Looking Back In Time

September 11, 2001. Most people have images of Pearl Harbor, or the asassination of President Kennedy to carry with them. I have the images of the twin towers in New York. I can never forget that morning.........

          At about 8:25 a.m. that morning, I was standing in the local video store, talking to the lady that owned it. Brenda is her name. She has been a friend of the family for about 14 years now. Hell, she even taped the wedding of my oldest daughter for me! On this day, like so many others, Brenda was almost out of cigarettes. She asked if I would go across the highway to the store to get some for her. Virginia Slims, menthol lights, I still remember her brand. I said yes, I would. I would not have told her no, ever.

               I walk the 200 feet to the store. While there, I look in the meat section to get some ideas for dinner. After all, this is just an ordinary day, right? Well, with no idea as to what to have for dinner, I decide to just get the cigs, and go back to Brenda's video store. As I am checking out, the ladies working the cash registers are huddled up, and they are just buzzing! I think it is some of the newest gossip in town, and don't pay them much attention. Finally, one of them sees me, and moves to her register. "Did you hear about the plane hitting one of the towers in New York", she asks. I tell her no, and inquire as to when it happened. "Just now", she replies. There seems to be something in the way that she looks that says this is urgent news. I pay for the smokes and leave...I know Brenda has a large television, and it will be tuned to the news.

               I don't even make it to her door before she is outside, yelling that the twin towers have been hit by a plane, and that it might not have been an accident! I remember thinking, "this can't be right, no plane flies right into the twin towers on purpose". Already, there are images of the first strike on tv. What happened next was far beyond my understanding of all things in this world....a second plane slammed into the other tower!! What the fuck is happening?

           My wife and I head back to our house, and I turn on CNN. There they are, both towers burning, paper floating everywhere. The scene is straight from some kind of nightmare. Now, we are hearing that the pentagon has been hit, also, and another plane is missing. I start loading my guns. I don't know who, but someone is attacking America, and I will not go without a fight.

                As we watch, my wife says it is too much, and goes to the back bedroom to hang clothes. Suddenly, and  I don't know why, I am screaming at her, "They're falling, my God they are falling!!!". I was talking about the towers, of course. As I saw the first one go, I just knew that the second one could never withstand such stress, and it would surely go, too. It did. I have never seen, or even dreamed, that such a thing was possible. Yes, someone WAS attacking America, and they were making a hell of a statement.

                Shock, disbelief,  anger, hatred, pity for those lost. All of these emotions were there in an instant. I have seen much in my days, and I have certainly seen people die, I am no stranger to that. But never on such a massive scale, and never with such malice. These were not soldiers who were familiar with battle. These were just everyday people, non-combatants, period. How could someone do this? I am a warrior, and I would never kill an unarmed person; you just don't do such things.

             Did our government fail these innocent souls? We may never know, and placing blame does nothing to bring back the nearly 3,000 dead that day. As much as even I critize our leaders, I would give them the benefit of doubt on this one. I truly think that no one could even conceive of such a thing transpiring.....ever.

             I am writing this on the tenth of September, 2005. I will not write on the day of the anniversary of this tragedy. I will honor the memory of all those lost on that day. Lost for no good reason. Because 19 mad-men thought they could become "martyrs" for their faith. They only ended up as little piles of ashes, blown away by the wind....they were truly nothing.

 

Holla' If You Hear Me!!!