A moment of silence

[Kohrah]

A moment of silence to stop and reflect on where you were this day ten years ago.

I was walking across college campus as a first semester freshman. Walkin to first class of the day stopped to grab a drink and random stranger asked why I wasn't watching the news. Went to student union with a few hundred others and watched with horror as second plane hit the towers.

I raced home on mostly empty streets and sat with friends and family and prayed as we watched the towers burn and collapse.

Wasn't long after I joined my local volunteer fire company. I've since left due to political infighting when we should have been worrying about helping others.

God bless those souls that died that day. God bless the first reaponders that rushed into the buildings to help others. God bless those that rose up against the hijackers and crashed into the penn field.

9/11 Your not forgotten.

Thanks for listening needed to get it out.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk

 

[zopperman]

Re: A moment of silence

Amen..

I was in 4th grade and they cancelled school. My parents took me home and I could see everything from my house...

Never forget

 

[MTboatguy]

Re: A moment of silence

I was actually dreading this day, but after watching and reading about many of things that are been done to honor those who were lost, part of my stress level has decreased, I was still an active duty military person on that day.. It sent chills through me when I watched what happened, I am more calm today, that I have been for 10 years..I guess it has had a bit of a healing effect on me today to watch the shows about rebuilding and the memorial.

 

[aspeck]

Re: A moment of silence

For me, I was getting ready to go to work. Then to a doctor?s appointment for my wife who was having our third child which turned out to be in just a few days. I remember watching in utter disbelief as the replays were played of the first plane, then the live feed of the second plane, then the reports of the Pentagon and then Shanksville.

I remember, as a firefighter, thinking of all the things that must be going through the minds of the first responders. Then, the towers crumbled. Sitting there, I remember the knot that formed in my stomach as my wife asked what the strange sound was. It was difficult telling her it was the PASS warning system worn by the firefighters. The eerie sound we were hearing was caused by firefighters who had not moved for several minutes, activating the sullen wail. The sound was coming from many sources, and to any listening and watching firefighter the desire to be there to help their fallen brothers was exceedingly strong. Our hearts ached for our friends and brothers we had never met, nor would we ever get the chance to meet.

Ten years ago today, 343 firefighters and paramedics lost their lives. In the years that have followed, many more have suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and cancer, seemingly caused by the events of the day. When you look at the numbers of children who lost a parent, parents who lost children, siblings who will never spend another outing with their brother or sister, and husbands and wives who would never see their spouse again, it is numbing.

Whether paid or volunteer, we willingly run in when everyone else is running out. This is what we do. We put our lives on the line every day, but we didn?t think the unthinkable would ever happen to us. We were invincible, we were firefighters and medics. Ten years ago today made us think long and hard about the consequences of what we do. Like all of America, we hurt, we were angry, we didn?t understand why this happened.

Ten years later we are still hurting, still angry, still trying to understand why. 1 Corinthians 13 explains that we don?t see things clearly right now. In essence, we won?t be able to understand things in this lifetime, like what happened ten years ago.

However, 1 Corinthians 13 goes on to say that one day we will see all things clearly. But until that day comes, we have 3 things to embrace, to help us. These 3 things are, faith in God, unswerving hope, and love. And the greatest of the three is love. Love for God, love for our families and friends, and even love for our enemies.

Through the shock and the horror something else happened ten years ago. Although the evil intentions appeared to be a success, our country embraced the complete opposite of what was intended. Instead of division, there was unity. Instead of confusion, there was clarity. Instead of falling apart, we banded together. But then again, that is the way one nation UNDER GOD will always respond.

(exerpts from my part of the 9-11 Memorial Service this afternoon at our County Courthouse.)

 

[Fireman431]

Re: A moment of silence

I'll never forget. I was sitting in the firehouse on my duty shift as a Lieutenant/Paramedic. We were watching the morning news on CNN, getting ready for the days activities when the news broke. Obviously, with the exception of the emergency calls that came in throughout the day, we were glued to the TV.

People always comment where they were when they heard a specific news bite, such as Pearl Harbor, JFK, etc...I never understood how they could remember...at that second, I understood. Our lives had been forever altered that day because of those events. I made my 11 year old son sit and watch the events unfold in true time on CNBC today, so he had an idea of what happened when people talk about this in the future. I wanted him to be able to picture it, not just read the words in a textbook somewhere.

 

[bitterboater]

Re: A moment of silence

I too was at work, when I heard about it on the radio. I was working for a machine shop then, and we were allowed to have radios at our stations.
Within seconds of the report of the first plane strike, our company owner called us all into the break room to watch it on TV.
After the second strike, he sent us all home and called the second shift crew and told them not to come in. From the next day on, we had a TV in the break room on to update us about what else was happening.

I will forever remember where I was, and what I was doing when I heard those frightening words.

 

[southkogs]

Re: A moment of silence

The whole thing is pretty surreal even in hindsight. I can still remember watching F16s flying patrols in formation over Nashville. Our world was changed for sure.

Good words from aspeck though - God's love breaks through, providing faith and hope. Things have changed, but they don't have to remain this way.