For the Innocents of September - A Tribute on the 2009 Anniversary of 9/11

September 2001/2009 | Aleksandra Rebic

[Ravnagora]

Eight years have passed since the thousands of you Innocents of September left us. How easy time passes, how fast.

This season we will be reminded of you as the retrospectives once again remind us of that 11th day of September 2001 through your visages.

I didn’t know any of you, but yet I know who you were. I can imagine your lives as they were ongoing, up until those last moments when they were taken away by strangers.

You were Mothers and Fathers…Sons and Daughters…Husbands and Wives…Friends of others…Who miss you still and still don’t understand how you could be taken away so mercilessly on a beautiful September day.

You each began your day like you’d begun thousands of days before. You each had your plans and your intentions of how the day would go and what you would accomplish.

You had your obligations and responsibilities and the schedules you were going to follow, not knowing that unknown others had their plans and their schedules that would end up breaking yours.

You each had your immediate simple plans, away from the rooms of the Twin Towers. The things you were going to do that evening…The meal that you would have for supper…The phone calls you would make…The bills you had to pay…The errands you were going to run that you’d put off for long enough.

Then there were your plans for fun. The friends you’d see…The vacation you’d be taking to a place that would bring you closer to nature and out of the hustle and bustle of the big city…The movie you’d catch, all the while remembering that there was a time when going to the movies didn’t cost an arm and a leg…

Then, without warning, you became the Innocents of September.

You were John, who complained that the subway ride to work took so long that morning. You were worried about your child who’d been sick all night, and you wanted to get a phone call in to your wife just to make sure it hadn’t gotten worse since you’d left them that morning…

You were Sally, who wasn’t speaking to the love of her life since three days before on account of something your future mother-in-law had said…You were planning on setting things straight and finally biting the bullet and committing to that wedding date…

You were Mark, who hadn’t seen your ill mother for a week. You wondered how you’d gotten so busy. She had never been too busy to take care of you when you had needed her. You couldn’t wait for the evening to come. You’d go for that overdue visit and take care of her. You’d tell her that evening how much she was loved and appreciated…

You were Mickey, whose mortgage payment on that dream house was late. You were determined to leave work 15 minutes early that afternoon to make it to the post office on time. You were always running late, and this time, like every other time, you vowed it would never happen again…

You were Faith, who’d be finding out later that day if you’d been accepted to Julliard. Music was your life. You didn’t know what you would do if the envelope that came was one of those thin ones that said “We regret to inform you…” But, you had a good feeling about this. This day was going to bring good news…

You were Joe, who hated wearing a tie to work and really wanted to be a farmer. Besides, skyscrapers had never impressed you. But acres of fertile land and a fine herd of cattle, with hearty horses and a loyal dog - that for you was “success”. That’s how you would retire some day…

You were Christy, who would have accepted a cut in pay just for the opportunity to work in that office with the windows that looked out over the view you daydreamed about. For you, New York City was a canvas of infinite possibilities. And you planned on conquering it by the time you were 32.

You were Adam, whose wife would be in the doctor’s office promptly at 9:00 a.m. that morning to find out if her suspicions were true and you were going to be Dad. You’d have a hard time concentrating that morning and hoped that nobody would notice at the meeting that you weren’t paying attention. All you cared about was that phone call from your wife…

You were Bob, who, after surviving five agonizing, torturous interviews and just as many haircuts, learned that you were in. This day would be your first on the job. Your friends, how jealous they were, your parents, how proud…

You were the passengers on the planes, all strangers to each other until fate and destiny forced your lives to converge. You would become real and lasting heroes in an age of fame for nothing much.

You were the men in uniform who just went out and did your job and fulfilled your obligations. You didn’t ask why. And on account of you we’ll never look at the men and women in uniform the same way again or take the jobs that you do, that you do for us, for granted.

I wonder how many of you I might have met on the journey through life. We all know how small the world is and how paths cross in the unlikeliest of circumstances.

That lovely September 11th day in 2001, our paths did cross. Sitting in a family room in a home in America many miles from where sudden unexpected tragedies were simultaneously unfolding on several fronts, I watched as our country as we know it was changed forever within a matter of minutes. And I cried for you...

My hope is that you are in a better place, and that you did not feel pain in your last moments on this earth. My wish is that what happened to you will never happen again. My desire is that you will not be forgotten, and that you will not just be casualties, but a constant reminder of how fragile life can be and how it can be taken away without warning.

What I want you to know is that what happened afterwards is something bigger than what happened to you.

With your passing, America found herself again. She was forced out of her lazy complacency and comfortable existence and awoke. We suddenly found our soul again as a nation, and instead of being conquered, we were filled with resolve. We were reminded of who we were as Americans and how fortunate we were and how foolish we were for taking anything for granted. Our pride in ourselves and in our nation was renewed. The American flag once again pervaded the nation’s landscape. We were reminded of what that flag stands for, and what kind of sacrifice it took to make it fly.

There’s another thing that happened, too, after this thing that happened to you. You brought God back to the forefront of people’s minds and hearts. You reminded us of His infinite Grace and what we all need to take care of in order to make ourselves right with Him.

Please know that these things that happened that September 11th day in 2001 will always be greater than what happened to you.

You, the Innocents of September, paid the ultimate price, but you will be a constant reminder that the enemy did not win. What was born instead was a spirit that will always prevail over destruction and evil. That spirit will always carry your legacy. Though most of you may have been ordinary, everyday people like most of us ordinary, everyday people, unlike us, you have now gone down in history through no choice of your own.

You will not be forgotten.

Thank you, Innocents of September, for what your sacrifice gave to those of us who survived you.

Aleksandra Rebic

September 2001/2009

*****

[Ravnagora]

[Bokababe]

A beautiful tribute, Rav! Thank you!

[Dragonfly]

Bump