I remember waking up late, because I was going to the orthodontist, to get my bands changed. I was half awake, and I tend to be a bit grumpy at first. My mom was glued to the television, she just looked at me, and said "The Twin Towers have collapsed, and they did it." I think all I did was look at her, said "ok" and then left the room. Later on, my mom decided that we were still going to keep my appointment. Once there, we were nearly run over by one of the techs. She apologized and told us that her son's school had called and everyone needed to pick up their kids. The City was going into shut down mode. Not surprising, seeing as how San Francisco is definitely one of the west coast's largest cities.
Instead of the soft jazz the office usually had on, it was a report from New York. There weren't many details, I couldn't tell you anything even if I tried. I was 12, and had no head for world matters. I remember thinking, selfishly now I realize, why was this such a big deal. Oh.....how very self centered I was. Makes me flash back to being in the fourth grade and being yelled at by my teacher for saying I hadn't wanted to go to Pearl Harbor when I went on vacation to Hawaii the summer before, because I didn't get the big deal. The things that you see as priorities as a child. I wish I could say I wish I had been more aware, but I don't. I'm glad I was able to be a child about this, because there were so many other times in my life where I was put in situations that caused me to grow up far too fast.
My mom had me call my school's office, to ask if school was closed. It wasn't, but so many parents were pulling their kids out that they were starting to think they should. My mom took me to work, where chaos reigned supreme. Security was at the highest I'd ever seen it. My mom didn't have her badge with her, she had fallen into the habit of keeping that at work and leaving it there. By some stroke of luck, the supervising security guard knew her, my mom's pretty friendly, and I think his mother was one of her patients. He waved her through when she was detained for not having an ID, and for that she was grateful.
She put me in the conference room, where it was packed with doctors, nurses, and clerks, all gathered around a tiny crank TV, watching the news. We heard then that all planes had been grounded, about attempt on the Pentagon, and the brave people who had overpowered another plane and caused it to crash in a field. There was a moment in that room, when I realized: "Nothing will ever be the same again."
Sailorman has told me many times he was in his English class when the news came. He realized in that moment that he wanted to join the service. He chose his path the moment he heard; and I wondered why it was such a big deal. I've never told him that before. I realize the magnitude now. I realize that it's because of this that Sailorman is where he is, doing the job he does. Why our boyfriends, fiances, and husbands do what they do. And yes, I do get, why this is such a big deal. It's what we live with everyday, every hour and every moment of worry when our loved one deploy.
I think Sailorman said it best:
We may not be in a state of war where our troops are actively fighting, but we will continue to hunt the remnants of Al Qaeda, and all of their proxies, for as long as it takes to eradicate them all, and have them answer for the crimes they commit against innocent people, most of whom are Muslims themselves.
