9/11/01
Do you remember where you were? Do you remember the feelings that engrossed your every being? Do you remember the shock? The confusion? The horror? The utter disbelief?
I do. I'll never forget it.
I was driving on HWY 60 on my way to class at NGCSU in Dahlonega from my apartment in Gainesville. I was listening to 99x--a local radio station. I was singing along to one of my favorite songs of the time, when all of a sudden there was an interruption for "breaking news".
Never could I have imagined the magnitude of what I was about to hear.
One plane had crashed into one of the World Trade Center buildings. They were speculating about what was going on....was it an accident? If so, how?! Was it intentional? If so, WHY and how?! I started frantically searching for a news station. I wanted all the facts of what had happened up until that point.
Then, a second plane. Directly into the side of South World Trade Center. Panic set in on the broadcasters.
I almost ran off the road.
All speculation of an "accident" flew out of the window. Our nation, this wonderful place we call home, was under attack. I felt physically sick, deep down in my gut. I also couldn't drive fast enough to campus.
You see, I went to NGCSU-The Military College or Georgia. I knew that this was going to change things.Not just for our country, but in my life. On my small college campus in the N Georgia mountains. I knew that some of the cadets I went to school with on a daily basis, would be deployed. That the guys I sat next to in class for the past 3.5 years, would soon be gone to fight in a war. Some might not ever make it back. The feelings were overwhelming.
I parked my car, somehow managed to remember my bags, and ran inside to the student center. The typical hustle and chatter were non existent. Everyone was standing there. In shock. Watching the planes stuck in the middle of the buildings, on fire. In awe. Whispers of what was happening, and questions of how it happened. Tears streaming down faces. Phone calls being frantically made to loved ones in NYC. Panic of the unknown.
During this time, a third plane had struck, but this time it was at the Pentagon.
Dear God, what is happening?! This has to be a bad dream. A nightmare. This can't be real life. No one could be this evil. Or could they?
Flights were being grounded. Phone lines were completely tied up. Contacting friends and family in Virginia and New York was impossible. It was sit. And wait. And pray. Pray deeply. Pray without ceasing.
If that wasn't enough. As we are all huddled around a small tv in the student center, the South WTC tower collapses. It was utter shock. Horror. The cries, moans, and sounds just in our area of witnessing this was something I won't forget. This building, this massive building, with hundreds and hundreds of people--children, collapsed in an instant. This indestructible structure. This iconic masterpiece. How was this possible?
I can still picture it in my head. I just can't imagine having been right there. I wanted to throw up.
Class wasn't an option for those of us not already in it. Thankfully my professor cancelled ours. There was no point with all the emotions swirling around us. We all knew that this was going to deeply affect our campus.
--->More breaking news--a fourth plane went down in Pennsylvania. But, was it related? Where was it intended for? Were there more? When was this nightmare going to end? So many questions. No answers.
North WTC collapses. Utter devastation sinks in.
The weight of what we were witnessing just keeps getting heavier. How could anyone want to inflict so much hate? So much harm? So much devastation on innocent people? Why? WHY?!
I guess that's a question I will never understand the answer to. I will never understand that mentality, and frankly pray I never do.
I do know that God will make all things work together for His good. (Rom 8:28) And through this pain. This heartbreak. This horrendous act....He brought us together. We UNITED. For a blink in time- this country put all politics, religion, creed, race, etc on the back burner and became ONE. One united front. We linked arms. We walked through this together. We loved on each other. We valued each other. We looked at life with a bit more respect. We took time to hold each other up. We gathered together to restore what was taken. We realized just how precious each day truly is.
It is my hope and prayer that we can remember that. That we can go back to that, not just on this day each year, but always. This feeling of love and respect for our nation, for each other. We should forever etch that into our hearts and minds. We should strive to come together instead of dividing all but one day a year.
We will NEVER FORGET. Ever.
