[AZamericonnie]

I had fallen asleep on the 10th with the TV on the Fox news channel. When I awoke I looked at the tv in disbelif as the the first plane had just hit the tower. My husband & I sat in the bed & watched in horror as the second plane hit. My staff began calling me at home about that time. We, like every one I imagine, felt the need to reach out to each other & feel connected. I got my son ready for school, gave him an extra big hug & told him we would all make it through this. My heart was breaking for all of those who were missing their loved ones, not knowing where they were. I told everyone to get ready for work, that we would not let these evil terrorists stop us from our routine & that it would be best if we were all together for support. We all cried for the greater part of the day & were focused on the news. Throughout the day many came to our office to talk, cry & hug. I was relieved when my son returned from school. We gathered with friends & family throughout the evening & prayed for all that was lost & all that we knew the nation must prepare for. I pray today for all those whose lives were lost & those left behind without them. I pray for our troops & the families of our soldiers who sacrifice so much. I pray for our leaders & their reslove. I pray for our children who may now never know a world without color coded threat levels. I pray for all of you my fellow freepers. May we too always be here to support one another in times of joy & times of sorrow. Godd bless.

[50sDad]

It looked like a movie.

I saw the video of the first plane minutes after it happened, and my brain said: “How does a jet get that far off course.” This was followed by, “Somebody did this intentionally!” While these were zipping by, the second plane hit. A short time later, the first tower fell, and then the second.

My officemates stood, and we all watched on a little black-and-white TV. I remember thinking that it was the same model TV as I took to college with me, twenty years ago, like a touchstone to the world as it was, and could never be again. And when the towers fell, I was stunned; how do you comprehend something on this scale?

It seemed unreal, like a movie effect. Fake. And part of my brain said, “Hey, I’ve seen better special effects.”

When did it come real for me? There was video footage from a regular Joe, a vidcam report, of said unwilling guy stuck in the streets of New York, running. Like a million times that I have accidentally left my vidcam running, and gotten twenty minutes of what my family calls “foot shots”, the camera bumped along at high speed, showing running feet, but recording the sounds…the gusts, the heavy breaths, the panic. Said videographer ducked into a lunch counter, and helped a panicky mom joggle a toddler’s stroller through the door. And then we heard, “It’s coming!”

The camera swiveled up, and shot the window of the luncheonette. And then, a dark black cloud of dust, dirt, and evil went by, like a breath from Hell, turning day into night. It…seethed, flowed, engulfed, and obliterated. You could see it move from left to right, a curtain closing on who we were.

Never forget. We have lost a lot of who we were that day. We’ve been soothed and coddled by a petulant word that wants us to believe that somehow America “got what she deserved” for being just a little too big, too powerful, too strong. “Don’t get upset, America”, we were told. “Just go back to sleep.”

Nope. America is just what it always was, the leader of the world. We were not the aggressors. We did not begin it. But the lives of almost 3000 innocent people were snuffed out by 19 petty little thugs, for the simple crime of going into work to support their loved ones. We were angry that day. I pray we stay angry as long as it takes to drag the world back into the glorious sunlight.