Remember......

Where were you eight years ago today?

I remember I was living in Southern California and was still asleep when the first building was hit. I awoke to my ex step dad calling me to wake up and turn on the TV. I stumbled out to the living room and turn the TV on. Of course being so early my mom woke up and came out to see what I was doing. Of course we couldn’t believe what we had seen. As we watched the news, we saw the second plane hit the second tower. We knew this wasn’t an accident. I watching as much as I could before I had to get ready and go to work, a job I had started only three days prior. Of course rumors flew that there were planes on their way to Los Angeles and all planes had been grounded. I remember driving in my 65 mustang on side streets (it seems liked everyone was avoiding the freeways) looking up at the sky in wonder if the rumors were true. It was strange not to see any planes overhead. I could see other drivers and pedestrians who all had the same worried look. It seemed like forever by the time I got to work at a plumbing wholesale in San Gabriel. No one really worked that day. We either stood around the TV or radio to listen to updates. One of my bosses printed updated photos of the towers as they became available online and posted them outside her office.

The next few days and weeks seemed like such a blur that I don’t remember too many details. Of course the only story on everyone’s minds and lips was what happened.
My 20th birthday fell on the one month anniversary of the towers falling. It was a somber one since they were still pulling bodies out of the rubble. My mom presented me with a gift that is now one of the most cherished items I possess. A custom framed photo of John Lennon giving a peace sign in front of the Statue of Liberty.

That gift meant more to me than almost anything I had received. John is proudly hanging on the wall just inside my front door. He is a reminder that peace and love can conquer all.

A lot has changed since that day. We have been at war with people who simply have hate in their hearts and we have lost a lot of service men and women who died for our country. We may complain about traveling through the airport and past our borders, but we know we are safer than we were before this day eight years ago.

Those who perished that day will not be forgotten. The innocent men and women in the buildings and the planes who could not be saved. The brave firefighters and police who sacrificed themselves to save others and rushed into the burning buildings. Those brave passengers and crew who took down a plane before it could reach its unknown destination.

I promise to those who left us eight years ago to teach my children and their children what I saw and felt that day. Never Forget.