Today is an exciting day personally, because I am looking forward to picking up Lyndsey tonight at the airport so she can be here for Catherine's shower Saturday. I am baking some little loaves to add to the gift bags Cath has prepared for her hostesses. Another thing that is pleasing me is that my boy is purposing to spend actual time daily reviewing German, so that he may actually pass German III, take G-IV next semester, and then be actually done with undergrad forever!! Brothers and sisters, it has been a long time coming, but my anticipatory joy is bubbling!!
However, this is September 11, and one must pause and ponder the tragic events that are being memorialized today. Most every American surely remembers their circumstances in great detail on what began as just another day seven years ago.
It took a little while for me to realize the enormous horror of the events as slowly the fear began to grow that there might be more horror in store for us. James and I were in California moving Lyndsey in to the apartment that would be her home as she started grad school at UCI. That morning James got up and walked over to the Marriott lobby to check out the breakfast offerings. I turned on the tv and saw the airplanes flying into the buildings and smoke pouring out of the side of the Towers. But I thought it was a movie and changed the channel, only to see the same "movie" running there. When James came back, he made it clear that it was very real.
Goodness, my thoughts were every where at once. What did we need to do? Catherine and Phil were at ACU and we had left Valerie at home so she would not miss school. James' mom had come over to stay with her. In the midst of the flurry of phone calls, I heard from my sister Jan that her eldest son's third son was arriving on that fateful day in Evansville, Indiana. Joy and new life in the midst of the horror and death that was consuming our senses on that day. It was good to have a reason to praise and thank God for good things. And Happy Birthday to Aiden!
We went over to have breakfast and stared at the tv in quietness with all the other Marriott guests and staff. Eventually we drove over to Lyndsey's apartment to do the things we had come to do. But virtually every store we went to had closed. People were fearful that something terrible was about to happen in Los Angeles and everyone just wanted to be at home. We were fortunate that we had our car because we began to hear soon of airports closing.
Our hearts were broken as we saw footage of frightened dusty people running through the streets of New York and heard of the heroism of some of our American citizens on those doomed flights, and the stories of the firefighters who sacrificed themselves in an attempt to rescue workers trapped in the Twin Towers. Our patriotic feelings surged as we realized the strength and courage displayed by all those who responded so quickly and made decisions which protected and saved lives of many who were strangers to them. May we never forget.
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vicki, i remember that I was just leaving a Boy Scout Breakfast they had given for principals when i called suzy on the phone. The connection wasnt good, but she was crying and i really couldnt understand her but she wss saying something horrible had happened and it wasnt over yet. I had just gotten word of Aidan's birth and i was all agog with that, and her words stunned me and i didnt understand. When i got to the school district board room for our principals meeting, it was made clear to all of us what had occured and the obvious gravity of the situatio was clear to all. The meeting was canceled and we were all told to return to uor buildings. I remeber how we were told to not tell the children, but how parents continually came to school to pick up their chidren just because they wanted to have their families together and in their own homes. I dont remember what we told the children at the end of the day, but we gave them some instruction regarding the television and what was on the news. It was scripted from central office, however, i remember i liked my note better, so that is what i sent home. How arrogant of me, right now I am ashamed of that. Thank you for this posting. We must never forget, because it was horrid and so unfoldingly frightening when we learned of the other flights that had been hijacked. Almost too much to comprehend at once. i love you, Vicki. jk
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