It’s been eighteen years since the tragic events on September 11th, 2001 claimed the lives of nearly 3,000 men, women, and children, and changed our lives.
I will never forget how I felt on that morning when the world seemed to stop turning.
Even now, eighteen years later, the attacks seem too near, too filled with emotion. I remember being on the air that day and completely speechless… just sitting behind an open mic in the studio with tears streaming down my face as I watched the images unfold.
I didn’t know how to describe to my listeners the emotions I felt, and it’s still difficult today. I can see images of the towers falling, the rescue teams pulling people free, and a tattered, dirty flag still flying and be instantly choked up.
Here’s what I posted on my personal Facebook page:
There are parts of 9/11 that seem hazy, but some I will never forget. I remember being woke by our Program Director saying that there was an accident in New York. A plane had crashed into the World Trade Centers. I turned on the TV just in time to see the second plane hit. I remember trying to solder a simulcast cable from our AM station and burning the hell out of myself. I remember crying as the towers fell. I remember calling mom just to tell her I loved her. So many things… It was a day that seemed to last weeks. I will never forget.
I take some solace in knowing that we took down both Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein, but it doesn’t bring back those we lost. In the end we must remain vigilant, on constant guard.
God bless the heroes of September 11th on the ground and in the air. God bless those who protected us on September 11th. God bless the United States Armed Forces for keeping us safe since.
