The 254th day of the (non leap-year) year is always a difficult one for me. I cannot ever forget about the tragic day of 9/11 and, on 9/11/15, I felt very connected to many people on my Facebook feed as I read their posts about their feelings on the day. As my sister also wrote, I feel very connected to my dad on that day as he was across the street from the towers and experienced horrors I could only imagine. I also feel connected to the thanksgiving my sister shared that my dad was not IN the towers, but only across the street. I feel connected to the people across my Facebook feed who are honoring those who protect and serve, those who are first responders, those who serve to protect our freedom, those who work tirelessly to ensure the community's health and welfare. Yes, I am talking about Police, Firefighters, military personnel, and healthcare workers. People who run towards danger, to help and save, while the instinct for most of us is to run away.
I will always feel connected to my memories of the day: Tuesday, 9/11/01, Sarah and I drove into the NEB (was not yet Fagin Hall) and parked in the garage. Being a Tuesday, she went off to her 9AM NURS 648 class, and I went up to Suite 460, the Office of Student Services. As I arrived, Earlene Craig greeted me, said good morning, and asked me if I had heard the story of a plane that crashed into the Empire State Building (OK, the facts were a bit skewed, but....). "Weird," I thought, "I wonder why that person was flying so close to the buildings." Earlene had KYW 1060 on, and we soon realized that it was not a person flying a propeller plane (as I had imagined when first heard), but a jet airplane. I went down to the Auditorium, where we had a cable TV connection in the teaching console, and I turned on the Today Show, with no sound. NURS 371 students were taking the pharmacology dosage exam and Debbie Abraham and I were watching as the 2nd plane struck the towers. We made the decision to allow the students to complete the exam (which is a very stressful exam in itself) and then we would tell them, but I am pretty sure some of them saw our faces as we watched the towers fall, in silent disbelief, and knew something was up before we finally told them. I remember calling Powelton Pizza and tripling our order for our Noon-time event because Interim Dean Strumpf wanted everyone together in the AUD. I remember walking the halls, stairwells, and student lounge of NEB, with Christina Clark, to make sure that all students were OK and nobody was alone. I remember feeling relief that my wife was in the building (her class had gone all the way to Noon) when classes were cancelled and we knew where each other were. I remember being asked "isn't your dad in town, and doesn't he usually go to NY when he is in town" and panicking suddenly, calling my mom (when my dad did not answer since cell towers in NY were jammed). I remember the relief when my mom told me dad had called and he was safe. I remember the silence that fell over us all for the next few days. No planes, no PATCO, people serious and just a little bit nicer to each other. I remember the amazing images of people helping people, first responders and just regular people jumping in. I remember the stress of not knowing what might happen next. I also realize now that we STILL do not know what might happen next. I realize so many of my friends and co-workers have their own connections and own memories to that day and, this morning, when we were waiting for a meeting to start, we shared our feelings and memories of the day.
We will all never forget where we were that day. It is my generation's defining moment of "Do you remember where you were when???" It is important to stay connected and to always remember and to honor those we lost that day, those we lost soon after due to injuries and illnesses caused by that day, those we have lost overseas, fighting to ensure that nothing like this ever happens again, those who are still haunted by memories of these events. But I have to have hope. I have to hope that the spirit of togetherness and helping their fellow human could also be a result of this day. That we remember how it was to be bound together.
Prayers and Thoughts to all on this day - may it never happen again. ANYWHERE!
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