"Running Commentary"
The Day After
Today, words from the heart. Something private I never intended to share – what I wrote on Wednesday, September 12, 2001 – the day after. That night, I turned off the TV and began writing from the gut. These words, what follows, were my way of coping.
I was born five years after FDR delivered his legendary “day of infamy” speech, declaring war on Japan. Yet, even though I wasn’t alive then, as a student of that era I have a sense of what Americans felt upon hearing the news.
A terrible and historic day, forever to remain in our national consciousness. A day in which you always remember where you were and what you were doing.
Everything changed after December 7, 1941. Similarly, everything changed after September 11, 2001, another day of national infamy. None of us will ever forget that moment when we heard the horrific news and made haste to find a television.
I was late for work that Tuesday morning. My daily ritual included a quick stop at Starbucks for a latte and blueberry scone, just around the corner from my home in Wayne, PA. Driving down the hill, the first sketchy details streamed over the radio. Just after the first plane hit.
I sat transfixed in the Starbucks parking lot, unable to move. The first reports suggested it was a horrible accident. Before I got out of my car, everyone reporting at the scene began speculating – it wasn’t an accident. A deliberate act of terrorism had been committed on American soil.
Eventually, trying to grasp some semblance of reality, zombie-like, I walked inside Starbucks. It was eerie. The place was crowded. People were chatting happily. Students were studying. Nobody had heard what was transpiring a mere 90 miles away in New York City.
Not one person knew. Scanning the coffeehouse I saw the usual upbeat crowd, enjoying casual conversation, cappuccinos and lattes. It was so bizarre. I was the only person who knew – life in America would never be the same.
What did I do? Nothing. I made no dramatic announcement. I decided to let everyone enjoy their last few moments of blissful innocence. I ordered my latte and walked out, without uttering one word.
Everyone deals with tragedy differently. I spent most of 9/12 writing, as the facts continued to unfold. I didn’t intend for this to be published, but I share it today … what was on my heart the day after, before we knew all the details. 20 years ago …
Wednesday
It is Wednesday, the day after.
The day after music ended.
The day after basketballs stopped bouncing, airplanes ceased flying, baseball players put down their gloves, and the air was let out of every child’s balloon.
The day after buildings collapsed and everyone vanished.
The day after firemen died. The earth shuddered and grown men cried.
And people fell from the sky, like gentle rain on a sunny day.
It is the day after the horror. And you awoke this morning wanting to believe it was just a dream. Some mega-budget movie starring Bruce Willis with spectacular pyrotechnics, exploding buildings and clouds of dusty smoke from falling debris. Special digitalized effects.
Yet your stomach twists and writhes because the falling buildings were not computer enhanced images. It wasn’t a movie.
What fell was the skyline of our nation … and the heart of every witness to the shocking images of rubble and smoke.
It wasn’t a dream. The fireballs and explosions were real. Buildings really did swallow airplanes whole.
And people fell from the sky, like gentle rain on a sunny day.
The frustration is overwhelming. We are angry and want revenge. But who is the enemy? And where are the terrible people responsible for the carnage? The people who so cruelly planned this, executing innocent men, women and children? Upon whom do we vent our anger and military wrath?
And we also ask why. Why did this happen? Questions persist.
Regardless of the cause, how can anyone justify such atrocities?
When will the pain in our hearts go away?
How do we explain dismembered bodies to our children, when even we don’t understand? How can we tell them everything will be all right, when we don’t believe it anymore?
The old world has ended, a new order begun – war against terrorism.
Yesterday was a defining moment. It’s the day after, and I predict history will be irrevocably divided between before and after – before yesterday, and after the carnage.
Before, there was a calm innocence about our way of life in America. Afterward, our sense of security is gone. It has been lost in the midst of ashen dust and rubble, where photographs are posted nearby … “Has anyone seen my brother?”
Today the business of business is irrelevant. Unspeakable horror has landed on our doorstep, and it’s not going away anytime soon.
What was once considered normal is no more. It ended yesterday, when one floor of humanity fell upon another in unfathomable swiftness.
When the music ended.
When basketballs stopped bouncing and the air was let out of every child’s balloon.
When buildings collapsed and everyone vanished.
Firemen died and Earth shuddered.
When everyone cried.
And people fell from the sky.
Like gentle rain on a sunny day.
Note: 15 days to go! Mark your calendars! On September 25th Concordia will host a huge airshow at Blosser Municipal Airport, dedicating the new runway. Aerobatics, exhibits and food. Free admission. Fun for the entire family.