It Happened Ten Years Ago

We didn't just lose two towers (twins), we lost our sense of security, we lost a certain amount of trust for other people, we lost our minds just trying to figure out what to do, trying to figure out how to respond.  We lost an unsettling number of people.

I was only seven or eight years old when those planes hit these towers.  I had no idea what was going on.  I went to school and they (I can't remember who "they" were exactly) explained what happened (or at least as much as you can explain to a class of third graders).  When I saw my mom, she asked if I wanted to talk about it.  I told her I didn't.  I was responding like everyone else around me was-- sad, confused...-- but they had a reason for it.  They had friends that lived in New York, they had friends that were traveling on planes that day, maybe they were even going on a business trip to New York in a few days.  They knew what was going on.  I didn't.

My little sister thought the newsreels were a movie (she was five).  This sort of thing only happens in movies...

It's amazing how far our response has spread.  I live in Minnesota, where it feels like I shouldn't be affected by this, but that's not the case.  The airport has more security.  We can't go to the gate and say "good bye" or "I'll see you soon" to friends and family.  There's prejudice-- like, more than usual, it seems.  I've been witness to it.

I don't want to talk about religion, or politics, or anything like that.

Where were you when you heard the news?  What were you thinking when it happened?

--Jude