Remembering 9/11
JFG Nation, I know I haven’t been a consistent part of your lives for the past three weeks, but I had to post this. My life has just been so crazy on the personal side of things that, even besides slowing my blog posts, I embarrassingly neglected to remember that today was 9/11. It was a day that impacted us all in very different ways, myself included.
Those who have read my blog for the past four years know that I was living in New York City on 9/11, fourteen years ago. If you’re new to my blog, I’d like to share my story of that day with you. You can read it here. Then, I’ll be back on Monday with some pumpkin spice BS.
As I said four years ago, my story is “…rather long, so if you’re not interested, totally cool … But if you’d like to learn a little more about your friendly neighborhood Junk Food Guy, read on.”
Fourteen years is a long time, yet I remember it so vividly. I was just out of college, heading to my first real job. It was a lovely day, weather-wise. And then, in an instant, our world was flipped upside down. That single day shook the lives of all Americans and altered the paths of millions around the world.
We all remember where we were that day…I was just a scared kid in New York City armed only with a clock radio:
My clock radio, that I still own to this day.
My story did not end in tragedy, and in no way do I even try to pretend that I suffered at all compared to the people who had genuine loss and grief in their lives. No, just consider my four-years-ago post a small side story about how 9/11 affected me in a really random (but to me, significant) way.
I wake each year with a heavy heart thinking of all who perished that day. I cannot stop thinking about the bravery and sacrifice of the men and women who served on that day and for many days after. We honor them by never forgetting, and always moving forward.
Sincerely,
Junk Food Guy
Discuss - 2 Comments
I was eight years old and living in Jersey City when 9/11 happened. I was sitting in class, doing classwork when my teacher came in and told us that a plane hit the towers and no one knew if it was an accident or not. She also asked whether anyone had parents working in the WTC. Then, parents started calling the school to take their kids home (I suppose they wanted them close by. I mean, JC is right next to NYC, so what if we got attacked next?). As a result, a lot of students (including me) went home before lunch.
At home, the TV was on and all the channels were showing the towers get hit, bursting into flames, and crashing. I didn’t really understand the gravity of the situation, even though my parents tried to explain it to me. Although, I could see the smoke and dust rising from where the WTC once stood ( I used to be able to the top floors from house porch), I still couldn’t understand why. So I started to read TIME magazine and The Jersey Journal (our local newspaper) to find an explanation.
While it was beyond my 3rd-grade understanding, it did open a whole new world for me (like it did for you). Being in touch with the news made me feel less confused, less ignorant, and it was comforting to not be blind. I was lucky not to lose anyone that day and although my youth protected from the harshness of that day, I always feel somber on anniversaries. Tonight, I’m going to look at those twin blue lights and remember the victims.
You’re an awesome writer, JFG. Thanks for reading.
@Shalini: Thank you for sharing your story, Shalini. I am always reminded that as much as I don’t want to read the news because I grow jaded about bias, it is ALWAYS better to KNOW than NOT KNOW.
And thanks for your kind words about my writing. Thank YOU for reading!