September - We Remember

On 9/11/01, I worked in Washington DC, just a handful of miles from The Pentagon.

When the news broke, a colleague of mine briefed me on the details and invited me into his office. We witnessed the tragedies of the morning on his 27” Big Box TV that sat on a rusty metal cart. Like the rest of the world, we watched in disbelief as the situation went from ‘bad’ to ‘worse’.

This colleague of mine (and a friend to this day) spent a good bit of time trying to get a hold of his family members to ensure that they were safe. He was only in DC for a couple of years, but grew up in a small town in Northern NJ. This town, Metuchen - NJ, is roughly 30 miles from Lower Manhattan. Little did we know at the time, but three people from his NJ hometown perished in the WTC. All three of them were in their 40’s.

As I struggled to get a grasp of what had occurred that morning, the rest of the day seemed to be in slow-motion. Others must have felt like I did. For instance, the "normally chaotic" and "tension-filled" traffic on The Beltway seemed to be "off". There was less honking, more people were allowing others to switch lanes, and the aggressive drivers seemed to be non-existent that day. You could tell that everyone was listening to their car radios and hoping to hear better news.

The tragedy of that day somehow turned into weeks as the hope for more survivors diminished. Although Washington DC is a highly populated city, it seemed like everybody knew somebody that lost a loved one at The Pentagon or WTC. This somehow revived the sorrow because it made it seem 'real' once again.

The sadness hit even deeper when traveling on 395. From the highway, the gaping hole in The Pentagon made you feel like someone punched you in the belly…. No matter how many times you drove past it. No pictures could describe the silence and somber energy that surrounded that building.

In closing, there was one thing that seemed to helped everyone get through those weeks. That one thing was each other. Our nation’s capitol is notorious for benefitting those that are most “self-serving”. Therefore, many in the metropolitan area “put up an emotional wall” that protects them. However - Courage, Kindness, Love, Sadness, and Unselfishness was shown by everyone.

As we relied on each other's kindness and comfort, there is no question that God was with us during that time.... Unfortunately, it took me 20 years to realize how close he was to us.

May God Bless America - We need it.