“May peace prevail on earth.” WilWheaton.net has a very fitting tribute this morning.
Every morning as I get ready for work I watch the morning news. Sometimes a local station, sometimes CNN. I still remember this morning 2 years ago as vividly as if it were this morning.
I got out of the shower and my husband said, “C’mon, you’ve got to see this.” I walked out into our bedroom and there was live coverage of smoke billowing from Tower 1 of the World Trade Center. No one knew what was happening. Then, utterly puzzled, I watch as a plane flies in from the right side of the screen but doesn’t come back out through the left. Yes, it takes a few moments for my mind to register that a plane just plowed into a skyscraper right before my eyes. At that moment, my husband and I looked at each other and we knew immediately this was a terrorist act. I watched the news coverage for as long as I could, but I had to go to work. But once at work, I think everyone quickly realized no work was getting done. Our cafeteria downstairs has a big screen TV, and as I walked by I saw that the entire cafeteria was packed with people trying to see the TV. Upstairs, down the hall from my office, people gathered in the hallway because someone had an AM radio turned on. After a while, I sit down to try to do some work, but then I decide to call my husband. While we’re on the phone, a tower collapses. Soon, managers started telling people to just go home and be with their families.
The loss of human life that day is staggering to me. That anyone, regardless of religion, could so maliciously disregard the value of life astonishes me. It’s just too much for my feeble human mind (or heart) to handle.
I am also deeply saddened by the two years following the tragedy. I”m outraged that the terrorists have won a striking victory. They have shaken the very foundation of our society and the democratic principles that shape this great nation. This is the true loss, and my heart aches.
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