Ten Years

I was literally driving over the Border in to Canada to close on some Real Estate, an appointment I couldn't miss. Frantically, I called my step mother who was near a TV, but she blew it off as not a big deal. Was listening to live talk radio based in NYC and KNEW it WAS a big deal. Heard the whole event first hand as they saw what was happening, but was trapped in my car, no answers to be had. I listened as the radio broadcasters yelled, as the gabled "it's down, it's down!!" was repeated over and over, with the bleeting of these weird alarms in the background. I later learned these were personal firefighter alarms, pulled when a firefighter was "down". Just listened, with no idea what the heck was going on, everyone was just reacting and not really reporting.  Finally made it to my ferry to Nanaimo in BC and was able to locate a TV for the first time.

 Canadian coverage isn't at all like the version shown here.

I didn't get home that day till after Midnight. The border wasn't closed yet but each and every car was inspected and everyone was considered a threat. We had no TV in our home at the time. It wasn't till two days later when I went in to work and they had the big screen tuned to the news that I saw what had been screaming in my head, those early unedited videos of the buildings and the heroes running in while the terror poured out. It was an awe inspiring, intensely horrible event.

You can ask anyone on the street, heck I'll bet you ask anyone in the 1st world, and they can tell you just exactly where they were when the pompous America was brought to it's knees that day. I know I'll never forget. The horror and the fear. But there was also something... else. In the weeks and months that followed that terrible day, we were all pulled together by how awful it was. How unexpected. I've never felt that kind of brotherhood with my fellow Americans before, united in fear and anger. Yah, I'll never forget.