Monday, September 11, 2006

Five Years On....


It's hard to believe that it's already been five years since that terrible morning on September 11th. It's hard because the events of that day and how it affected so many of us is etched in my mind so deeply that I can still recall everything that had happened. I had been working at my first job out of college for close to two months. I was at the Defense Logistics Agency in Virginia and the day had started out like any other. I had recently been given a permanent position within my team working with a crotchety old man who I was a little nervous of. I wasn't looking forward to another day of spreadsheeting but I figured it was such a beautiful day outside that it couldn't hurt. I had a meeting first thing in the morning with some of my government bosses; one of them had a television in the office and she had the TV tuned to the news. Having been there since 6:30 in the morning, I was already on my second cup of coffee for the day when we heard about the first aircraft hitting the World Trade Center. We were watching incredulously as a second plane hit the next tower. In that instant, we all knew that this wasn't an accident. It was an attack.

The entire building was transfixed to the televisions that were located in every atrium. I stood with my co-workers and for a long while, none of us could say anything. In the two months I had worked there, that was the quietest it had been at any time during the day. Soon thereafter we heard word that the Pentagon had been hit. That was only ten miles down the road from us. Not very close, but not so far either. No one knew what was going on or whether it was over or this was just the prelude. As a precautionary measure, we were all evacuated into the basement of the building. We stood there for hours, with no televisions, wondering what was happening in the world outside. Finally we were told to evacuate immediately and get home to safety.

I remember the traffic and the gridlock. My usual route to get home usually took me through DC and right past the Pentagon. The road was closed and stern looking police officers barred the way. As traffic crawled along I realized that I had been staring straight ahead for the longest time; not really focussing on anything but just going through the motions. I knew my family was safe since no one was in and around DC. My brother was home from the University of Maryland and my parents had come home too. I called them every so often to let them know I was still okay and still on my way home. After a time I realized that a car near me was having engine trouble. The woman's window was down and out of concern and courtesy I asked if she needed help. The look I got in return was one of sheer terror and I realize right then that every one of us on that road were scared.

I got home after three hours (a trip that normally took 45 minutes) and on TV the images continued over and over and over again. As much as we wanted to look away, there was a part of us that kept hoping that things would turn out all right. After the Towers collapsed we could only watch the smoke and debris for so long. Dad and I went out for a walk to try and get away for a while. Our normally brisk pace and conversation was slowed to almost nothing. We went about two miles before turning back for home, not feeling any energy or anything for that matter. The rest of the day passed that way too.

I didn't know how many people would be back at work the next day or anything but I got up at my usual time and left and I was surprised and heartened to see so many people on their way to work. It was a return to a bit or normalcy in a world that had been changed. One can say that until something affects us directly, we have no concern in the matter. I can see why that would be. There have been so many situations in the world that have come and gone and unless there is an Oscar winning movie on the subject, we may never know about it at all. It's a sad state when that happens. Five years ago we experienced something in America that will hopefully never happen again. Life for many is slowly returning to normal, but we must never forget what got us to this day and be thankful for all those that we have left to us.

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home