9/11

I was in third grade.

I came home after a good day at school eager to tell my mother about my day.

I walked in the house to find my sister and mother sitting in the living room, their eyes glued to the television.

I began to speak, but as I tried to tell them about my day I was shushed.

Their eyes kept staring intently at the screen.

I looked and all I remember is what looked like a tower being eaten up by the ground.

It was shown over and over again.

I didn't think much of it, and I thought it was just another piece of news.

But as I kept watching I learned that this wasn't an ordinary piece of news.

Something was very wrong.

As a little girl I couldn't quite grasp on to what was happening.

I knew something bad happened and it was my mission to do everything I could to remember the fallen.

9/11 was the first event to introduce me to the real world. The kind of world that children have not learned about yet.

Looking back it saddens me that there was once a time in my life where I was actually afraid of the sound of an airplane.

I would be in bed late at night and each time I'd hear a plane fly over our house my little heart would begin to pound.

It terrified me.

I drew many pictures of the twin towers and the attack.

I drew stick people falling out of windows with hearts around them.

It is gut wrenching to go back and look at. 

Yet what I soon witnessed after the attacks fills my heart up. 

It was incredible to see how our country stood and banded together as one.  

3 years ago I traveled to New York for a college trip.

We visited the 9/11 memorial.

As I looked around something didn't seem quite right.

The place was swarming with tourists.

People taking selfies with big smiles.

People were posing, giving one another bunny ears.

Some friends got angry with me because I wouldn't take any pictures with them.

I just couldn't bring myself to do it.

 

People died here.

Panic was here.

Agony was here.

Fear was here.

Horror was here.

A terrorist attack took place where I stood.

As I looked at the grinning faces around me I felt sick.

Yes this memorial was nice, but the reason why it was here wasn't so nice.

Maybe I was wrong but to me, smiling in front of a camera at this memorial would be equal to visiting Auschwitz and taking a selfie in front of a gas chamber.

It was just simply not right.

I paid my respects and sat on a bench.

Today, I send out my heart and all my love to those who were affected by 9/11.

We have come a very long way since then.

We will always remember.

We will never forget.

Reviews

[AaronFreitas]

This is an awesome flashback... I loved your story. I still remember exactly where I was... it's a day we will never forget. Thanks for sharing :)

[Coyote Poetry]

One of saddest days in the history of the USA. I remembering watching the towers burning and falling down. A wake-up call for the USA. Thank you for sharing your thoughts about a sad day. We shall never forget.
Coyote

[Robert]

Wow Kathryn this was really good. Thank you for sharing your story with us. I find how you feel about your visit there would be the same as I would feel. I want to go there to pay my respect some day but now I feel if I went I would have your reaction to it also.

[Kathryn Smith]

Thanks a million Robert! Good to know I'm not the only one. My friends thought I was being a prude. haha! It was the weirdest thing...

[Robert]

No, you were thinking about all the people lost and your friends were probably just thinking about themselves.

[dan]

"I drew pictures of stick figures falling with hearts around them." Sums it up perfectly. Kathryn, I was home getting ready for work. I was 44, and things in my life were really looking up. I heard Katie Couric or Matt Lauer interrupt a segment to tell the breaking news. I saw the airplane shaped hole ripped into the 1st tower hit. A camera caught, on live TV, the second plane hitting the 2nd tower. I immediately vomited on myself. I will never forget the horror, the anguish, the hopelessness. Then I heard survivors stories of bravery. The country DID come together. We were ALL New Yorkers. I remember like it was today. A very touching and heart wrenching story, Kathryn. Very well done. If you ever feel like it, dig into my first bunch of poems I posted here. I wrote it about a month after the day (I could not write anything in that month) and it's called "shrouded sun (9/11/01)" May they all rest in peace. take care...dan

[Kathryn Smith]

Thanks so much Dan! I'll try to find yours!
Take care! x

[A. Amos]

I am with you in this wonderful feeling of respect...it happened with those innocent people and can happen to anyone. The times are rough and bad, simply amazing!

[....................]

A well-penned piece, Kathryn, from a personal point of view. I am not American and I didn't lose anyone I knew, but I will never forget that day, nor will I ever forget where I was and what I was doing. It's a day that has been etched deeply into my memory. My province is holding memorial services today at many sites that became temporary homes for stranded travelers on September 11, 2001. We are thinking of our American friends. Peace to you all.

[wordman]

i watched the whole thing,you gave a wonderful tribute,and a great story of you ..

[KittyKatgirl]

Omg it was a horrible tragedy the bombing of the twin towers. Good job Kathryn Smith this is sure to remind people of what happened and the lives that have been lost.