9-11 Then and Now

I remember this day eleven years ago. I remember waking up that morning thinking "another day of work on the base." I remember it being a little chilly in the morning but still warm enough to wear shorts. I also remember how loud it was in the auditorium when all those marines filled in for their training. That was the fun part of the day...it lasted for about two hours. Everything beyond that is a flash or motion and emotion. I watched an officer walk down the aisle and take the mic. He ordered everyone back to their stations and make ready. Yea, you know something is going down when you hear that order. My boss and I closed everything down and drove to our base contact's office. Truck and hummers were everywhere, speeding in all directions as we pulled into the parking lot. We walked into the building, it was deserted, not a sound could be heard. A private walked by us, his stare was vacate yet aware. Climbing the stairs to the second floor all we heard was the sounds of our boots on the steps. We entered the hall, 5 Marines were gathered by a single office door. As we neared I looked in and saw more Marines packed in the room. No one looked at us, they simply stared at the television. I looked at the screen just as the second plane struck the second tower. I can't tell you how many seconds passed by as I stared at the screen and watched the smoke billow out. It was then that everything changed. We were under attack and the base was on full alert. We were told we had five minutes to get off the base or we were not getting off the base. Leaving the area was surreal, the once busy streets were empty. I remember thinking a lot of things, so many things at one time. I remember thinking somebody in this world was about to get their ass kicked. Oh yea, they missed with the wrong country.



I remember listening to the radio as they said the towers collapsed. Within seconds cars were pulling off the round and stopping. All you could do was stare and wonder - what was going to happen next? Who would do this to us. I remember being home and watching President Bush at ground zero and yes, I was thankful he was our President and not Al Gore. To think that the United States has only been attacked twice by outside forces is amazing. I remember seeing Congress standing out front, reciting the pledge of allegiance, and vowing to take care of business with those who attacked us. I remember the evening news showing streets with US flags flying from just about every house.



Flash forward eleven years and look at the country. The flags are put away, people argue about the very same pledge that many had no problem reciting eleven years before, we point fingers at each other for the problems we face.  Many of those same people in congress are now fighting each other and blaming each other for every known problem this country suffers from. I wonder how they would have responded if 9-11 occurred during an election year. Eleven years ago we stood together as a nation and now we are anything but united. We have two presidential nominees who, for today, said there would be no negative campaigning...no dragging the other through the mud...but just for today because it's 9-11 and they owe that to those who lost and to those who suffer. Give me a break! Stop your campaigning and go to ground zero or the Pentagon or the field in Pennsylvania...show respect. No, lip service is not showing respect.



I wonder how many children in school will even know what happened on 9-11-01 when they are older. My son asks me questions about it every year because either he isn't listening or they are not teaching these things in school. It's part of the history of the United States now...just like Pearl Harbor. But enough of this, I apologize for my rant. I'm not sure if you will agree with me on these things or not and that's cool, like I said, I'm ranting a little and sharing some opinions.