Five years ago...

[matril]

Well, I'm a bit of a dunce (or maybe I just don't get out much) but I had completely spaced out on today's somber anniversary. Looking at my f-list, though, I feel I ought to put down some of my feelings from 2001. I was a junior in college, well on my way to being engaged - it was quite a happy time in my life, in general. That morning, I was in a good mood as I went to my first class, one of my literature classes. When I came in, everyone was talking very quietly and seriously, and the teacher mentioned that a plane had hit one of the towers. I wasn't much phased. An accident, right? A terrible shame, but oh well. Even when our teacher's wife called him to let us know that the tower had collpased, I still didn't realize the enormity of it. I don't think the full impact of it really set it until later that morning, when I ran into my sister and she assured me that she had talked to our family and everyone was okay. (They live in Pennsylvania, you see). I just stared at her. Had there been a possibility they weren't okay? What was going on? As the day wore on and I went to my classes, which amounted to watching the news and somberly discussing the implications of what had happened, I really started to feel sick. Was this what people had felt like after Pearl Harbor was bombed? Was this the start of World War III?

Wow. Well, the shock has worn off, mostly, but sometimes I look back on it and it still seems surreal. It's something I will tell my children about, and make sure we don't forget. But whatever sort of war was started on that day, I don't think we've lost it. Maybe we haven't totally won it yet, but we weren't defeated. If anything, we've grown stronger in facing a common foe.