In New York this weekend for 9/11 memorial

runswithscissors's Avatar
So I am once again travelling to New York for the memorial at the Towers...

I go back every year; I lost eleven friends that day, kind of ironic since it happened on the eleventh day...

I had been working in the city the past three weeks, 18 hour days, and on impulse, on the ninth, I called my airline and booked a flight home to Austin leaving on the tenth...I needed a break, and so I looked out my window at New York by night as I flew home that evening of the tenth..

And we all know what happened the next morning...

I returned to New York three weeks later, my hotel put me up for free when they found out I was returning to go to many memorial services...to this day, they still do not charge me for my yearly pilgramage...

Is the attack of 9/11 still fresh in our minds or is it starting to fade?

Is there still a national outrage that this happened or are we starting to be let it be something that happened, and we are moving on?

I, personally, feel an outrage at every Memorial Day weekend when our focus is on beer, grilling, and how we are going to party on a three day weekend...

Does 9/11 still mean something to you?
DTorrchia's Avatar
I commend you Sir for honoring the lives that your friends lived, the lives they lost and for taking the time to reflect on the terrible events of those days.

I can tell you that I will never forget 9/11. Though I'm unable to go to New York for the ceremonies this year, I have been following some of the shows that are reflecting on the events of that day and speaking to family and friends about our experiences, both on that day and after.
9/11 changed my life in many ways and took my life in a direction I never expected.

I agree with you, at times it's difficult to see how lightly some people take it now, as if it's just another day. Maybe it is to some, to me it will always hold significance and I will always find time to pause and reflect.

I wish you safe travels there and back.
SpeedRacerXXX's Avatar
My wife is a teacher at an Austin HS and was amazed at how many students had no idea what 9/11 was all about. This is a day that changed our lives forever. I visited Ground Zero a few years ago and the feelings that you have when you are there are impossible to describe. 9/11 should be as important to us as December 7, 1941.
GneissGuy's Avatar
I, personally, feel an outrage at every Memorial Day weekend when our focus is on beer, grilling, and how we are going to party on a three day weekend... Originally Posted by runswithscissors
I wonder how long it will be before we start seeing stores running 9/11 ad specials?
Yssup Rider's Avatar
9/11 should be as important to us as December 7, 1941. Originally Posted by SpeedRacerXXX
I don't want to start anything here, but ... I believe it is already is, if not moreso.
Thank you for your reflection, today I will have my own as well. I encourage others to do the same. I hope that board discussions of this topic will be conducted with the due deverance and respect it requires.

It is still very fresh in my mind and always will be. I remember every detail of that day. It is a marking point of change in my life that still remains today. Am I still angry? Of course, but that energy has now been refocused.

It is a shame that kids aren't being taught by their parents about this. My children know and have been told about it. I tell my oldest the story of how she had her first lock-down and go from there. I didn't see the need to hide History from them. We will watch the coverage and discuss it as a family again this year. It is a part of America forever.

Thank you all for paying your respects to the fallen.