A young man reflects on what happened on that Tuesday in September, in the year 2001, when our nation was attacked by terrorists.
NEVER FORGET AND ALWAYS REMEMBER!
GOD BLESS AMERICA AGAIN!
"God bless America again/You see all the trouble that she's in/wash her pretty face/dry her eyes an' then/God bless America again..."
~"God Bless America Again"--(C) Loretta Lynn.
It is quickly approaching the six-year anniversary of September 11, 2001, and it hasn't gotten any easier. Bin Laden is still threatening our nation (and those who support her), we are at war with an unseen enemy, and people no longer trust one another. Our nation has fallen into a state of disrepair (and I'm afraid) an apethetic state that shows no signs of abating.
I was only eight and a half years old when America was attacked; yet I remember it like it was only yesterday. I was at school, and I remember the teachers talking about something that was going on in New York City. I know I am hard-of-hearing, but I could have sworn they'd said that the World Trade Centers were on fire and that the Pentagon in Washington D.C. had been attacked; it was on fire, too.
When I heard that, my heart fell to my feet. I immediately started thinking of my older brother, Erik, who lived in New York City not far from the Towers. I was scared that he was hurt or dying, and I wanted nothing more to get home, so I could call him, to see if he was okay.
(Erik and I are biological brothers; we were adopted into different families, he in New York City, and I in Tennessee.)
Of course, after hearing the news, we kids couldn't concentrate on our lessons, and the teachers couldn't teach. Everybody was talking, everybody was too upset. It was not long after hearing this when our principal, Principal Norukigawa, said that school would be letting out at new due to the events that were going on in New York and Washington. Our country had been attacked; we were now at war.
When I got home, I went directly to the livingroom, where mama and daddy were watching tv. When they saw me, they hugged me hard, gave me lots of kisses. They were both crying. When I saked if I could see what'd happened, they told me no; they told me to go to my room and play.
That was exactly what I did, but my heart wasn't in it. I wanted to see the news so bad, yet every time I asked, they repeatedly told me no. I began writing. I wasn't any good at it back then, but that didn't stop me. I began writing the first of my stories and poems; I wrote about the confusion I was currently feeling.
Inside, my heart was breaking. By evening, before we went to church, I still hadn't heard from my brother. I was terrified that he was one of the ones that had been killed. At about 10 that evening, after we got home, the phone rang. It was Erik. I never cried as hard as I did then as relief flooded within me. I was scared that something had happened to him. Like me, he was all upset; he said he saw the towers fall in a cloud of smoke; he said the roar was nothing like he'd never heard before. He then started running, so he could get away from all the smoke and get out of harm's way.
Not long after that, I wrote a letter to the World Trade Center towers, expressing my sorrow. (Of course, this was after I'd learned that they had collapsed.) Somehow someone got a hold of it (a clasmate, perhaps? A teacher? My mother? My father?), and I was soon asked to read what I had written at the memorial service that weekend, as a tribute to the victims of the terror attacks.
I did--but I stammered and stuttered all the way through. I know it took me a good hour to read the thing. I couldn't hardly get through due to all the tears that were pouring from my eyes; my heart wsa breaking all over again.
Now it is nearly six years later, and I still feel the numbing pain whenever I think of the events of that day. I see the vids, the programs, on tv, and my heart is stabbed, every time. I don't know why this had to happen; I don't know why some people in the world hate America the way they do when we didn't do anything to provoke them; I don't know why so many innocent people--men, women, even children and babies--had to die the way they did; why nothing was done to secure our borders or protect our people.
I don't know why people keep blaming the President or our government; I don't know why our borders are still wide open for anyone to come in (a terrorist could come here unannounced, and nobody would even know about it); I don't know why people aren't demanding that Osama bin Laden be stopped before he and his Al Quaeda henchman strike again--and the next time just may very well be worse--much worse--than September 11, 2001 already was.
I have tried to figure out the reasons why the people over in that part of the world hate our guts the way they do; I haven't come up with any easy answers. I don't know how people who call themselves "religious" can kill innocent people at will or use violence/hatred as a way to get their (sick) message across. How can they say they love God when all they are doing is hurting/killing innocent people or using their own people--the women, the children, even the handicapped??--as human shields when they blow up a building? That doesn't make any sense to me; it never has, and it never will!
