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#2060 | Wednesday, September 11th 2002
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September 11, 2001 was my first scheduled day to work from home for Merrill Lynch. I was busy on the computer when my husband called to say that the WTC had been hit by a plane. I thought he must be joking -- it seemed totally unreal. But I turned on the radio, and sure enough, newscasters were reporting it. At first, we assumed it must be an accident, but then the second plane hit. Slowly, the realization came that this was no accident, but a deliberate attack.
When the first tower fell, my husband came home from work. Our home had been hit hard by hurricane Floyd a couple of years before, and the feeling of being traumatized came back. We just wanted to be together.
We drove up to Washington Rock park, where you can see the Manhattan skyline on a clear day (which it was - an absolutely gorgeous day). A group of about 40 people had gathered. We looked at the skyline, and there was a big gap where the towers used to be. White smoke was pouring up to the sky, blowing southwest along the Jersey shore. I remember looking at the scene -- the towers were gone, but it still didn't seem real.
I thought of the Bible verse, "who can stand before envy?" New York, and especially the WTC, stand for America's financial success, hated and envied by those who lack the opportunity or the discipline to be a part of it. Like rebellious teenagers, they tried to destroy what they couldn't compete with.
When we learned that the attackers were fanatical Moslems, I pitied them. Those pathetic men who died in the acts of theft, lies and mass murder actually thought God would reward them with Paradise! Instead, they were dragged straight to Hell by the devil who tricked them. They followed the god of hatred and destruction, and so were destroyed eternally.
That evening was the first of many candle-light vigils and prayer meetings. We prayed for the victims, hoping some might be found alive in the rubble. We prayed for each other, as so many had not heard from loved ones, who never came home. And we prayed prayers of forgiveness for the perpetrators, refusing to allow bitterness to infect us with added suffering.
I lost my job as an indirect result of 9-11; Merrill laid off 9,000 employees. A year later, I am again out of work. The terrorists succeeded in hurting the NYC economy. But they can never succeed in destroying our faith in God or in our country. America rose to greatness in that hour -- great compassion, great generosity and great courage. And God willing, we will rise again to financial greatness as well, because we will keep on working, keep on learning, and keep on contributing all we have and are to build the country we love.
The twin towers may have fallen, but NYC is still the financial capital of the world. We will never forget those who died to make it so.
May God bless and comfort you, and may God bless America!
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Kathryn | 55 | New Jersey
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#1567 | Monday, August 19th 2002
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I was grooming my miniature horses for the American Miniature Horse Registry 2001 National Show. I had just come in for some coffee when my neighbor called to turn on the TV. I saw the second plane hit.
Our horses were set to travel by trailer and we were going to fly from Arizona to Columbia MO. We drove as we did not trust the planes on September 12th. We made the 3 day trip in 2, partilly in shock and dis-belief.
The Liberty solute was heartbreaking. Not all the exhibiters came, several were directly touched by the event and there were tears in all eyes.
One exhibitor did a wonderful dual horse liberty solute and I purchased the video tape of them.
Now we are getting ready for the 2002 show starting September 12th.
I am ancious to go and do well, but the hurt will come again and I know it.
We live near the oldest rodeo in the USA. In the program was a wonderful article "United We Stand" . I have permission from the author to reprint it into a poster and to sell 8x11 reprints for the humane societies in Arizona that were hit by the fires.
I do not know what the costs will be at this time as I want to use the perfect paper and I have to find it.
I do know the breeders who have read it were in tears and I have requested special permission to use RED AND BLUE ribbons on my white horse when she does her liberty class.
Horse people are a tight group and we are united in any way this country needs us - how about you??
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Claire | 55 | Arizona
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#1185 | Monday, April 15th 2002
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Monday, April 15th, 2002
On the morning of September 11, 2001,I was fixing my Dad's breakfast (he has Alzheimer's Disease and lives with me), when I turned on the t.v. news. At first I thought I was looking at some action movie, but I knew that movies weren't shown at this time on this channel. Then it set in: I was watching the World Trade Center being attacked! I went numb all over, a sense of being in a surreal nightmare came over me. I continued to watch the rest of that day, learning about the Pentagon attack and the passenger plane heroes who died rather than let terrorists attack the White House.
For the next two weeks, I would find myself sitting bolt-upright in bed at all times of the night and early morning, with a feeling of emptiness so vast that I felt I was being swallowed alive. I felt the pain and confusion of all of those souls who had departed this life so prematurely; and I felt the tremendous pain of all of those (family, friends, employees) who were left behind to deal with the horror.
I am so tired of Americans being called derogatory names. As a people, we are mostly hard working, thrifty and industrious, while finding time to volunteer and donate money and goods, in order to make this a better world for everyone. American is the most compassionate nation in the world, and I am extremely proud to be an American.
America, like all other countries, has its heroes and cowards, its honest and dishonest, its peaceful and destructive, its active and apathetic. But I can tell you that from my perspective, we have the best government in the world, because each and every citizen is a part of our government.
During the Vietnam War era I did not fly the American Flag, because so many of the bigots, rapers of the land, and dishonest people thought they were patriots by flying our flag. But now I fly our nation's flag, because we as a nation were directly attacked and must display unity for all to see.
To me, a true patriot loves the land, its animals, its people and its natural resources. A true patriot does the most he or she can to leave this world in a better condition then when he/she found it. And a true patriot will defend the United States when under attack, but above all else try to resolve disputes through diplomacy, realizing that all wars claim innocent victims, and that achieving peace through peaceful means is the most coveted of all victories. I may not always like who's currently administering our government, but will always love my country. And so I fly the American Flag, because I love my country.
American has been attacked and hurt, but this, too, shall pass...and we shall overcome.
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Crystal | 55 | California
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#943 | Monday, March 11th 2002
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I was at home with my husband in the San Francisco Bay Area. He was already up and getting ready for work and had TV news on in another room and heard that a plane had hit the WTC. He alerted me to turn on the TV in the bedroom which I did. I watched for a few moments and saw a plane flying too low. Then it crashed into the 2nd tower. We were shocked. We've lived through Vietnam, the civil rights movement, earthquakes, personal traumas. Nothing prepared us to see the crash and then the devasting implosions of the towers. As the hours and days unfolded, we discovered we knew several people who were directly affected: the husband of a friend of my sister's, the inlaws of a woman I knew in grade school, the son of another woman I knew in grade school, a former employee of my employer. We'll never forget that morning and will always be grateful that we were together and safe during that terrible time.
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Cathy | 55 | California
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#526 | Tuesday, December 18th 2001
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I had just awakened that morning from staying up late the night before. I had started brewing my morning coffee and just turned on the TV. It was about 10:30-10:45 AM. I saw the pictures of the WTC towers burning. I simply was stunned. I rubbed my eyes and shook my head and thought to myself,"is this a dream?" The news anchor then starting talking about the Pentagon crash also,and I then thought we were being attacked by a foreign power(we actually were, it turned out). I left the TV on and logged onto the internet to absorb every kind of news I could get. Thank goodness I was off that day--I don't think I could have been very good at work. I phoned one of my three daughters-the one still living in my city. I just wanted to talk to her and find out how she was doing. I check with my other girls later on that day. All were very distressed, of course.
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David | 55 | Texas
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