We Remember September 11th

September 11th Slideshow I made (Please visit this)
    - Photos from: boston.com, newyorktimes.com, september11news.com
    - Songs: Grey Sky Morning - Bronson Arroyo, Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd

I remember that day like it was yesterday. I was in sixth grade, in the gym of my middle school because our classrooms had not been built yet. We were in history class, studying archaeology and pretty much not paying attention when the principal's voice crackled over the loudspeaker.

"I need all of your attention immediately please. Something has happened this morning that has threatened the safety of our country." That shut everyone up pretty quickly. "Two planes have hit the World Trade Centers. If you would like, you may turn on your televisions."

Since we were in the gym, we had no televisions. Instead, our teachers had us write down our feelings on yellow lined paper.

I did not know what to think. I was 11 at the time. The World Trade Centers were just another office building to me. I knew what the Twin Towers were, but I didn't know they were the same place. Instead of imagining a big plane hitting a tower, I thought it was just a small little plane. I never thought people were dying. I knew it was serious, but I didn't know how serious.

Fifteen minutes later, the principal came back on the loudspeaker. "Everyone, please turn off your televisions." People were jumping.

There was a boy in my grade named Stephen whose father was in the Air Force. Somehow, he was in contact with his father all day. During art, he told us that the Twin Towers had collapsed and the Pentagon had been hit. During science, he told us that there was a plane crash in Pennsylvania. We didn't believe him.

How had the Twin Towers collapsed? They had nothing to do with the World Trade Center. It was a totally different part of New York. What would a plane crash in Pennsylvania have to do with the Twin Towers? The Pentagon story was just ridiculous. Surely the Pentagon, the military, had not been hit. I mean, it was the government.

While I was eating lunch, I saw my brother walking out of school with my mom. I went to the door to ask what was going on. My brother, it turns, out, had strep and was heading to the doctor. My mom had a weird look on her face. That was when I was beginning to think that Stephen was not lying.

Before school was over, the principal came on the loudspeaker once again to announce dismissals. Hebrew school was supposed to start that day, but it had been cancelled. Everything had been cancelled. We were all cheering, until the teacher from one corner of the gym starting yelling.

"People are dying!" she screamed. "Thousands of people. What right do you have to be so happy about Hebrew School?" The teacher normally wasn't like that. Something was definitely wrong.

My friend Carly and I walked home. She wanted to stay at my house until her parents came to get her. She wasn't sure she wanted to be home alone. We didn't realize that we were scared of what was going on.

While we were walking home, a man was fixing a street light. Carly and I stopped dead in our tracks. Was he putting a bomb in the light? We hurried past, doing our best not to make eye contact with the man.

When we got home, my father was home. That was when I knew it was horribly serious. My father is a lawyer in Boston. Back then, he rarely got home before bedtime. It was only 2:30.

"Why are you home?" I asked.

"Boston was evacuated. Come here." I walked into the family room with Carly, wondering why Boston was evacuated. The TV was on, replaying picture after picture of the Towers getting hit and collapsing. A strange man named Osama Bin Laden showed up occasionally, but it was mostly just carnage. I tried changing the channels, but there was no channel that had escaped the horror.

"Are the Sox playing tonight?" I asked. I needed baseball. I needed to get away from this. I wasn't old enough to handle what happened in New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania.

"No," my father responded. "Baseball has been cancelled."

The Sox had played a tough series against the Yankees right before September 11th. They had either been swept or lost 2 of 3. I was anxious to get back on track.

Later that night, my mother and brother returned. We all ate dinner together, but the TV was on. There was a rule in my house: no television during dinner. That night, we ate our corn and meatloaf while watching another building collapse.

When Bush appeared on the news at 8 o'clock that night, I sat on my parents bed with my entire family and watched. It was the only time that George Bush made me feel better. I drank in his words like medicine, giving me instant relief. My eyes fixed on the TV as the president's grim face recited a passage from the bible:
"The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:

    He leadeth me beside the still waters.
    He restoreth my soul:
    He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name'     sake.
Yea, though I walk through the     valley of the shadow of death,
    I will fear no evil: For thou art with me;
    Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.
    Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine     enemies;
    Thou annointest my head with oil; My cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy     shall follow me all the days of my life,
    and I will dwell in the House of the Lord forever."

Afterwards, I borrowed a tape of 7th Heaven from my brother, stuck it in my television, and watched the family who could fix every situation until I fell asleep, changed forever.