National Day of Remembrance

I still remember that day 20 years ago so clearly. I was just waking up to the radio and hearing the confusion from the newscasters about a plane crashing into one of the Twin Towers. I remember thinking it must have been a small plane that had somehow lost control. As I kept listening to the radio and hearing all the speculation, I decided to turn the television on to see what was going on. Shortly after turning it on, I witnessed the second plane striking the South Tower. I was in absolute shock and immediately went to my guest room to wake my parents and my aunt who were down visiting me for my birthday that week. We all watched in disbelief as this tragedy continued to unfold with the Pentagon being hit next. I called into work to see if we were still going in considering everything that was taking place, and was told that we should come in or take a vacation day. I remember as I drove to work how eerie and quiet it was outside with all the planes having been grounded and not a lot of traffic on the roads. We spent most of the day transfixed on the conference room projector watching the events unfold. It was not a surprise that very little work was able to get accomplished that day. I know I would have preferred to stay home with my family with all the uncertainty going on. Those events were so hard to process, and the sadness was so great; however, the one positive that came out of it was seeing the unified patriotism and care for one another. I will never forget that day!