Where Were You on 9/11?

I have tried not to allow the events of September 11, 2001 define who I am and who I will become. However, with all the talk around the 10th anniversary of that fateful day it is hard not to think about that day and how it has affected us. My thoughts could literally be written down in a book and I am sure everyone has their own compelling story about the events of that day and the days and years that have followed.

I was living in Montana and managing a hotel. I was on my way to work and stopped off for a semi-daily cup of coffee at a local supermarket, when a girl said to me “There he goes again, George W. has got us in another war”. I had no idea what she was talking about (I'm still not quite sure what she was getting at) – I didn't normally turn on the TV at home while I was getting ready for work. The cashier said that a plane crashed into one of the World Trade Center buildings.

When I got to work at the hotel the TV was on and the second plane had just hit and the stations were showing and reshowing the plane hitting the building. All the guests had come to the lobby for breakfast and everyone was glued to the news in a state of shock. Then they showed people either jumping or falling out of the windows and that is when it really hit me. These people had no other
choice but to jump from the burning building.

The TV was on all day, we began getting phone calls to cancel incoming reservations (for those that actually remembered to call). Other than taking those calls I have to admit to getting very little work done on that day. All flights were canceled and the guests that were due to check out had to stay. Over the next few days we saw many people that had been stranded in different parts of the country start checking in to our hotel. One group of people rented a car and were driving from Alaska to Texas. Many guests began spending more time in the lobby and began talking to other guests that were complete strangers until that day. The rental cars were quickly booked. People that were stranded at our hotel were able to rent cars and began driving cross country to their destination.

I realized that each and every person that stayed at the hotel as well as the entire population of this country and that of others had their own very unique memories and stories of that day. We didn't have to be in New York City Ground Zero to be permanently affected by what we saw, heard, and thought.

The first time I heard of the attack referred to as 9/11 I was confused to what the person was talking about. But “9/11” quickly became the accepted way of speaking of the events of the day. Many people began placing American Flags on their car as a way to show patriotism. I chose not to, not because I am not a patriotic person (I love my country) but because I did not see that as my way of showing patriotism. The idea of the flag being shredded by the wind, beaten by the rain, and faded by the sun as many did was not something I chose to partake in. I did understand that this was important to those who chose to do it and that it was their choice – and what a great country we lived in that people can make their own choices. Everyone shows their patriotism in their own way, it is not a one-size fits all kind of idea. That is why I become very upset to this day when people claim that others are being unpatriotic – because they do not agree with their ideas.

When the ban on flying was lifted, we saw armed soldiers in the airports. Our hotel hosted the newly formed TSA for their job fair and subsequent training classes. More an more of our liberty's were taken away. The days of enjoyable travel, or at least bearable, were gone. We saw the formation of the large government group “Homeland Security” by President Bush, which we spend billions of dollars a year on. We essentially became a police state – and I have to think that this is exactly what the terrorists wanted us to do. They wanted to make us a nation so afraid that we would be willing to bankrupt our country to “protect” or “fight a war on terror”. In essence they won – because we did everything they wanted us to do.

Many hero's were made on 9/11, some were ordinary citizens. Most of us watched while others, without regard to their own safety, helped others to safety. My favorite story is the group of people in one of the towers that carried a man in a wheelchair down many flights of stairs to safety, they did not leave him behind. Although I haven't seen any followup to that story since that time, it is a favorite because these were ordinary citizens that helped (no special training is required to be a hero).

To those of us who lived through that day, it is a day we will always remember. However, in due time the memory will dim as our children with little or no memory of the event will grow up. If you don't think that'll happen, then think of the day Pearl Harbor was attacked. Many people can no longer remember that date, time does heal most wounds. Although, I will not forget that date, I understand that there will come issues that are important enough to move those thoughts to the back. I am just glad there are memorials at each of the sites to help our collective memory.


Photo By Stratosphere (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons