Where were you on 9/11? Do you remember? Were you old enough to understand what was happening that day eighteen years ago? I will always vividly remember that day and the events following it. Here is how I remember it.
Morning
I had just recently graduated from high school. It was early teal season in Alabama. A teal is a small, fast-flying duck that Alabama allows you to hunt during an early season in September. I had awoken early that morning to take a couple of my friends from school to duck hunt.
We arrived a little later than expected, and someone was already in the blind that I planned to use. Just as the sun was rising over the water, we got the decoys out and the blind set up. I was stung by an insect on my trigger finger, and it began to swell. There weren’t many ducks flying that morning, and my finger was aching, so we packed up the decoys and went home.
I arrived home just as the first plane had crashed into the trade tower. At this time, everyone thought it was an accidental crash. The thoughts of terrorism never crossed my mind. That is until the second plane hit. I had just woken my dad up (he worked night shift at the time) and told him a plane hit one of the trade towers. The second plane flew into the second tower as I walked back into the living room. I knew then that it was more than an accident.
Within minutes, someone was pounding on my front door. I opened it up to find an army recruiter standing there. I had just enlisted in the army twenty-seven days before. “Are you still going?” he asked. “Of course, I’m going,” I said. I had been trying to talk one of my friends into joining the army with me. He had yet to make up his mind. The recruiter left my house to speak with him. He told him that terrorists had attacked the trade towers in New York. Josh signed his contract immediately to join the army.
Afternoon and Evening and Beyond
I sat in front of the television for the remainder of the morning and early afternoon. Bad news continued to flood in…the terrorists had hijacked a plane, and it crashed in a field in Pennsylvania…a plane crashed into the most secure place in the country, the Pentagon…would they try to hit the White House…where was the President?
My family called me. What’s going on? How does this affect you? You just joined the military. What’s going to happen? There were all these questions and more that I didn’t know how to answer. All I knew was, that in that moment of tragedy, I felt more patriotism than I had felt in my entire life.
Darkness started to fall as firefighters, first responders, and volunteers poured into New York. More than ever, we were the United States of America. We stood together. People were doing what we should have been doing all along, loving others as we love ourselves. Folks put other people’s needs ahead of their own. We were truly a country united.
I left for basic training a few months later. Within a couple of months of being home from training, I was called to active duty. My nation called, and I was proud to serve. Still to this day, we have soldiers in harm’s way in foreign countries, fighting in conflicts that are direct responses to what happened on September 11, 2001. Pray for them, send them good vibes. They need it, as does our entire country.
Where Were You on 9/11? What About Now?
So, where were you on 9/11? Do you remember it vividly or were you too young to remember it? The rallying cry after those events was “We Will Never Forget!” Have you? Do you remember what it felt like that day when our nation in solidarity? If not, I hope you can reach deep inside and recall that feeling, that love for your country and your fellow man/woman. Just imagine how great this world could be if everyone began to live out the age-old saying of treat others as you would want to be treated; if we loved others s just as we loved ourselves.
Where were you on 9/11? Has your life forever changed since that day? Let me know what you remember in the comments below. But, the most important question may be: Where are you this 9/11? What are you willing to sacrifice to make this world a better place? Will you treat others as you want to be treated? Take the time to not respond to anger with anger. Be quick to listen and slow to speak. Treat others with love, and let’s hope that nothing like this ever happens again.
If you would like more information on the 9/11 Memorial, click here. The History Channel also has a great article up that was updated yesterday. You can check it out by clicking here. Want to join my newsletter so that you stay up to date with news on the Reborn novel or be notified when a new blog post drops? Click here or check out the website here!
