Princess Diana. I have to say this is my very first one that I can remember. I don't remember the date that she died. I just remember being in my family room in the house in Sandy. I was around 12 and I remember being shocked. It was the first time I cried because of someone other than a family member dying. I felt a personal loss by it. It was so strange.
O.J. Simpson. The not guilty verdict is the second thing I remember. I was in middle school and I can still remember what hallway I was standing in when I heard the news. When I think of that trial I see that tiles and the stairwell and the rush of students. Everyone was talking about it. It was unreal.
Oklahoma shootings. This one was scary for me. I was home sick from school. I was watching t.v. when the news hit. I remember sitting there crying. I went to school later that same day. I remember standing in the commons area with tears in my eyes. I realized how vulnerable we were at that it could happen to us as well. That was a scary day.
And finally, the reason for this rambling. 9/11. This day would have gone down in history for me with out the towers. It was the day I started college. Because of this I was probably the very last one to hear about the attack. I had been in class all morning. When I got home about 1:30 all my room mates and some friends were gathered around the t.v. I got two steps inside the door and ended up standing there for at least 20 minutes in shock as I listened. The rush of my first day of class was gone as I was overcome with emotion. I cried a lot that day. I cried for those that had died, I cried for those that had lost loved ones. I cried for fear of the future and our country and finally I cried as I saw everyone draw closer together and stand in a united front. I have never felt greater patriotism as I did that day and the days that followed. I have never felt closer to my neighbors and friends. I had never been prouder to be an American as I was then.
Every year I think about it. All those other events will always be part of my memories. But none of them have a yearly reminder that brings me so much emotion for every anniversary. Today I listened to a tribute on the radio. It was only a few minutes long. It was a song with sound bites from that day added in. There were interviews and news reports and comments from the president. I cried again as I listened to it. I cried as people spoke in fear and cried out for God. I cried as I heard the reporter list off the attacks and I cried as I heard Bush call for unity and strength and prayers on the behalf of our country.
There are many moments that have happened since then that I will never forget either. But nothing brings stronger convictions than this day. We will stand united, we will over come. We will stand for freedom.
God Bless America.
3 comments:
I rememeber where I was during a lot of those time also. Its weird to associate what we were doing when we think of those times. I can't believe you hadn't heard about 9/11 until you got home. I rememeber watching it on the news before school and then the TV was on in the classroom when we got there. I rememeber girls in class talking about it and one of the girls was talking about her uncle who works there. I feel bad you didn't know about it until later. It was a life changing day.
As a child I had no reverence for the flag, the pledge of allegiance, or the national anthem. After 9-11 though, I cannot get through the pledge or the national anthem without tears. I cannot do it. It is not possible. That was the day I realized what being an American meant. Its kind of ironic that here we are 8 years later, and in many ways, Bin Laden is most assuredly smiling to himself at what a mess our country is. We are divided and in debt...exactly what he was going for. I wonder how many people could put aside partisanship if they knew how happy we were making our enemies?---Lisa
Amen, sister.
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