Remembrance

I'm a day late, but I still feel compelled to revisit where I was ten years ago yesterday, on September 11, 2001.


It was maybe my second week of high school. I was a brand spanking new freshman, sitting in my World History class, with a teacher that had a twisted sense of humor and a ski pole he'd bring crashing down upon your desk should you be caught not paying attention.

We were discussing the Roman Empire. As we looked at a map of Italy, my teacher told us their geography made it difficult for others to attack and thus conquer them, aiding in their growth as an empire.

To the North, the Alps. To the South, East and West, they were surrounded by water. An attack by land or water would be a hard thing indeed, and as you may know, air was not exactly an option then.

He then likened their geographic safety to our own.
The United States of America, protected by water to the East and West, and Canada and Mexico to the North and South made it unlikely we'd ever experience a terror attack, even, he said, by airplane.

It was after those words that there was a knock on the door. It was the tenth grade English teacher. He asked my teacher to step outside where they conversed in hushed tones for a bit, and when my history teacher stepped back into the room he said, "There's been a terrorist attack."

We all laughed.

We thought he was kidding.

He had, as I mentioned, a twisted sense of humor, and what were the chances that just as he said we were safe...the unthinkable happened? It seemed far too eerie for it to be a coincidence. It had to be staged...

But it wasn't. It was real. We sombered up quickly, though the whole situation was hard to comprehend.

I remember going to the library during lunch and watching the news footage on television. There were some other students and a few teachers there. I knew what I was seeing on the screen was real, but it didn't feel real. How could someone do something so evil? How could anyones hate be so strong? Ten years later and it still doesn't feel real. It still doesn't make sense.

It was a confusing and scary time, even from 100 miles away.

And now, from 10 years away, I know it is a day I will never, ever forget.