A Day of Rememberence

As a child, I always remember my mom telling the story of where she was when she heard the news that President Kennedy was shot. There is a small list of events that most of us can recall exactly where we were at the moment we heard what happened. As young as I was, I can remember watching the Challenger explosion on a small TV in the Crofton Public Library, standing next to my mom. I was standing in my boss' office, watching CNN when we saw Saddam Hussein's statue fall. And of course, as most people are doing today, I am recalling where I was and what I was doing when those planes flew into the WTC, Pentagon, and that field in PA. I was at the pig barn at Tech, ultrasounding sows. We had two tvs - both supposed to be tuned to the ultrasound - but of course only one was on the ultrasound...the other, on the Today show. I still remember the chaos in the studio and unease that Matt Lauer showed when he shared the first piece with America. It was unbelievable. I don't remember when it actually sank in that this was real, not a scene from a movie....and that this was a terrorist act against America - a place that always seemed so safe. My experience, of course, is drastically different from Matt's. I still felt safe, surrounded by mountains in a small, college town in southwest Virginia. Of course I was worried about my family and friends in NYC and DC, but I felt safe. The Naval Academy went into a lock down, afraid that they could be targets. Matt's life, as well as many young midshipmen and cadets lives changed that day. It wasn't the same place they had entered just a few years before. And, that's a good metaphor for all of America. It's not the same place it was. I don't think we are constantly looking over our shoulders, but it does make you take notice and think if you see a random backpack laying around a train station or airport...something I would never have noticed before. It's on our brain. But, is that bad? Maybe not. Maybe it's allowing us to be thankful for everyday we have, everyone that we have....because we know how quickly we can lose them. I found myself for the first time this year thinking "I do not want to watch anymore of these 9/11 tributes and specials." But, as I was looking through Facebook this morning, I clicked on a video on a friend's profile of a small group of the Men's Glee Club at the Naval Academy performing a tribute to 9/11. By the end of the video, all the memories of that day came flooding back. And some questions....why did I not want to watch or hear about the tributes this year? Was it because I felt like they were all the same? Was it because I didn't want to feel that sadness again? Maybe it was a mix of many things...but I decided that we have to watch these things, we have to be reminded of what can happen to truly appreciate what is happening.

Thank you to everyone who voluntarily AND involuntary gave their lives that fateful day and everyday since to defend our country and those of us who live here. You are not forgotten, not today and not any other day of the year.