Explaining September 11th
Shortly after September 11th I remember people saying that this event would be one of those events people would remember for a lifetime- one of those events that we would tell our kids about years later. People compared September 11th to President Kennedy being shot. At the time I was 15 and I blew it off, the idea of having kids, let alone explaining this to them seemed to far off. But yesterday, September 12th (the 11th was a sunday) as I was picking Michael up from school he said "Mom, Ms. D showed us a video of planes crashing into tall buildings and told us that some bad guys did it because they didnt like some of the choice from America, is that true". He then went on to tell me they had a moment of silence where they put their hands over their hearts and faced the flag and that they had watched a short video explaining September 11th. His sweet teacher sent an email after school explaining what had gone on during the day and provided a link to the video- it wasnt a horrifying video but it did show what happened. We talked about the events that day, rewatched the video several times, and talked about how it made him feel. He then told me that his teacher had been in high school when September 11th happened and asked if I remembered that day. I knew that some day we would have to start introducing him to the bad things that are out there, and trust me he has heard and seen some, but for some reason the look of horror on his face was a bit heartbreaking. It was sad to see him realize that sometimes bad things happen, and it was sad to see him realize that the video his class had watched wasn't made up it was real.
About 10 years ago I asked my grandma where she was when Kennedy was assassinated. She was living in Dallas at the time, not too far from the grassy knoll. When I asked her she seemed to recall it as if it were yesterday, granted she's a sharp lady but it's true, there are some things cemented into your head. She told me that she was pregnant with my mom at the time and that she was shopping for a christmas present for her dad. When she saw the news report she was scared, she wasn't too far from where the president had been shot and she wasn't sure how she would get home.
Michael asked where I was on September 11th, and here's the story. September 11th was the second Tuesday of the month, which meant the we didn't have early morning seminary. I wasn't a super enthusiastic or diligent seminary goer, but I loved the 2nd Tuesday because that meant I could sleep until 6 without guilt. I set my alarm for 5am, plugged in my hair straightener and went back to bed (because it took forever to heat up and apparently I wanted to start a fire). Since we didn't have seminary I thought it would be a great morning to flat iron my hair instead of doing the usual ponytail. I got up at 6am pacific and started to very slowly gather my school stuff, finish last minute homework, and get ready, all while listening to my favorite 92.9 KFRG. California is 3 hours behind New York so the second plane hit right around the time I started to get ready. I thought that the guys on the radio were joking, nothing could have crashed into a building in New York, but after a few minutes they started to sound panicked instead of happy. I finished getting ready and went to eat breakfast, while eating I turned on the TV and saw the first footage of the towers. By this time the towers were on fire and people had begun to jump. I headed to school and by the time I arrived one of the towers had collapsed. I remember telling my friends what had happened, they thought I was kidding, but by the time we went into our first period class (band) and saw the news on TV we were sure that it was real. I remember wearing a blue shirt to school that day, not sure why that sticks in my head, but it does. School wasn't cancelled but I'm sure we spent most of the day glued to CNN. Band practice was cancelled that night and for the rest of the week. Our field show was quickly rewritten and learned, I can't remember what the original show was but the new show centered on "american" songs. Our band shirts that year read "the band marches on".
About 10 years ago I asked my grandma where she was when Kennedy was assassinated. She was living in Dallas at the time, not too far from the grassy knoll. When I asked her she seemed to recall it as if it were yesterday, granted she's a sharp lady but it's true, there are some things cemented into your head. She told me that she was pregnant with my mom at the time and that she was shopping for a christmas present for her dad. When she saw the news report she was scared, she wasn't too far from where the president had been shot and she wasn't sure how she would get home.
Michael asked where I was on September 11th, and here's the story. September 11th was the second Tuesday of the month, which meant the we didn't have early morning seminary. I wasn't a super enthusiastic or diligent seminary goer, but I loved the 2nd Tuesday because that meant I could sleep until 6 without guilt. I set my alarm for 5am, plugged in my hair straightener and went back to bed (because it took forever to heat up and apparently I wanted to start a fire). Since we didn't have seminary I thought it would be a great morning to flat iron my hair instead of doing the usual ponytail. I got up at 6am pacific and started to very slowly gather my school stuff, finish last minute homework, and get ready, all while listening to my favorite 92.9 KFRG. California is 3 hours behind New York so the second plane hit right around the time I started to get ready. I thought that the guys on the radio were joking, nothing could have crashed into a building in New York, but after a few minutes they started to sound panicked instead of happy. I finished getting ready and went to eat breakfast, while eating I turned on the TV and saw the first footage of the towers. By this time the towers were on fire and people had begun to jump. I headed to school and by the time I arrived one of the towers had collapsed. I remember telling my friends what had happened, they thought I was kidding, but by the time we went into our first period class (band) and saw the news on TV we were sure that it was real. I remember wearing a blue shirt to school that day, not sure why that sticks in my head, but it does. School wasn't cancelled but I'm sure we spent most of the day glued to CNN. Band practice was cancelled that night and for the rest of the week. Our field show was quickly rewritten and learned, I can't remember what the original show was but the new show centered on "american" songs. Our band shirts that year read "the band marches on".
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