I was scheduled to work in the afternoon, 2-9 shift. I was sleeping in, and my mom called me, and said Turn on the news, NOW. I said okay, and then laid back down, as I was barely awake. She called back, and said Are you watching? in a panicked voice, and I turned on the t.v., finally. I couldnt believe it. Immediately I started calling people I knew who were even REMOTELY in the area. Rebecca, who at the time, was in Georgetown. My older sister Allison who worked in DC. My little sister Carrie who went to school in Syracuse. I remember her saying she had friends over, who were all staying together that she was kind of taking care of. And with every answered call I felt a little worse, as my relief was over those I knew, rather than those I didnt. One name was familiar in the missing, and I know he is still missed to this day. And I remember seeing every house with an American flag up the next day. I remember hearing about the people donating blood and pitching in to clean up. I remember the firefighters, and the dogs that were helping out (some were so depressed when they couldnt find someone alive that the firefighters would hide in the rubble to bring up their spirits). The world changed, and many lives were lost. But in that moment, we gathered together. People were more human than they had ever been. Its like Mr. Rogers taught us, “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.” Never had that been more true. It has been thirteen years, and to this day, I dont think a soul, no matter how far away they were from the carnage, doesnt remember where they were when they saw the news.
Posted on: Thu, 11 Sep 2014 19:52:22 +0000
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