Remembering September 11th
/
Do you remember where you were 25 years ago when you heard the news that the Trade Center’s Twin Towers had been hit? I’ll bet you do. Most people born in the 1990s or before have vivid memories of hearing the news. We do.
We were aboard Nine of Cups anchored in Newport Harbor, Rhode Island. Lin called me to tell me a plane had struck one of the Twin Towers. We surmised it was a terrible accident. While we were talking, another plane hit the second tower. No… this was not an accident. We had no TV. We dinghied ashore, found an open bar, and sat at the bar, eyes glued to the TV screen, drinking coffee with the bartender.
A week or so later, we departed on Cups for Baltimore, traveling through New York City. We sailed past the smoldering ruins of the now-empty space from which the Twin Towers once rose. We cried. Everyone who remembers that infamous day has a story to tell.
Not race, not creed, not sexual orientation, not political views, nothing divided us then… everyone came together that day to help, to weep, to grieve, to mourn. Tragedy and loss united all Americans as we tried to digest the horror of losing 2,977 lives in this terrorist attack.
We have yet to have the opportunity to visit the National September 11 Memorial & Museum on the site of the original Trade Center Towers in New York City. It’s on our bucket list.
We did, however, visit the Flight 93 Memorial, the location of the crash of the third hijacked plane in a field outside of Shanksville, Pennsylvania. It was September 2022, and the mood was somber and emotional. Read about it here.
https://justalittlefurther.com/just-a-little-further/2022/9/22/czccs0f164whpyczhzdmqhwh1x65en
From the moment we arrived at the Flight 93 memorial, emotions ran high. How could they not? Huge 40+ foot tall concrete walls towered above the black granite Flight Path Walkway that led us to the Visitor Center. The flight numbers and crash times of each of the four flights are etched into the walkway.
It’s hard to believe it was 25 years ago. It seems like yesterday. For the children who were infants or not yet born, this is just history. I pray they never know the horror, loss, and devastation we felt then, but I hope they will experience our country coming together once again in unity and cooperation.