It has been 8 years. I assume everyone at some point today will reflect on that day, possibly remembering where they were when it happened. Or perhaps they won't... It's amazing what details people remember from a day of such significance. It is also interesting what we forget.
I was in 11th grade English. I was sitting in the third row from the right, two or three seats from the back. The teacher's desk was in the back right of the room, not far from my seat. We had just begun talking about The Crucible, and how it was a response to the fear of Communism. I remember a teacher coming in and telling us "a plane just flew into the twin towers," but I don't remember who he was.
We had a test scheduled for the next period. I sat in the third row from the left, third seat back. I don't remember what period it was. Maybe 3rd or 4th. I don't even remember if we took the test that day or not. I do remember the test was on some aspect of World War II, and while I can't remember when I took it, I remember I flunked it because I ran out of time.
It was eerily quiet that day in school. No music came from the band-shell. The squeak of shoes coming from the gym was replaced by the buzz of televisions in every classroom humming through the halls. Friends consoled one another, worried for family in New York, unable to make contact.
We had a cross country match after school. I have no recollection of how I did or who we ran against, but I remember we won.
September 11th will stay with most of us forever. That day I predicted the events we witnessed would bring us together with a new sense of pride in our country, devoid of partisanship. For a time it did. But today our country is more divided than ever. I am deeply saddened by our supposed leaders' inability to rally together and work as one cohesive unit focused on building a unified nation.