Now we must remember once again, once again mourn those 2,900+ people who perished in the terror attacks, we must again be forced to remember the significance of the events that occurred that day. We must again deal with our own grief, our own fears, our own insecurities, and ask ourselves are we really that much safer now as a nation? Is anything being done to find Osama bin Laden or the Al Quaeda network (or any other terrorist cels)? Is anything being done to (further) secure our borders, our docks, our buildings, our airports, our transportation systems?
Is anything being done to ensure that we won't be attacked again? Do people even care about our nation anymore, or have they gone back to their (pre-9/11 mentality)? I think it's the latter. People are once again thinking that we are invincible; this can't happen again.
Wrongo.
It CAN happen again, and it WILL happen again if we don't take desperate steps to protect our nation, all that we hold dear. We must close our borders to keep from anyone else coming in (for the time being, until either Osama/or the top terrorists are caught and are in police custody, or until we can stop the influx of illegal citizens from crossing into our land), and we must do a better job at screening those who are already here; if they are found to have ANY terrorist ties, they should be deported IMMEDIATELY, NO questions asked. Case closed. End of statement. NO exceptions.
I think of those beautiful buildings, those World Trade Center towers, how I stood (sat??) right next to them, looking up, thinking about how massive, how high they were, and remembering the joyful (sick) feeling in my tummy as I gazed upward into the stratosphere. I think about how exciting it was to see New York City far below me as we looked over the observation deck and the fun/laughter we experienced as a family. I see the pictures of those buildings, and I can't help but to cry.
I look at the injured New York City skyline, and I think of those families who were the most affected, their friends, the whole nation, the whole WORLD, and how we ALL were affected. I think of the bravery, the courage the rescue personnel showed when they searched for survivors or helped the sickldying/injured right after the attacks (and after), and my heart swells with pride; yet it breaks as I think of the death, the destruction that took place.
I look at the skyline, and realize that it looks--empty--without the Twin Towers gracing it. It no longer looks the same; the only time it even comes close is when they light the twin blue skylights; it's like Heaven is looking down, that God is crying, remembering Himself about that day. It's like even God is crying, mourning.
It's a powerful feeling.
I pray we never experience another September 11, 2001: one September 11 was more than enough!
*God bless America Again!*
NEVER FORGET and ALWAYS, ALWAYS REMEMBER!
~Written by Johnathon (Johnny) Sandusky, aged 14 1/2, on Sunday, September 9, 2007, at 7:08 a.m., D.S.T.~
God be with those who lost loved ones or friends, and God be with our nation as we once again come together to reflect on the horrors of that unforgettable day~
I choose to remember and NEVER, EVER forget--as we, as Americans, ALL should. To forget would be dangerous and downright stupid.
~Karen Lynn Vidra, The Texas Tornado, Burleson, Texas.
A beautiful write, in rememberance of all we lost and all the heros that emerged that horrific day, you captured the feelings of a child well thank you for sharing
God Bless
Michelle~
Its interesting to hear the memories as told by a young person. We often forget the impact such a devastating disaster has upon them. Good story.
Reviewed by d. k
9/9/2007
From the mouths of babes the truth be told! I am certain Johnny would understand the heart of a young child from overseas in a war they did not seek. Adults take it upon themselves to act out in any way THEY see fit, forget about the humanity, just reek havoc and hide. So many lives lost all for the greed of the adult world. Great write from a young man who has feeling!!
A great story Karen as usual you have captured the true essence of the situation and what it means to be American. America is not perfect but she is mine, she is not without her faults but she is mine and when all is settled and done. ILOVE HER MY AMERICAN. <HUGS>>> Mikii your friend in Arkansas.
POWERFUL. POWERFUL. Such a moving, heartfelt, heartbreaking essay...and opening it up with the refrain from Loretta Lynn's "God Bless America Again" is brilliant!! Well done. Always remember and never forget.
