SNAP!

[#1]

A decade after September 11, 2001, this tragic day remains fresh in most American’s minds. The 10th anniversary of the attack brings the country together to remember those fallen, to honor our heros and to reflect on a day that devastated the nation.

9/11 - A tragic day in American history.

                                              True hero's were born that day... 

Those that fell will be remembered.....

In New York, the 9/11 Memorial and Museum preview site, located at Ground Zero, is dedicated to commemorate those fellow  American's lost... 

Let's join together to honor our fellow Americans...

Not only to remember those that gave their lives that day...

But also to remember those in uniform, those who have given their lives over the past decade to ensure our freedom for the future.

[#2]

I've been watching and listening to commentary on 9/11 all day and I feel alternately overwhelmed and deeply moved. There we

re so many examples of heroism and resilience. I think what I could see of the new memorial in NYC is beautiful. I loved the fact that survivors could go up to the wall and do a rubbing of their loved one's name. It seemed to give them something tangible to do while they were grieving. I also loved the image of people standing side by side, able to grieve privately while at the same time sharing their grief with the person next to them. I hope it was as cathartic for them as it appeared to me on this side of the tv screen!

[#3]

We moved from N Y in November of 2001. We lived 60 miles from ground zero.  We lost a neighbor who was a fireman,  friends lost a son. We went to the site before we left -- it was heartbreaking yet the messages posted on fences and walls, the flowers and stuffed animals that filled the walkways all the way down to the Esplanade made you know you were not alone in your grief. It seemed to me for too long that we were trying to downplay this tragedy.  This Memorial has been a long time coming -- I hope it means that we 'NEVER FORGET'

[#4]

I was working in downtown Atlanta at the time, and I remember everything shutting down for "fear" Atlanta was on the target list.  Getting home was a nightmare and took a good part of the day to get the house. My then husband and I hugged and hugged and hugged and made phone calls to family and friends telling them how much we loved them.  It was not longer after 9/11, that I stopped working in downtown and started working 7 miles from home.

[#5]

I was in my kitchen when the TV suddenly showed footage of the first plane going into the Towers, and then the second soon after, at which point it became clear that it wasn't a freak accident but instead an act of terror. I was upset and scared waiting to hear whether my dad was all right, as he was down near there that day, and whether my brother was okay, who was at the Pentagon. I was lucky but thousands of others weren't and I can't even begin to imagine what they went through, both the ones who were in the buildings and the ones who were left behind to grieve. A tragedy of that magnitude is almost surreal to those of us not going through it. I can intellectually understand and feel compassion for them, but I'm not in their shoes. Other events that affected me almost more viscerally have been the Oklahoma City bombings in which so many children died, and the Columbine shootings in which so many teenagers and teachers were killed. Perhaps because I have children and those events struck so close to home for me. There but for the grace of God go I...Whatever the impetus though, however tragic the event that prompts us, I agree that we should always cherish our loved ones and remember to communicate our love to them.

[#6]

I agree with you, petgirl. I think it's important to communicate with our loved ones, to let them know we love them, we're proud of them, whatever the sentiment - one never knows what will happen from one day to the next. When I got married, one of the things my mama said to me was don't ever go to bed angry with each other - talk it out. Well, I feel that way about when we're going off to work or someplace. Don't walk out the door when you're mad - take a few moments to acknowledge that even though you might disagree with each other right then, it doesn't affect the way you feel.

[#7]

So true, gardendigger. As for  the others who were remembering where they were on 9/11, I was teaching English in a high school. I was alerted that I needed to stop teaching and take my students down to the Commons area where a large tv had been set up. We got there shortly before the second plane hit. It was absolutely surreal, horrifying. We didn't know what to make of it all. Ours was a K-12 school so we had to figure out how we would handle this with the little kids since many of our high schoolers had younger brothers and sisters. We encouraged them to let their parents decide how they wanted to talk about this. Later there were other challenges. We had many Muslim students who felt like they were being scapegoated in their communities. Fortunately our school addressed these issues up front, so I don't think these students suffered while they were at school. But there was such paranoia and, in some cases, ignorance, sweeping the country, I think many of them were misjudged and continue to be misjudged even to this day!

[#8]

it shouldn't take a tragedy like 9/11 to remind us to tell the people we know that we love them....i think the holidays also remind us how important it is to share our feelings and appreciation...in fact i think sharing our appreciation is even more important than sharing gifts....

[#9]

Whenever I see the pictures or hear someone talking about this day, I'm brought back to the moment of dread and fear, followed by the sadness at the sight of people in foreign lands celebrating these events.  I did not lose family or friends, but I did lose something, an objectivity, an impartiality.  I have to admit that I am far more conscious of certain people and I find that I'm unapologetic about that.  As far as communicating with loved ones, I think I communicate how I feel about them enough.  That said, I think I should go make sure.