Do you remember where you were when...
As a child, I remember the adults of my world talking about Kennedy's assassination. It was one of those moments everyone remembers where they were. And this shared memory of one moment in time united a generation. On the anniversary of the Kennedy assassination, stories abound. People eagerly share with others their participation in that moment. Because it was a moment shared by more than just those waving at the President as his motorcade drove past before the fateful gunshot echoed through the streets. It was a moment shared by America.
As a child, I remember the adults of my world talking about Kennedy's assassination. It was one of those moments everyone remembers where they were. And this shared memory of one moment in time united a generation. On the anniversary of the Kennedy assassination, stories abound. People eagerly share with others their participation in that moment. Because it was a moment shared by more than just those waving at the President as his motorcade drove past before the fateful gunshot echoed through the streets. It was a moment shared by America.
And I used to wonder...what will be that moment for my generation?
There have been a few...
I remember a third grade lunch, a snowy day - too cold to play outside. That day, it was indoor lunch recess. Typically after eating on cold or rainy days, we would returned to the classroom to play games, or color or read. But this day, we tuned in to watch the news coverage - the space age claimed more victims. January 28, 1986.
I remember driving home from high school with my best friend, Jeff and our younger siblings, Donovan and Jon. I remember Jon getting in the car, all hopped up about the bombing of a building with a day care. I remember thinking how Jon exaggerated things, about how active his imagination must be. Bombings don't happen here. And even if they did, no one would attack a building with a day care. And I remember getting home to find my mom in front of the television, remote in hand as she scanned from one news station to the other. And all of a sudden, Jon's imagination wasn't so wild and we all were vulnerable. And forever the image of a firefighter, cradling the baby covered in blood. April 19, 1995.
In college, there was the Labor Day weekend at Aunt Trish and Uncle Barry's. Sending summer off within the warm embrace of our own ring of fire tribute. The one morning, standing in my aunt's kitchen and seeing the headline in the Detroit Free Press. High speed chase, paparazzi involved, car crash, minor injuries...only to find out later that the newspaper was right on only three of the four points. More than minor injuries. The tragic end of what had, at one point, been a fairy tale existence. August 31, 1997.
But I had no idea that those moments in time would pale in comparison to one warm day in the fall...
I had taken a week off from Family Video to visit my sister, brother-in-law and baby niece. Kaylee was 9 months old and I relished the idea of taking care of her while my sister worked. We were downstairs in the Potter family condo. Kaylee was entertaining herself with some toys on the floor while I watched "If Looks Could Kill" on HBO. Not a great movie, but slightly more entertaining than the usual round of morning talk shows and infomercials. My sister called, as had been her habit, to check on her first-born. But this call was different than the others.
"Are you okay?"
I was a little confused - it seemed like such an odd question for so early in the morning. Not, "How's your day?" or "How's the baby?" No questions about breakfast, or our plans for the day. Just the question...
"Are you okay?"
I don't remember my exact words - probably something like, Yeah, sure. Why?
"Planes are falling from the sky, crashing into buildings. Are you watching the news?"
And my thought - what is wrong with my sister? Seriously, did she smoke her breakfast? What kind of imagination must she have?
I flipped over to a news station and then I saw it, the smoke pouring from the second tower hit. I don't remember what I said to her, but all of a sudden...
I wasn't okay.
We couldn't talk, she had to run to a impromptu meeting where her bosses would tell her and her co-workers that it was okay for them to do what they needed to. Stay and work if you need to, go home and be with your families if you need to. Whatever you need...
I remember watching the news coverage and being, honest to God for the first time in my life awe-struck. Speechless. Terrified. Alone and so not alone. Scared of what lay outside the doors.
Frightened by the notion that if anything happened, I was the only thing standing between this precious baby girl and the world. That responsibility that I had relished suddenly seemed heavy and scary.
I wanted my sister to rush home and take over. I wanted to go back to bed and start the day over again. I wanted my Mom.
The rest of the week is surreal, even now. Pictures and imagines forever ingrained in my mind.
People pleading for word of loved ones, smoke drifting up from a once quiet field in Pennsylvania. The flag being unfurled from near the carnage at the Pentagon. President Bush receiving word that we were under attack while sitting in front of a room full of the nation's true innocents. Bent metal marking the final resting place of thousands.
In my own little world - fighter jets screaming overhead in a constant flight pattern, the sound so foreign in my homeland.
Moments that I will never forget. For I shall always remember where I was when...
9/11/2001
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