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History
in the Making
September 20, 2001
by
Isabel
I awoke on Tuesday, September 11, 2001, to the sound of my
mother banging on my bedroom door and screaming "Turn on the
TV!" As I jumped out of bed, heart beating through my chest,
I had no idea what I was about to observe on my television
screen.
The first image I saw as my drowsy eyes began to take focus...
the twin towers of the World Trade Center engulfed in flames
as an enormous, black cloud of smoke drifted upwards. The
only words that escaped my mouth, "Oh my, God."
I've been glued to my television ever since.
I share in what Al Gore said, as he found himself stranded
in Austria, "Like most people, I have feelings that words
really cannot describe..." There is nothing we can say that
can do justice to the plethora of emotions that is being permanently
etched in our minds and our hearts.
We are forever changed as a country, as a unified people,
and as individual human beings. America is a different America,
today, tomorrow and for the rest of our lives. Who would've
known as we crawled into bed on Monday, September 10, 2001,
that we would awaken to history in the making?
As I watch the many heartbreaking, personal stories on the
news, I wish there was something I could do to lessen their
aching. No person deserves to suffer this type of pain. The
passengers aboard the four hijacked planes, the people inside
the Pentagon and the World Trade Center, did not deserve the
fate that befell them. This horrific attack has forever stained
our country, and all I can do is pray for every victim and
every family of the victims. I wish I could do more.
Amid the somber mood of the past few days, there were heartwarming
scenes to be read about and observed. Reading that the first
thing Al Gore did, when he drove into New York, was to donate
blood. Watching Bill Clinton walk amongst those searching
for their loved ones and consoling them with his undivided
attention.
Seeing the numerous firefighters, police officers, and other
rescue team members working tirelessly to lift debris and
look for survivors. Observing as members of the American community
come together like never before is certainly the sole benefit
of this national travesty.
The days gone by, and the days to come, are not about "rallying
behind the president," but rather about standing with our
country, with our fellow Americans... whether Arab, Asian,
Mexican, African - whatever. Standing with our people. Everything
else is secondary.
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