September 15th

Helloooo My Fellow History Fanatics!

For those of you who are new to the blog, welcome!

Usually this is where we discuss the hippity hoppenings of thing that occurred on the same date at some point in history, but I’m going to change up the game plan of this particular blog in honor of a particular event that occurred this week in history:

September 11: The 15 year anniversary of the terror attacks on the World Trade Centers in New York, NY. 

Of course, one of the most horrific terror attacks that people of our generation were probably too small to remember. However, if you ask anyone who lived through the events of that day, or even a person who may not have been directly affected by the attacks, the memory of 9/11 is forever burned into the hearts of Americans everywhere.

Although I cannot remember the day myself, I’ve heard my family’s and close friends’ stories hundreds of times. I was at home in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, watching the TV show Dora the Explorer with my dad and younger sister, who was barely a year old.

My mother had worked at a company that was highly involved with supplying power to many of the major surrounding areas, and upon her arrival at work she happened to glance up and notice how exquisitely blue the sky was that morning. She and a coworker pondered at the sheer magnificence of that radiantly blue sky before getting caught up in the morning’s workload and nearly forgetting about this strange phenomenon. Not two hours later, the entire facility was in a code red lockdown. Being a well-known power supplier, the company had a high risk of becoming a potential target. My mother called my father at home, told him what was happening and made sure he kept my sister and I away from the TV just in case the news showed any footage that would have been too much for us to comprehend.

Meanwhile, in New York City, mere blocks away from the World Trade Centers, my mother’s best friend, Debbie, saw the entire attack unfold. Thankfully, Debbie lived just far enough away from the target area to not have been in direct harm’s way, but the view from her apartment window painted a horrifying picture of the hell her fellow New Yorkers were enduring. My mother immediately tried to call her dear friend as soon as the first plane hit, and actually got through to Debbie in time to hear her yell something about a second plane hitting the other tower – then silence. The massive amount of people trying to reach their loved ones overwhelmed the capabilities of the phone lines and almost no communications outside the island of Manhattan were able to be processed for days.

As this was occurring, a teacher at my high school was at a school educating middle school students in Somerset. He vividly remembers seeing a plane flying extremely low over the school and surrounding areas. This was the Flight 93 airplane that was about to crash land in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

My mother’s friend survived, my mother and her company were safe, and no harm was done to my teacher and his students. But the feelings of fear and confusion they experienced were very real.

This is a day to remember that we are all part of something bigger than ourselves. It’s a time to revive the American spirit of unity and compassion for our fellow men and women. Our nation isn’t perfect, (…so it needs amendments – it’s full of contradictions…) but it’s something that we all have in common (…so is independence!). And our country should be just that: a commonplace where we all accept one another. Where we all belong. This is the ultimate goal that I feel we should be striving to complete as a whole. (America, you great unfinished symphony!)

Feel free to share any stories about your own or others’ experiences on this day, or just in general. I’m always very interested in hearing the different perspectives of many people on the same topic, and I have found that the most intriguing part is every individual has a completely unique story that no one has ever heard before – until they take the time to listen.

Sorry for you hardcore history buffs, this post was a lot longer and a little more personal than I anticipated…

No worries! Next week we’ll get back on track with all the bad (HAMILTON) puns and even more historic unearthing!

See you on the other side – Till we meet again! 

 

 

Quote of the Day:

“However long the night, the dawn will break.”      

African Proverb – Hausa Tribe

 

 

One thought on “September 15th

  1. Your so right in that for those people who could see the whole thing escalate it was simple a view of hell. I just remember the stories my parents told me about that day like I was at my grandparents’ house with my cousin when but his mom and my mom rushed over and picked us up and brought us home. My dad was at work and my mom kept trying to call him but he wouldn’t pickup and eventually he did and she remembers how happy she was to hear his voice. He was apparently supposed to go into the city that day but never did and am glad he didn’t. We thought that after pearl harbor that we would never be attacked at home again and we would be safe but I guess we were wrong and because of that so many innocent people payed the price with their lives. The sacrifice of all those officers, firefighters, EMTs, and other people who gave up their live to try and save the people trapped in the building. I have relatives that are cops, firefighters, and EMTs that live in New York and tell me every year there is a sense of pride and sadness when this day comes around. I’m glad to hear that your family was alright because I know people who have lost loved ones and had them in the city when the attack took place.

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