Saturday, September 10, 2011

A Step Into Time!

"Baby girl wake up! Your going to be late for school! I have a meeting and I'm going to be late!" shouts a very anxious mother. "I'm coming I'm coming mommy" comes the voice of a little 12 year old from the top of the stairs. She comes flying down the steps and runs out to the car! Her mom locks up the house and gets in the car. "What took you so long mom I was waiting and so was Nana" giggles the little girl. "Hahaha" mocks the mom, "7:30 and I am late for my meeting"  The car starts and off goes the happy trio! Ring ring ring "Hi daddy I am on my way. What? Where? Ok! Talk to you later" "What happened mommy asks the girls?" " The meeting location has been changed. We are not meeting at the WTC. He said he would call me back with the new location"  About 5 minutes later they pull up at her school. "By sweety have a great day. I love you!" says the mother "By baby girl have a good day love you!" says the grandmother. "Bye mommy bye nana love you too" says the little girl and into school she goes to start her normal day! She waits in the lunchroom, talking with her friends, for her teacher to come and get them. It is the first week of 7th grade and she is super excited. The teacher finally comes and gets them and they are off to homeroom. Something is not right the loud speaker with the morning announcements does not come on like normal but everyone is chatting away and does not pay it any attention. Suddenly the door swings open. Another teacher enters frantically heading towards the homeroom teacher, turns her back to the class, and in a "calm" and "quite" voice says the World Trade Centers were just hit. All the kids gasp and turn their heads to look out the window to see the sky full of smoke and two iconic buildings that define New York City gone!

*end*

This may sound like a fictional story about the World Trade Centers but for me this was exactly how my day went leading up to when the news first broke! Even writing this brings tears to my eyes and I am finding it a little hard. When Bush said we will never forget what we where doing when we heard about the World Trade Centers (WTC) he was not kidding!  I was only 12 years old, my first week of 7th grade, a normally sunny day, that turned to epic tragedy in seconds!  The one cool thing about living in the borrows of NYC is that you can see the WTC from almost any school and my middle school just happened to be one of them.  I remember that day as if it was yesterday! The teacher that came running in was my history teacher for my second period class! I remember spending that whole class talking about what was happening and how we felt! I remember everyone crying, one by one the school became empty because parents where taking their kids out! I remember the news did not really hit me until about 6th period when I had gym and a class of about 67 students only had 15 and I had time to think. I thought of my uncle, he worked in a law firm not far from the WTC. I thought of my mom and grandpa, as far as I know they were to have a meeting there that morning an I had no idea where they were. I thought why am I still in school? Why isn't someone coming to get me! I remember my Nana coming to pick me up and saying my mom and grandpa were fine but they could not get a hold of my uncle (her son)! I remember all channels for 5 hours covering the story! I remember watching  the short lived Brady Bunch Brides sinoff show for the first time!  I remember there was no school September 12th and when we came back the 13th there still was a lot of kids missing! I remember a few of my friends hysterical because they had a family member on the plans or in the builds! I remember thinking is this real? I never imagined the effect it would carry for the rest of my life and the lives of New Yorkers everywhere.

After September 11th happened New Yorkers banded together and formed a great unity that seemed unbreakable.  People where helping each other and really there for their fellow New Yorkers.  I have never had more pride in being from any other state than New York! For me the WTC was not just a building, it was my childhood! My grandfather owned a floor in that building in the early 90s and I remember going to visit him with my Little Mermaid pocketbook and playing with the rubber band ball on his desk! I remember looking out the winds and looking down on all of New York!  So for me it was not just a building that went down it was a huge part of my childhood as well! 

No I will never forget the WTC or September 11th or the fact that God speared my mother, my grandfather, and my uncle! Like all those people that lost their lives they should have lost their lives too! Yes it was devastating for everyone but it was a 1000% worse for the people of NY!  It is this day that I try to keep in mind whenever I get angry at my mom or at anyone! Tomorrow is never promised! Hell the next minute is never promised so we should cherish it like it were our last.

My history teacher that spilled the beans

(left to right) Grandpa Mommy and Nana

My mommy and I at her 50th Birthday Party 2010

The face of innocents before the news that forever rocked our worlds
ok so this was really 2003 but its the same school and same classmates

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