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As we come upon yet another anniversary of the events of 9/11 I'm still overcome by the grief and terror that day provided me. I realize the scarring doesn't go away but why won't it heal? The sadness washes over me and I relive through memory (and the media) the events every September. How does anyone move on, or do they? I don't suppose anyone ever does.
I think it's in all of us. I feel for the families, lots of those lost were young and had everything going for them. Good book I read about 911, written by an author Bonnie McEneaney (spelling?). Wonderful book and very comforting.
As we come upon yet another anniversary of the events of 9/11 I'm still overcome by the grief and terror that day provided me. I realize the scarring doesn't go away but why won't it heal? The sadness washes over me and I relive through memory (and the media) the events every September. How does anyone move on, or do they? I don't suppose anyone ever does.
Sometimes, I can't comprehend it actually happened the way it did. The sheer terror those poor passengers felt on the airplanes and so many had young families. I just can't imagine going to work, supposedly a safe place, and then having your whole building collapse and thousands die.
I think it depends on the level/degree one was affected by it. I think to some extent, everyone was. But I think there were different levels/degrees. This isn't an exact accounting and some people fall into more than one category People who lost a loved one or were seriously injured or later got ill from it are probably the most directly affected. First responders and people who had to evacuate would be next. People who knew someone who died, but weren't close to the person were affected too. Then the people who had to live/work in the area and smell the smoke which lingered for months afterwards and/or who saw/heard it in person.
And I think anyone who saw it on television was also affected.
I worked in the neighborhood, but was out that week. I didn't lose anyone close, but some people I knew from school/the old neighborhood died that day or have died since from illnesses. I have a lot of friends and relatives and former co-workers who had to flee that day. Watching it on tv was horrifying in general, plus I'd worked in the area for about a decade by then, so when I saw how far the debris was spreading, I was terrified for the people I knew in the area.
For me, it's still a very solemn day, but I pretty much go about my daily business, taking some time for silence/reflection at some point during the day. I usually change my Facebook profile for the day. Not that it "does" anything, but I have people on my friends list who lost people they were close to in the attacks and/or had to flee. I want them to know we didn't forget and support them. But I can also understand why people in areas not directly affected are ready to move on and have regular events and tv programming on 9/11.
What I hate is when one group tries to dictate to the other. "How dare they have football on 9/11?!!" "Hey, it's been [x number] of years, time to move on." One's reaction is going to vary with how one was affected by this tragedy. IMO, respect and compassion go a long way.
I have a rather long story so please bear with me:
As a Muslim (Ismaili Shi'a Muslim to be specific), I was in 6th grade when 9/11 took place. People I knew were talking about how kids whose parents worked for the government were being sent home and that a lot of parents were picking their kids up.
There was a guy in my class that kept joking around about how a plane was headed our way and was going to crash through my middle school. In class, teachers refused to turn the TV on or tell us what was going on. I felt lonely because my friends were leaving and I was left with a handful of students in class.
It wasn't until I went home that I told my cousin about what was going on and he basically told me, I know. The TV was on and I saw that two planes had crashed through the WTC. I didn't know what happened the rest of the day but things were very weird.
At my church, we had a prayer session for the victims and I remember afterwards, a few ladies talking about bin Laden.
Understand this, I had no idea what a terrorist was, who bin Laden was, or what jihad meant. Heck, my parents had no clue about this and neither did my Saturday school teachers (like Sunday school except on Saturday).
All I know is that I was scared as hell and couldn't sleep that night.
As I grew up and became more mature and aware of politics, I developed a hatred for Muslims (specifically Sunni's). The reason was because I saw people hate Muslims and I got pushed into the mix because people didn't (or still don't) realize that not all Muslims are the same.
Sadly, I still have a prejudice attitude and its been a struggle for me to get rid of my hatred. I've had a hard time moving on and I don't know how to end my prejudice attitude because all this hate that I have is making me a bitter person.
Thanks for letting me share my thoughts and story...
As we come upon yet another anniversary of the events of 9/11 I'm still overcome by the grief and terror that day provided me. I realize the scarring doesn't go away but why won't it heal? The sadness washes over me and I relive through memory (and the media) the events every September. How does anyone move on, or do they? I don't suppose anyone ever does.
Are you paralyzed by this grief, or just moved to sadness? If it's a paralyzing grief, you need to find a professional therapist.
On the other hand, the sadness of the day, and its effect on America, is probably etched in all our minds.
I was 6 when it happened. I still remember watching it on tv and begging my grandmother to tell me what was going on. It stayed on all of the televisions in the house all day. She didn't sob, but she gasped a lot and had tears running down her face. I just kept asking her not to cry, and I still remember seeing the planes hit the towers. They played the footage over and over and over again.
Every year my brother, who was 3 at the time, watches the documentaries on it; as many as he can cram into one day. I can never watch them without tearing up.
I can't imagine being an adult at that time seeing it all. Especially when you know that someone you love was in one of the towers or in one of the planes. I'm blessed that I was too young to fully understand at the time. I pray that we will never see anything like that again, in my life time or anyone else's.
Not a part of what is on my mind, I did not see any of it nor hear about it for a few days and I did not know anyone personally who was involved or had family or friends there. It is a tragic event but it was many years ago and in my opinion bringing it up all the time makes it more difficult for anyone who was directly involved in some way to truly be able to move past any of the grief and move forward in their lives.
As we come upon yet another anniversary of the events of 9/11 I'm still overcome by the grief and terror that day provided me. I realize the scarring doesn't go away but why won't it heal? The sadness washes over me and I relive through memory (and the media) the events every September. How does anyone move on, or do they? I don't suppose anyone ever does.
Did you lose anyone, Kyle? Just wondering--but regardless, there are resources available for counseling for 9/11-related issues. I can let you know where to find them if you are interested.
I am a survivor from One WTC (what has since become known popularly as the "north tower".) I lost 84 coworkers, plus a number of other people from my every day life died that day--the security guard at the entrance I used, the recycling man, the people who worked in Cantor Fitz's cafeteria, which was open to everyone and where I got lunch once a week or so. Besides those people, I lost a place that was my daily "home" for 20 years. I went there day to day through life's events--deaths, marriage, divorce, got my pregnancy test in the medical department there. I shopped in the stores downstairs, ran down to Duane Reade (a drugstore chain) when I needed stuff and didn't want to go to a store when I got home at the end of a long train ride.
In the weeks preceding September 11 each years, I feel it coming. I try to ignore it, but the sadness can be felt, and the little "leftovers" from that day seem to happen more frequently--jumping at noise, feeling the floor "move", the dead people I knew popping into my mind here and there. September 12 is always a good day.
Not one day has passed--not one day--without it being at some point 8:46 a.m. on the 43rd Floor and being back there, just for a second. I don't think that will ever change. I believe that when one is in the proximity of tragic, mass death like that, something cracks in the psyche and never fully closes again. But life does go forward. I ran out of the building with a coworker I barely knew--we'd decided to go get coffee together that morning--and she has since become one of my closest friends even though she is much younger than I. She has married and last year had her first child. My own daughter has grown up and is in her last year of college. I have moved and developed new interests. So, there IS moving forward, but one foot is still back there and always will be.
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Feel the same.....
