Where were you on September 11, 2001? I remember it like the back of my hand. I was station at Fort Eustis VA, Army Base. I was only in at the time for 7 years, when this happen. I was going to ask to take half of the day off to celebrate my daughter birthday and my together since it was her 1st birthday since her birth. The day that change the World Early morning on September 11, 2001 at Fort Eustis Virginia, which is about 300 miles south from Washington D.C. I woke up right around 5:30 a.m. like I normally do on days that I have to work. I always had a routine every morning when I woke up, brush my teeth, shave, and get into my morning Physical Training clothes like I normally do every day. Today was going to be a special day for me and my daughter. I was going to ask to take half of the day off to celebrate our birthdays together because after she was born and I was deployed for first 6 months of her life. I was deployed to Kuwait for 6 months when she was only 5 months old. I got back to the States in a little less than 4 weeks prior to her birthday. On my way out of the door to drive to Newport News Park, which was only 5 miles away from where I was living to run 5.3 miles that morning; that is where we were having our P.T. for that morning. It was a warm September day and it felt hot and humid. It felt like summer was still upon us with the warmth in the air and the trees still having all of its leaves on its branches. I felt like nothing can go wrong on this day. I got to the place where my Unit was about to start stretching and go on a release run. I did my stretching and was starting my 5.3 mile run. My unit did this run here in the Park, 3 times a week because my First Sergeant felt that this type of run will help us run faster; if we do this 3 times a week. I enjoyed doing this kind of running on the trails because I never saw the same thing. I had just gotten done with my run, I was drenched in sweat from head to toe. I felt like I just stepped out of the shower with my clothes on. I got into my car. Drove back home to shower and change into my work clothes. On my way home I was dealing with the traffic and people going on with their every day lives and not caring about anyone else. Trying to get back on base was a night mare, it reminded me of back in the days when I was in high school and everyone was trying to get in the gym at the same time. I finally made it home to shower and change after what felt like an eternity. I only had 20 minutes to shower and change. Which is not easy, when you are trying to do everything at a running pace, and not getting a chance to enjoy life, and taking your time on things. This seems to be the norm for myself and everyone else in America. On my way into work I was listening to the radio like I always do since I had been back home from my deployment from Kuwait. I got into a routine of doing this like someone putting their shoes on and not even thinking about it. I remember the radio station as clearly as if it was today. I was listening to Man Cow Morning, he does nothing but talk and make jokes. While I was listening to him on my way into work, he said that one of the Trade Center Towers was just hit by a plane. I was thinking myself that this is just another one of his jokes for the day. He kept pushing the issue about it, so I switched to another radio station and they were saying the same thing. I pulled over and just stopped what I was doing for a few minutes to clear my head and try and process what I had just heard. For a few minutes it felt like someone had just thrown cold water on me and I had that look on my face like what just happened and how am I going to react to this. I got into work and went straight to my First Sergeant and ask him if he heard what just happen and he replied to me that no he did not. We rushed to get a TV in our office and once we got the TV hooked up, is when we watched the second plane hitting the second tower. We both just stood there in shock and didn’t saying anything for a couple of minutes. I remember this, like the back of my hand. To this very day, as I look back and pull my memories up on this. It is like pulling a map out and unfolding it one fold at a time. As I sit back and remember this, while I was watching this all unfold on TV. I watched people helping each other at ground zero that did not know each other. If it was any other day, these same people would have just walked right by each other and not given a care that this other person had fell and scraped their knees, or dropped something on the ground. It took something so dramatic like the World Trade Center to get hit by two planes for people to stop what they are doing to come together and help each other. The thing that I learned from this was no matter what differences people have with each other, they can come together without giving a second thought to what they had felt a few seconds before. I spent the rest of the day putting together a route and location to get to New York. It really did not hit me until I got home that evening, when I broke down and realized that I was going to have to leave my family again. I knew that what I had to do was for the good of our Nation and helping those people that were in need, but on the same token I did not want to leave my family for who knows how long this time. I was able to pull myself together before I went to bed, just not for myself but for my family. Conclusion: As I look back on this day, and I compare to what is going on in todays events. I know that we can put our differences aside to come together without having to fight like cats and dogs.
Posted on: Thu, 18 Sep 2014 03:05:25 +0000