Nine-Eleven

It's just past midnight, and the seventh anniversary of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon has come to a close. Although I don't think I discussed the anniversary of 9/11 with anyone today, it's been on my mind. This morning, on the way to work, I listened to a morning talk show on the radio, and one of the "personalities" mentioned that there had been more discussion on the show this year than in years past. He speculated that perhaps it was because this is an election year. I'm not sure that explains it though. I think maybe now that there's some distance in time from the events, we can more easily look back and remember.

And every time I typed the date on a letter or document today, I couldn't help but remember the events of seven years ago.

Tonight, with not much else on TV that interested me, I watched a couple programs on the History Channel that dealt with the terrorist attacks. One I had seen before but the other one, I hadn't. That program was a compilation of video shot by mostly ordinary people of the events as they unfolded that morning in New York City. Ordinary people living ordinary lives until the extraordinary happened and they caught so much of it on tape. Powerful stuff. Video of firefighters readying their equipment and heading into the Twin Towers was particularly poignant.

Much has changed in America since that day. Much has remained the same. Most of the time, I suspect we don't think about it very much, but sometimes, like today, it's hard to forget.