9-11-01: A Day I Will Never Forget

Every 9-11, I take the time to reflect on what I was doing on 9-11-01, the day America was attacked. I remember waking up early preparing to travel to Atlanta for business. Like every morning, I was watching the local early morning news. I was in the bathroom combing my hair – when a news flash interrupted the local news and announced that a plane had crashed into one of the twin towers at the world trade center in New York City. I left the bathroom and was standing in front of the TV watching and listening intently thinking, “oh my God, what a tragedy;” when the second plane hit the tower. I remember the anchorman conversing and saying, “there’s no way this is a coincidence folks, America is under attack!”

My mind drifts to the many thoughts I had: I was thinking do I go to the airport, do I drive to work, or do I stay home? I was so confused. I decided to drive in to work and remember the eerie feeling that loomed over the city; rush hour traffic was moving at a snail’s pace, and it was obvious everyone was intently listening to their radio trying to figure out exactly what was happening. I remember there were no reports of accidents that morning. I remember on this day that every race and every color in America united as one. It did not matter if you were black, white, red, or yellow – what mattered was that America was under attack and a piece of everyone died that day. I remember how polite, how helpful, how nice everyone was in the days and weeks that followed – the pure patriotism and heroism brought me to tears many times. I remember hearing someone say, “these colors don’t run;” I remember thinking we are truly one Nation under God.

On 9-11-01, the most important colors were red, white and blue. Now 10 years later, I often wonder what has happened to the oneness. Are we still ONE nation under God?