21 years ago this country, our freedoms, and our lives were changed. No matter what you are doing this day, remember this. Teach those not born until after this attack just what it meant. Do not let modern times erase this history.
It is everyone's responsibility to remember how you felt that day. Mark that day as a sentinel event in your life
Our country was vulnerable as never before. The command center of our military was attacked.
This is a small part of my story on that day. I have never shared this here before. There are very specific moments that are literally burned into my memory. Some coincidental, some tragic, some ironic. But this is the beginning of the story. When I landed in Boston a small tour group, perhaps 12 or 15 middle eastern men were "touring" the airport. They were dour faced. After the attack when photo's were shown of the faces of the men who flew the planes, I distinctly remembered one face. To this day, I have nightmares. I am quite sure I looked into the eyes of a terrorist.
I was in Cape Cod, with a quilting friend touring the shops for special fabric, fun. She picked me up outside my hotel for a day of shopping. It was a beautiful early fall day. We stopped at a rest stop on the way and an attendant there had a small black and white TV on in the background and said to us, did you hear about a plane just hitting one of the World Trade Center buildings? We did not. We were talking about the trend to machine quilt vs. traditional hand stitching. We proceeded out to our first shop. When we entered one of the ladies said the second tower had been hit and the news felt we were under attack. We decided to not shop and head back to Boston. On our return the traffic had backed up from the city, several off-ramps were blocked, we were getting nervous. There was no cell phone service, I could not reach my husband. He was in meetings at our hotel. As we entered the city, multiple emergency vehicles were dotted throughout the city. The front door to my hotel was being guarded by police officers in riot gear. I found out from them that there had been an incident in the lobby when the planes hit the tower and a large group of people were cheering and laughing. These were not Americans. They were foreign "visitors." There was confrontation. There was a great concern that these individuals were involved somehow. I eventually found my husband after proving that I was staying in that hotel. My friend returned home. There are many other anecdotes to my story but I will stop there because I will never forget. As events unfolded, I was glued to the television. Shocked at the carnage and the death. On this day my heart breaks as I watch loved ones recite the names of their lost husbands, children, brothers, and sisters who perished on that day and as a result of the carnage that cause illness and death. Remember how you felt that day and pray that it never happens again.
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