Everyone knows what the 5 year anniversary we observed yesterday was. I heard a guy say yesterday that this is my generations "Where were you ?" moment. My parents' generation was the Kennedy assasination and now we have one to. I really like the new ad campaign for a memorial. I watch a lot of NY television to catch my Yankee games so I don't know if it is a national campaign or not. Basically it is a silent commercial showing different people from all walks of life pointing to where they were the day the towers went down. I was in the car between patients when ESPN radio said a plane had just hit one of the towers of the World Trade Center. Being a non-news station they didn't elaborate much so they went back to the daily roundup of sports talk. I thought it was a horrible accident and hopefully the casualties would be minimum. I arrived to the next stop on my day and went in without thinking much more on the matter. The mother was watching the TV with her face ashen. She asked if I'd heard about the crashes and I said "Yes" but then stoppped. She had said plural. I remember sitting down in front of the TV and watching the news with her, her 2 sons, and their nurse. I didn't leave until the dust had started to settlle from the towers coming down. It was so surreal, yet the reality was inescapable. I remember the 24 hour news barrage and I remember the gas stations raising prices to over $4 because they were "told" the pipelines were going to be shutdown. I remember sleeping that night scared to turn on the news the next morning. The world I lived in had changed forever.
The next day did come. The sun has a habit of always rising. All day at work it was, of course, what everyone talked about. You'd catch glimpses of firefighters or stories of heroism. You also heard the speculation of who did it, but everyone thought it was the group found ultimately responsible. I even turned my radio to Fox News Radio instead of ESPN during my commutes. That night would ultimately change my life more than the previous one. I'll always remember where I was on September 11, but I'll remember and reflect more on September 12. My friend Carey called and asked me over for dinner. I would normally have declined. I had a new puppy at home and I was tired from the previous day's events. But for obvious reasons, I didn't want to be alone that night. The thought of sitting at home in front of the TV and watching the news all night again was more than I could bear. So I accepted. He said it was burgers and beer. No big deal. One of his employees and his sister were coming over as well and maybe some other people. I didn't care. A quiet night with friends sounded normal and reassuring in the new world. The decision to go wasn't the kind to make you turn the page fast in the book adaption of my life. It wouldn't have dramatic music in the background during the made for TV version. It certainly wouldn't be in slow motion with my hair blowing during the big screen version. Yet, somehow, the smallest decisions you make in this world can come from nowhere and change your life profoundly. That night I met a girl named Jenna Johnson. The world I lived in had changed forever.
The next day did come. The sun has a habit of always rising. All day at work it was, of course, what everyone talked about. You'd catch glimpses of firefighters or stories of heroism. You also heard the speculation of who did it, but everyone thought it was the group found ultimately responsible. I even turned my radio to Fox News Radio instead of ESPN during my commutes. That night would ultimately change my life more than the previous one. I'll always remember where I was on September 11, but I'll remember and reflect more on September 12. My friend Carey called and asked me over for dinner. I would normally have declined. I had a new puppy at home and I was tired from the previous day's events. But for obvious reasons, I didn't want to be alone that night. The thought of sitting at home in front of the TV and watching the news all night again was more than I could bear. So I accepted. He said it was burgers and beer. No big deal. One of his employees and his sister were coming over as well and maybe some other people. I didn't care. A quiet night with friends sounded normal and reassuring in the new world. The decision to go wasn't the kind to make you turn the page fast in the book adaption of my life. It wouldn't have dramatic music in the background during the made for TV version. It certainly wouldn't be in slow motion with my hair blowing during the big screen version. Yet, somehow, the smallest decisions you make in this world can come from nowhere and change your life profoundly. That night I met a girl named Jenna Johnson. The world I lived in had changed forever.
