What do you remember about 9/11??

I suppose every generation has one of  "those days".  People of a certain age all remember the day Pearl Harbor was attacked.  Folks not too much younger than them may have been to young to remember that one, but will certainly remember the day JFK was assassinated, or the day MLK was assassinated.   The day I remember, that is until 9/11, was the day John Lennon was murdered.  My "old" memory pales in comparison now though.

Like most Americans,  I was working on 9/11.  Someone came to me and told me we were going to Word War III.  Skeptic that I am, I thought  they were feeding me a line, so I ignored the first advise to turn on a radio.  When the second person told me I had better tune in, that the World Trade Center was bombed and we were being invaded, I  turned on the radio.  As I listened, I heard live accounts of the "second wave" of attacks, during some newscaster's description of the "first wave".  I was almost certain we were being scammed with a story on a scale with Orson Wells' "War of the Worlds" infamous radio show.....so I changed the channel.  Now what?  All the channels have the same thing, it must be true.  It is impossible to describe all the things that went through my head at that moment, or those hectic moments soon to follow. This was different than sending young people into harm's way, into WAR, thousands of miles away.

While a lot of you probably were filled with sorrow or concern for all the lives lost, I was in a different "mental place" that day. Entirely.  I am unapologetic for it.  The way I saw it at the time, we had been invaded.  Our homes and families were at risk. My mind began to race through several areas of personal concern:   Did I have enough guns and ammo?  Food?  Water?   I never gave a thought to joining the military , since I assumed they would assign me to some stupid thing that had nothing to do with defending my family.    The military?  Oh crap, the MILITARY!!  I bet they start drafting folks right away.  Which of our daughters will be forced to go?  All of them? What about the son-in-laws? Will we need to take care of the families while we are at war?  I remember that I had way too much to think about, too much to digest, and I will admit that the first thoughts were selfish.  How to defend me and mine.  I am not shamed of that, but I do wish I had more compassion at the time.  Either way, I will never forget it.
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