering how it would feel to be in New York, how those who were here the day it happened would act, if police presence would be heightened, and if I would feel safe. My dad called me Sunday to "remind" me 9/11 was coming up and I needed to be careful. I told him I might take extra precaution that day and walk to work instead of taking the subway. I hadn't heard any tips or warnings of what to do, so I wasn't really sure how I should act. Something about the date falling on Tuesday, the original day of the attacks, made it a little more eerie (if that's the word to use).

I tried to notice a different feeling from people I encountered on the street, a different attitude in the way they went about their day. Honestly, it seemed business as normal...I took the subway (just too much rain to walk), and there were so many people on the subway I actually saw the train sway as people unloaded at 51st Street. Those who watched the Ground Zero ceremony and other 9/11 coverage on TV commemorated the day more than the average New Yorker. Sure, I heard of an event scheduled for Times Square, and several people talking of little ceremonies to happen at their office, but, for the most part, it seemed people remembered the day privately and had the attitude of looking forward rather than looking back.

I think I was expecting a day or two of people being overly kind to each other, like the week when the attacks happened. For me, I remembered the day as I always do, I was sitting in my 8 am supply chain management class in Bidgood Hall. The guy in front of me turned around and whispered that a plane hit the World Trade Center. I thought probably a little helicopter nipped the side or something. I had never been to New York when it happened, so I really wasn't even sure where the Towers were or what it meant. I remember going to my next class in ten Hoor and seeing chalk boards rolled out in the hallway alerting ROTC students of their responsibilities. What is going on?!? I kind of started to freak out, and then the phone calls started from my dad and others concerned about my safety. Back in Bidgood, the lounge area was packed - and everyone stone silent. We watched as the chaos unfolded. I'll never forget it. The shock, the disbelief. Elizabeth and I were roommates at Harris Hall that year, and I remember just watching the footage for days. It's surreal for me to look at pictures of the attacks now - those buildings are images I see everyday, and to think of that horror happening is just mind blowing.

While the attacks are remembered for most of us as a horrible day, there are thousands of people who live it every single day. Kathryn Hart told me about a funeral she and John went to for a friend's daughter who was killed in the World Trade Center. It stunned me to think of the people whose lives have not been the same since that day six years ago.

The weather today is pristine - bright blue sunny sky - just like the day the attacks happened. I hope the New Yorkers who experienced the terrible events first-hand can enjoy this beautiful day as a gift of hope and not a memory of the past.