September 11, 2001 started out as any other work day for me. I got up around 7am, put on my running clothes, tied my running shoes, put Nelson on a leash and headed out the door for our daily six mile run. As I was running down Carrillo Boulevard towards Shoreline Park on this perfect Santa Barbara day I noticed that the roads seemed to be less busy than normal and I did not run into the usual early morning dog owner crowd in the park, but I did not pay much attention as I turned around at the bottom of Shoreline and made my way back home. I took a shower, got dressed, fed the dog, brushed his teeth (don’t ask!), got my backpack and got into the car to go to work.
Just a typical morning in our house, except for one minor detail: Hubby had flown to a conference in Atlanta (of all places!!!) the day before and therefore the TV, which is usually switched on by the time Nelson and I get back home, remained idle. I never turned in on that morning and was literally oblivious when I got into the car and the radio station did not play the usual music. Instead a male voice that sounded like Peter Jennings was talking. Without really listening to what he was saying I switched to a different station only to hear the same voice. By the time I tried my luck with the third station and was again faced with who was now clearly Peter Jennings I had reached the first traffic light and slowly started to listen… “and at approximately 10:30am local time the second tower of the World Trade Center collapsed!” WHAT??? Is this some kind of sick joke? I was immediately ripped out of the early morning, pre work trance and thrown into the reality of one of the most tragic days in this nation’s history. By the time I arrived at work ten minutes later I had been able to somehow put two and two together and ran upstairs to my office where I found my co-worker and dear friend in tears watching a live stream of downtown Manhattan on her computer screen. Even before I asked her “did we have an attack?” I already knew the answer and as we learned more details we realized then and there that this country would never be the same. Since no one knew how many planes were involved and as we heard the news reports that all air traffic would be shut down my thoughts went to Atlanta… A place you do not want to be stuck in! But that is exactly the situation Hubby found himself in. With nowhere to go. The conference was canceled and all transportation out of Atlanta was immediately booked solid, including rental cars. But quite honestly, I did not care at that moment. All I cared about was that he was save. It is amazing how selfish we become when it concerns a loved one.
Not a lot of constructive work got done that day and as more and more of our fellow co workers arrived we made sure immediately that all their loved ones were OK as well, before turning out attention back at the unfolding news.
Late afternoon we all gathered at the restaurant next door to watch President Bush address the nation and a sense of community spread amongst those gathered around the table. We all realized we were in this together and that we could only overcome this tragedy by putting differences aside and working in unison. And amazingly this feeling lasted.
I think back to those days and weeks following the events of 9/11 and how our country rallied, standing unified behind our President. It did not matter if you voted for him or not. He was our leader and needed all the support he could get.
What happened? I look at our country today, eight years later, and I cannot help but feel dismayed by how soon we forget and how short our attention spans are. Eight years after that gruesome day our country is more divided than it was even before 9/11 and yet should we not all rally behind our current President? A man that was democratically voted into office by a substantial majority, a man that is trying his best to get this country back on track from an economic collapse, a financial disaster that I would not hesitate to compare to 9/11. Instead I see fear mongering, lies, racial innuendoes, and blatant displays of hate. In part egged on by a nut who is making a personal profit out of the tragedy of September 11 with his “912 Project”. A man I deem certifiable, who claims he wants to bring us back to those days after the biggest terrorist attack on our nation’s soil. It is unfortunate that this guy is so terribly misled that he actually wants a revolution to take down President Obama rather than remembering what 9/12 and the following days were really about: standing united behind our President to get out of the mess we were in!
Today’s Running Tip: There will be no tip today!
