I don’t know why the anniversary of 9/11 is hitting me so hard this year.  Maybe it’s because I miss Charles.  Maybe it’s because of all the fires back home in Montana.  Maybe it’s even good to remember sometimes.  Anyway, here’s a post that I wrote back in 2008.

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9/11

The anniversary of 9/11 was a few weeks ago.  On that day I remembered how hard Peter Jennings worked.  He was on television the entire day.  He was calm.  He was patient.  He was a rock.

I worked for a cell phone company then.  There was so much confusion on that day.  We didn’t know if there would be more attacks.  If there were, wouldn’t it make sense to attack the headquarters of a communications company? My company sent everyone home just in case.

I thought about what I did.  I remembered what happened.  But I’d forgotten the feelings.

Earlier this week I watched Backdraft.  It’s a great Ron Howard flick about firemen.  At the beginning of the movie there were a few scenes that showed the firemen rushing into a burning building.  The scenes were well shot and very dramatic.

It brought back a memory of 9/11.  People were running from the Twin Towers.  People like you and me were running away from the flames and the explosions.  They were running for their very lives.

At the same time firemen and policemen we running toward the Twin Towers.  They were running toward the flames and explosions as fast as they could go.   Their only thought was to save people like you and me.  Many of them died in the attempt.

In an instant I remembered what 9/11 felt like.  I felt fear, confusion, grief, surprise and outrage.  I also felt gratitude and pride.