There is not one American who was alive 24 years ago who was unaffected by the terrorist attack on this date. Not one.
I was out for my pre-work morning walk and noticed the planes flying into LAX from the ocean side. That only happened during violent storms. It was a beautiful morning, so that was confusing. Went home, got ready for work, made a stop at the post office where they were lowering the flags to half mast. I asked what happened; the clerk said the World Trade Center had collapsed. I thought she meant financial collapse and she said no, 2 planes had flown into both towers and the buildings collapsed - they turned on a television which was showing a loop of the planes flying into the buildings. I had to get to work, I worked at a travel company next to LAX and knew we had to be there to help however possible. Those planes I saw flying into LAX from the ocean had been turned around.
I had a friend, Laura Lee Moribito, who was on AA flight 11 from Boston on her way to Los Angeles for a Qantas Airlines sales meeting. Another friend at the airline called to confirm she’d made the flight, had been upgraded to first class.
Absolute chaos began as people were stranded across the globe. All flights were grounded everywhere. Everyone was terrified but in travel companies everywhere we had to act calmly while we all tried to help people; yet we were also terrified and grieving and confused.
Please take a minute to honor those people we lost, the courageous first responders who did their absolute best to rescue as many as possible, who risked their own lives.
When I hear the words “never forget” I hear an undercurrent of hate and blame. Telling anyone alive that day seems odd; it’s a series of images seared into my brain making it impossible to forget.
Yesterday, three things happened: a friend of mine died yesterday morning - Alzheimer’s, then on Friday he fell and broke his hip. He was instrumental in my recovery in AA. We met when I was 7 years sober and struggling. He was a rock, and I will miss him.
In the afternoon, a right wing, white supremacist was assassinated while talking about protecting the second amendment and the need for more people to have guns. Charlie Kirk advocated hate, chanted in Charlotte “Jews will not replace us”. He was vocally anti-gay and anti-trans. I take no joy in his murder. While I hate everything he stood for, I did not wish him dead, especially not by assassination.
And a school shooting at Evergreen High School in Colorado. School shootings have become commonplace, so much so that people (not directly affected) express outrage and grief and move on to the next thing. Schools have added active shooter drills to their schedule so everyone knows what to do when someone walks in and opens fire.
My friends will be remembered with love. A white supremacist is now a martyr. High school students, their families, and staff spend another day terrorized.
But today the focus is on September 11, 2001. Let’s honor the victims, first responders, families with love, not hate.