The class bell rings.
Only young children noticed we were going home quite early. Parents were punctual about getting their children early from school or daycare.
As a young girl, she was the last to leave. When she went home she took her nap; everything was quiet and the air was thick with tension. The young girl walked outside her room to see her parents gathered at the kitchen television.
The young girl was confused and in shock when she discovered what her parents stared at; wide eyes seeing people die. People were dying from a plane crashing into the Twin Towers. “Pray for them,” her mother said.
After a glance at her mother, she stares back at the television. “What’s going on?” the young girl asked.
“Go back to bed,” her father said gently under his breath.
As years go on, every Sept. 11, classes go silent. Children cry over loved ones they’ve lost.
What a horrific day in America’s history. The naive young girl who knew nothing of war and violence became a young woman who began to learn more about Sept. 11, 2001, the day that terrorists from a radical Islamic group, al-Qaeda, hijacked four American planes, two of which were flown into the Twin Towers in New York and one of which was crashed into the Pentagon. Another plane was headed toward the White House, but a brave group of people decided to become heroes and redirected the plane into a field in Pennsylvania.
“Let’s go,” was a husband’s and father’s last words before the crash.
This tragic event holds different memories for everyone. For example, my co-worker and Viewpoints Editor, Lyndsey Hayslett, was only in the seventh grade at the time. Pumped and ready for the homecoming football game, she patiently sat in math class. When the teacher suddenly stopped teaching and turned on the television, she thought they were about to watch a movie; nothing could have been farther from the truth. Her teacher then explained what had happened. For the rest of the day, she lived in fear something would happen close to home.
Fear struck America at its core.
My Executive Editor, Sheila Scott, experienced an emotional ride that day also. Her father-in-law frantically called her to come quickly and pointed at the television. As she watched a plane fly into the second Twin Tower, she thought she was watching a movie until she saw the live news stream scrolling across the bottom of the screen and the terrifying horror struck her.
Just then her 4-year-old daughter tightly wrapped herself around her mother’s leg and asked, “Mommy, why are those people screaming? Why are you crying?”
All the airports were quickly closed as a precaution and remained closed until Friday, Sept. 14.
Nearly 3,000 people died that day – in the plane crashes, in the collapsed and damaged buildings, in efforts to rescue as many people as possible, and even in making the choice to clasp hands and jump from the Twin Towers.
I didn’t and won’t point fingers and say every Islamic person destroyed America. Instead, I am simply reminding you of the extent of the tragedy. People died. People lost their lovers, their neighbors, their friends and family.
Some people didn’t experience that hurt, but we are human and we have sympathy for those who lost so much.
Thirteen years later, I admire every person who has been strong enough to stand on their own after 9/11. To all who were affected 13 years ago, I am sorry for your loss and I thank you for being so strong.
We must never forget.
Graphic credit: Joey Plunk
