The Day The World Stood Still

I am pretty sure that if you were old enough to remember the horrific events that happened on September 11, 2001, you will never forget that day and what you were doing. I remember this day as if it were yesterday. 11 years fly by pretty quickly – like a New York minute, so to speak.  Back then I was still living in Shreveport, Louisiana with my little boy trying to get my life back on track after a few bad decisions.  I was waiting tables at Olive Garden at the time which wasn’t a dream come true but the money was surprisingly good. I always slept in when when I could and September 11 was one such occasion. My best friend called me way too early that morning. The nerve! Anyone who knows me knows that I am most unsocial before 10am. Anyways, she calls me to tell me a plane had hit the World Trade Center. I assumed  it just clipped the building and I could have cared less. Then she started to ask me about an old college friend that had moved to New York. Could this wait? I am very tired. I brushed off the phone call and went back to bed. When I got up I switched of the TV and the seriousness of life began to sink in. Not one, but two planes had hit the World Trade Center. What I found unbearable to watch was the people who were trapped inside jumping to their deaths. They had two choices – either burn to death or jump. That is a choice I would not wish on anyone. I couldn’t imagine a worse fate. The loss of life was incredible. Many, many people’s lives were cut short in such a horrible, despicable way. I was sitting in the safety of my own home while people were dying horrible deaths. Then it emerged that President Bush was at Barksdale Airforce Base just 20 minutes from where I was. The news let it be known with a map showing how to get there – smart move. Suddenly, my security was false. No doubt the terrorists would be swarming soon. The next day it turned out that my coworker was a girl who’s father hosted the president during his stay. Anyways… Everything was at a standstill and there was heavy security due to Bush’s presence. My little sister had planned to see Matchbox Twenty but due to everything that had transpired, the show had been cancelled and the band was stuck in Shreveport. I heard on the radio that they were getting around by bus. My sister was very disappointed, but she was only a teen and her world was a lot different from the adult world. That day everything changed. Life would never again be the same. Flying became a series of jumping through hoops and I never did forgive Starbucks for charging victims for water that day. They still leaves a bad taste in my mouth, so to speak. Looking back, I am thankful I did not move to NYC with my friend as planned. I did not manage to graduate on time and it fell through. Needless to say, I was disappointed to be stuck in Natchitoches, Louisiana instead of the Big Apple. My friend was close enough to see the action, and who knows, maybe I would have been one of the ones trapped inside. May God forever bless the victims and their families  <3