13 years later, we must never forget.

September 11, 2001. The date which forever lives in infamy. This date changed the world as we knew it and the United States of America and all of us have never been the same since.

Everyone remembers what they were doing and where they were when this happened. At that point in time, I personally had two jobs and was on my way to one of them. Driving in my car, I rarely listened to the radio but for some reason, I didn’t put in a mix cd and listened to 104 WDKX. I was half listening at the time but got the idea that they were discussing something that was happening, but I thought nothing of it.
When I arrived at my first part time job, working at Target, that was when I began to realize that it was something very serious. The store was open, but there wasn’t anybody near the front end. Nobody at the customer service desk. Not the food court, nor the dressing rooms, nothing. In a very odd twist, both store employees and customers were gathered around the electronics department watching NBC on the display televisions.
By the time I arrived, the first tower had already collapsed (at 9:59am). There was an awkward silence, stunned faces, tears, and strangers hugging one another. One of the most surreal situations that I have ever experienced in my life. Then the clock struck 10:28am and the second tower collapsed before all of our eyes. Everybody in attendance was stunned. Nobody knew what to do. The managers met and decided that day to keep the store open, but it wouldn’t have mattered. There were maybe one or two people that actually came in to the store between that time and the time I left at 1:00pm.
That night, while at my second part time job, Blockbuster Video, it was more of the same. A slow night, the people that did come in were glued to the DirecTV kiosk as I had the then-WOKR News Source 13 at 6:00pm on and a group of us watched as anchor Don Alhart narrated a piece on the recap of the entire day.
I didn’t sleep well that night, as I am sure that many of you did not either. Now 13 years later, there are a generation of children that may know of 9/11 through history books and the news and media reminding everyone of the attacks. It is up to those of us that lived it, that felt that pain and experienced the feeling of anger, loss, and helplessness to continue to educate the next generation and generations thereafter, so that we as a country may never have our guard down the way we did before this attack, again.
When my children get older and begin asking questions, I will answer them. I will tell them how I felt. I will explain to them how some of my friends felt that lost a loved one that were in the World Trade Center as that was happening. I want them to know what that day was like and use that as a way to stay informed, and appreciate what they have and what country they live in.
We must never forget.
God bless the United States of America.
-JC