A Day to Remember

I can't believe its been four years since the Twin Towers fell... I'll never forget that day... or our country's response.

It was a Tuesday morning (correct me if I'm mistaken) and I was awoken to the sound of our phone ringing. I had remembered hearing my roommate, Alexa, get up and get ready but she wasn't in the room anymore. And even though we had only lived together for a couple weeks, I already recognized her mother's voice on the phone, but I had never heard the panic. She asked for Alexa and I told her that Alexa had already left for class... it sounded like a family emergency of some kind. Then, Mrs. Diaz went on to tell me that two planes had crashed into the Twin Towers in New York City...

I was stunned as she tried to explain and remind me of the time difference. To my surprise, Alexa walked into the room (apparently, she'd only been in the shower down the hall), so I handed her the phone and walked out into the hall where the doors to the rooms of 52 other freshman girls were. There were lots of people up even though it was so early and everyone was looking dazed... and anxious.

In my 8:30am Spanish class, my professor was a wreck. She had two grown sons off in other countries and she had not been able to make contact with them. We prayed and were then dismissed. Back in my dorm lobby, the news was on and everyone was silent (not at all like the mood while watching Friends)... transfixed on the repeating images of the Twin Towers and their demise...

Instead of going to the gym that morning, I pulled out my world map and started labeling the places where five of my high school friends were stationed with the Air Force, Navy, or Army. I prayed and wept over that map and the people whose lives were taken, their families, and the countries who hated us so much...

...It really doesn't feel like its been four years...