I don't know about ya'll, but still, ten years later I am profoundly attached/moved/saddened by 9/11. My husband and I have been watching some of the specials that are beginning to air on various networks and I have to say.... it still brings tears to my eyes and a chill down my back. Last night on the National Geographic channel we watched two separate specials featuring Mayor Giuliani and then President Bush. They explained in an hour long, unedited interview, what that day was like for them, it was mesmerizing to hear in their own words exactly how that day changed them forever.
Like most people, I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when the terror attacks transpired, ten yeas ago this September. I won't go into specific details except to say that at the time I lived in D.C. and was going to school at American University a few measly miles away from the Pentagon....
A few days after the attacks, a few of my girlfriends and I were visiting friends over at Georgetown University. The mood was somber to say the least. Our friends had an apartment overlooking the Potomac River and all of us gathered on the rooftop, talking, sharing our stories and really just comforting one another as we all tried to cope with this unbelievable occurrence. Friends had lost parents, siblings, other friends, etc- we were all just trying to wrap our heads around it.
Then suddenly, as we talked, we heard the roar of helicopters zooming down the Potomac, it could only be one person.... The President of the United States, on his way to Camp David (this was his typical route to the Camp). One guy grabbed the American Flag he had hanging from his door while the rest of us charged to the railing, jumping up and down screaming USA-USA-USA!!! To our utter surprise the President happened to look out the helicopter window at that very moment and see us! In retrospect, I doubt he heard us chanting; however, I'm sure he got the message. As he passed he gave us a "determined" two thumbs up and for some reason, it really did, make us all feel better, even if it was only for a moment.
To this day, I remember that moment and those feelings like it was yesterday, it's crystal clear in my mind. If I let myself, I can also remember the fear, the sadness, and utter dismay I felt when classmates shared the news of those they had lost in either the Pentagon and or the WTC. It makes me want to sob uncontrollably.
However, I can also remember some good that transpired after these horrible occurrences....When I look back at all the footage and see fellow Americans helping each other and I remember "that guy"grabbing the American Flag and frantically waving it back and fourth on the rooftop of a Georgetown Apartment, it makes me extremely nostalgic and PROUD to be an American.
It humbles me.
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