On the phone that morning, a client alerted me to the news that an airplane had flown into a building in New York City. Immediately, I turned on the TV and saw the image replayed. My heart began beating faster as my hand rose to cover my mouth though that gesture failed to keep the audible gasp from escaping me. I remember thinking "those poor passengers and crew" and "what was wrong with the airplane that the pilot would have lost control to the point of crashing into a skyscraper?".
As I continued to watch the film footage on the news, I cried out in terror when I saw the second plane hit the second tower. I don't remember the mental process of connecting what I had seen with what had actually happened, but it only took seconds for the reality to register - that this was no accident. My heart broke into a million pieces and I crumbled in dismay.
This can't be real. It's some kind of trick. I waited for the news agencies to reveal the hoax.
They didn't.
Part of me didn't want to know what I knew. If only I could erase from my mind the images and words I'd already filed away in my brain. But, I could not. There was no escape now from the horror of the knowledge that an evil such as I'd never personally witnessed had, in fact, arrived, uninvited, on the doorstep of America.
Today, I remember. I remember that evil can and does attack people and nations whether or not it is invited or expected. I remember that shock and terror are paralyzing forces. I remember that a nation of citizens no matter their race, politics, or religion can stand together in solidarity to mourn, to weep, to be vigilant, and to seek justice. I remember that God is good and He grieves with us when our hearts are broken.
I remember.
One nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
Never forget. September 11, 2001
Be love in a world that desperately needs it,
