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Blogs by Vicky M Semones
9/11/2011 ~ Remembering 9/11/2012 6:29:25 AM
In September 2001, my partner and I were on a long-planned vacation in Italy with friends. Chance had us at a coffee shop in San Gimignano when the horror of the attacks on the U.S. unfolded on television. We watched in stunned disbelief - our country was under siege, and we were in a foreign land.
All flights home were on hold, so we kept our daytime itinerary, then watched endless hours of European television reports at night. We barely kept our equilibrium. During this time of mourning and uncertainty, we were comforted by the spontaneous support of the Italian people - everywhere, they extended their empathy: in written messages along the Ponte Vecchio; in personal comments in cafes; in prayers offered during Mass at the many churches we visited.
We were finally able to return to the U.S. on one of the few flights allowed into San Francisco. The airport was hushed, darkened, almost vacant. The City was dark and still. We drove hurriedly across the Bay Bridge, deeper into the night. Our conversation was constricted. Our relief at coming home was abruptly replaced by a chilling apprehension as an unfamiliar reality enveloped us. Yet, we were still 3,000 miles away from 'Ground Zero'.
I can't imagine what it was like for those who lived through the horror, and for those who lost loved ones in New York, in Washington, D.C., in Pennsylvania. My poem, "ON THE WIND" is for you.
