9-11

[Br. Augustino]

I cant help but remember where exaclty I was right about this hour a couple of years ago when tragedy struck our nation. I was thinking about it all morning and wondering how to turn it around. I remember I was just coming out of Holy Mass when the news hit, and all of New York was silent and confused. I went down to Ground Zero later on and there I saw utter destruction. But that brought out the best in all of us. So I want to remember that as well. I want to call out to all that this day three years ago we suffered a tremendous tragedy, but the respsonse we gave (at least here in NYC) was one of self-sacrifice and service. I remember talking at Ground Zero to a mourning contruction worker who had just brought some remains of one of the dead to the morgue (where I was). I told him that God is mourning with us, and that we as Cristians pray and should forgive our enemies. If we teach our children thus, then this (pointing to the heap of ruin) will never happen again.

To remember 9-11 today I am going to beg forgiveness of some people that I have been needing to talk to for a couple of weeks. That is how I will remember.

[homeschoolmom]

I remember that my daughter (then a kindergartener) and I were in our second week of homeschooling and no matter what, I was not going to answer the phone and be interupted. However, when the phone rang that morning, I was compelled to stop and answer it. It was my mom telling me to turn on the news.... Then I had to keep my daughter and son busy and away from the tv so that I could see what was going on... (school was done for the day)... RussianGirl's sister was visiting, so I woke her and told her what was going on... Everywhere we went, it was weird... We live close enough to the airport to notice the skies were silent. Very sad.

In 2003, our son was born on this day. I was sad for him that his birthday will always be celebrated on the memorial of this tragic day. However, I find comfort in finding a reason to celebrate today. And I know that if we ever stop commemorating 9/11 it will be because something far, far worse has happened.

[theculturewarrior]

I was on campus. At the time I had become close friends with a girl phrom the other side of the border, and they closed the borders down, and I was worried sick about her. When I saw the news at the newman center, my first reaction was disbelief and cynicism. But as soon as they closed the borders down, I knew something bad was happening.

I also got a speeding ticket that day. The anxiety affected my driving I guess. (No jokes please!)

The mexican girl has since become a nun, and now I work in a library, where "free speech" is interpretted differently, and 9-11 is too.

[Piccoli Fiori JMJ]

When I first heard about it, I heard it from a guy friend of mine and he and another buddy were going on saying how we are going to war and something about planes, but I totaly thought he was joking about everything untill I got to my next class. Ironically the class I was in while it happened was my American Government class. All the deaths make me sad and everything like that, but for some reason I can look on to the bright side, beyond the gloomy despair. To be honest the whole event seems so surreal now... All I can do now is pray, there is very little else I can do. I can't ressurect people from the dead or even find any missing people, that is all done... All I can do is pray...

[azaelia]

I was in Dunkin' Donuts on my way to Freeport with my mom and sisters. I hate that Dunkin' Donuts now.

[MorphRC]

I wont remember. Enough troubles during this time, to worry about past times.

[rachael]

I was walking to homeroom where the TV was on. About 10 seconds after I walked in, the second plane struck. Almost scared me to death.

[Br. Augustino]

[quote name='MorphRC' date='Sep 11 2004, 10:28 AM']I wont remember. Enough troubles during this time, to worry about past times.[/quote]
With all due respect Morph... That is an oversimplistic outlook. The troubles you have today are a direct correlation to the troubles of yesterday. "Those who do not know History are doomed to repeat it," said Napolean and he used this to his own advantage. I will remember, but I will forgive. Just as the Passion was a visibly gruesome event there is redemption that came from the wounded side of Our Lord. We remember these "past times" dont we? Why? B/c we look to them for salvation, afterall Jesus rose from the dead. Today we all go through our own little Calvaries (and in the case of 9-11 a major Calvary) so we remember! We Remember not just the death, butalso the Resurection of our Lord! And as Christians we bring this to the fore. If not what is the use of being Christian if we cant employ our greatest gift.. that is Jesus Christ SOn of God COnqueror of Death on Calvary and on 9-11. That is why we remember...

[MorphRC]

[quote name='Br. Augustino' date='Sep 12 2004, 02:19 AM'] With all due respect Morph... That is an oversimplistic outlook.  The troubles you have today are a direct correlation to the troubles of yesterday.  "Those who do not know History are doomed to repeat it," said Napolean and he used this to his own advantage.  I will remember, but I will forgive.  Just as the Passion was a visibly gruesome event there is redemption that came from the wounded side of Our Lord.  We remember these "past times" dont we?  Why? B/c we look to them for salvation, afterall Jesus rose from the dead.  Today we all go through our own little Calvaries (and in the case of 9-11 a major Calvary) so we remember! We Remember not just the death, butalso the Resurection of our Lord!  And as Christians we bring this to the fore.  If not what is the use of being Christian if we cant employ our greatest gift.. that is Jesus Christ SOn of God COnqueror of Death on Calvary and on 9-11.  That is why we remember... [/quote]

Yeah. I could have explained it better. [i]Laziness shows its face again[/i]. I was stating that, to dwell on the past, holds one back, from focusing on the day.

Edited September 11, 2004 by MorphRC

[Piccoli Fiori JMJ]

Look to the future, use the past as a reference when you are not sure where to look.

