Thursday, September 11, 2008

Remembrance

I see a lot of people writing about September 11th. It’s a hard subject of me to write about. I can’t even think about it without tears forming in my eyes. While thankfully no one in my family was hurt, a lot of people from my town passed away. Even though I live in New Jersey I live in a very big commuter town. The number of people who passed away is upwards of 70. It was one of the worst days. I remember being in school not knowing what exactly was going on. Then when I found out, I thought of the amount of people I knew who worked in the Twin Towers and prayed to God they were safe.

I was especially worried about a family friend who worked there. I’ve known him all my life and he is like a father to me. He’s actually been more of a father to me then my own dad. He was the one who I was most afraid for. By some miracle he had a doctors appointment that day and was still in New Jersey when it happened. Being the floor he was working on, he would have passed away had it not been for that appointment. Some weren’t as luckily as him. I remember going to wake after wake, my heart breaking every time. A lot of these people were my friends’ father or mother. I stood there in awe at the strength that these people had to move forward and not let this tragedy rip them apart.

So today I ask you to not only remember the people who lost their lives on that day, but also the family and friends of the victims. Keep in your heart who they are and what they had to go through. How they picked themselves up and went forward with their lives. I could not imagine the strength that they had to do such a thing and I can only hope to learn by their example and apply it to my life.

“Here is the deepest secret nobody knows.
Here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
And the sky of the sky of a tree called life;
Which grows higher than soul can hope or mind can hide.
And this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart.
I carry your heart.
I carry it in my heart.”
- E. E. Cummings
I know a lot of people think that poem is about Love, but I think it is about life and friendship.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

It's amazing how many years have passed now and yet when I think about 9/11, I am instantly brought back to how I felt that day in 2001.