2,976. At the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and in a field near Shanksville, Pa., this is the number who died on September 11, 2001. We now use shorthand to remember 9/11. It precipitated a war that still rages eight years hence. We have had no attack on American soil since. And, as we Americans are apt to do, we were united as no other period in our lifetime in the aftermath of this heinous act.
Everyone remembers where they were and what they were doing when the reports began to trickle in about the attack. I was building houses in Houston and was driving between projects when the music on my Jazz station was cut off in mid-note and the voice of Peter Jennings of ABC news began to mumble something about smoke coming out of the World Trade Center. I raced home to the television set in time to see the first of the two towers collapse. Then, other reports began to come in about yet more aircraft going down. First, the Pentagon, then one somewhere in Pennsylvania.
There were incredible acts of heroism that day. Some were passengers on United Flight 93. Others were firemen and policemen trying to rescue survivors in the World Trade Center. At the Pentagon, staffers braved walls of fire to rescue friends and co-workers. Then, there were everyday people like you and me helping the wounded find help among the falling debris. For the rest of us, it was a feeling of helplessness that knew no depth.
Today, it is my devout prayer that God provide comfort to the families and friends of those that were lost. May we also take a day to reflect on those things that are most important to us. In a moment, the safety and security we take for granted disappeared. Lest we forget.....
Posts