EDIT: But Most of All, beware of the present and live in it. Do not worry about what tomorrow brings...

Edited September 11, 2004 by FutureNunJMJ

[MorphRC]

[quote name='FutureNunJMJ' date='Sep 12 2004, 03:34 AM'] Look to the future, use the past as a reference when you are not sure where to look.

EDIT: But Most of All, beware of the present and live in it. Do not worry about what tomorrow brings... [/quote]
Good words.

[Ash Wednesday]

I am going to remember by reading about biographies of the victims.

[url="http://www.september11victims.com/september11Victims/Posters.htm"]http://www.september11victims.com/septembe...ims/Posters.htm[/url]

Look at these posters. They are a collage of victims in this attack. It hits home when you go past the numbers and statistics, and see the faces.

[theculturewarrior]

Powerful site, Ash.

[Tony]

Well there were 2 guys over that day adding a new bedroom to the basement, and I was sleeping.. Suddenly I heard someone on the living room yelling " Oh My ." using His name in vain.. So I woke up, wonder what was going on.. decided to turn on the tv in my room to see if I could find out that way, and then saw both towers on fire and learned how they got that way.

I went to the bank that afternoon to draw out a rather large sum of money beucase it was suggested we do so on a few radio and tv stations because the worry was we couldnt get to it later (Which never was a problem except for that evening)

Later that night I went to Dairy Mart (kinda like a 7-11).. saw it was closed but seen the Shell gas station a few yards away was open and grabbed a couple things there. A guy there asked how it was.. told him it was hard to be good today, he agreed.

[Piccoli Fiori JMJ]

[quote name='MorphRC' date='Sep 11 2004, 12:23 PM'] Good words. [/quote]
Thanks...

Vegemite? lol

My Chaplain used to be in NY and he has satcks of papers from then with all the pages and pages of bios of people lost... 2 of them were his former students that he knew...

[Thy Geekdom Come]

My father and I were in a car accident the morning of September 11. It was my first ever, and it was only a very mild bump. I remember thinking what a big deal it was, though. When I got to school, it was 7:30 CST. I went to Shakespeare class at 8:00. I believe we were on Othello at the time. We heard the teacher's computer indicating a message around 8:20, but she didn't check it. I assume that was about the attack. Then I heard some very vague details about some tragedy with a jetliner crashing into a building...didn't help much. When I got to my next class, the principal came over the loudspeaker and announced what had happened. Then she said that the school board had decided it was forbidding discussion of the attack and teachers would not be allowed to show footage or watch the news in class. I think it was an attempt to keep calm, but it backfired big time. Those teachers that disobeyed had all the students around the televisions in their rooms. A lot of people were in too much dismay to realize what was happening. My physics teacher joked that we needed a World Trade Parking Lot anyway. No one laughed, but everyone understood that he wasn't aware of the insensativity of the joke he tried to use to break the tension. Finally, they let the students talk about it and watch footage again. Having been a "junior engineer" with the Omaha Metropolitan Utilities District, I knew that there was a government base, the nature of which was secret, in a place I will not disclose and I knew that there was the Air Force Base in Omaha, not to mention the Strategic Air Command's nearby location. I knew the president would be coming. I remember that everyone kept wondering where the president was, there were many theories-NORAD, a nuclear bunker, flying constantly in the air for his own safety-but I told everyone he was coming to Omaha and sure enough, he did.

I recall never being shocked by the car crash again. I had no right to be...much worse things happened that day.

I was in a state of disbelieve for at least two weeks.

[Ash Wednesday]

The whole day it was unreal to me, and I was too shocked to really realize what had happened.

It wasn't until the end of the day I was driving home after being out of town when I realized how eerie it was that there were no airplanes flying because the FAA grounded them all, and I passed by a convoy of military vehicles mobilizing and doing something that I presumed to be related to the attacks. Then I realized the magnitude of how horrific it all was.

I went to New York City the following year and saw the huge gaping hole that was ground zero. It was like I could hear and feel the cries of thousands of souls when I saw it.

[shelly_freak]

It was 3rd peroid religion class. There were kids talking about how there had been a big plane crash and how we were all going to die, I was so confused. A little later on during class the vice principle came on the overhead and told us what had happened.
From here my memory gets kind of blury because I was so upset. I do remember a girl in my class just broke down. Her dad was a pilot and he was in the middle of a flight. She was so scared that he was in one of the planes. The teacher took her out into the hall and tried to get her a phone to call her mom but the office wouldn't let her use the phone.
In my next class the teacher let us listen to the radio to get as much information as we possibly could.
Everyone was in a kind of shock, it is the same time of shock my school felt when two students died in a car accident.
When I got home I imediatly turned on the news. They were talking about threat and where else the terrorists might hit and they showed footage of Chicago (I live about an hour outside of town). For about 2 seconds I thought that another plane had hit one of the buildings of Chicago. I tell you those were the 2 scariest seconds in my life.

I will remember this tragic day by praying a rosary for the families of those killed.

[geetarplayer]

Eventually I was getting physically ill from watching the news. I went in my room and turned on some really loud music that day.

-Mark

[homeschoolmom]

I went to buy shoes for my kids... for no other reason than to get out of the house... but it was everywhere... stores with tv's or radios on, flags at half staff, no planes in the sky... it was inescapable....