Yesterday was the 12th anniversary of the attack on the World Trade Center and the attack on the Pentagon.
I was at work on the morning of September 11, 2001 when Richard called me at my office at the bank. Richard usually didn’t call me during the day unless it was an emergency. I closed my office door to take his phone call. Richard was working at home and called to tell me that he had heard that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center. Neither of us knew yet what this meant. He swore when a moment later when he told me that a second plane hit the Towers. I was stunned by what he had told me. I cried but I don’t know why I was crying. I soon learned that another plane had crashed into the Pentagon and a fourth plane crashed in Pennsylvania just short of its target in Washington D.C.
I opened my office door and walked out to see the stunned faces of my co-workers who had also heard the news. We wandered out onto the street hoping to find a local business with a television set that would provide us with coverage of the attacks. We met in a shoe repair shop and watched the breaking news coverage on the store’s TV screen. We weren’t getting any work done that day and wondered if the bank would send us home early.
While driving home on the New Jersey Turnpike, I could see in the distance the smoke billowing from the burning towers.
Although I didn’t know anyone personally who died in the towers, I felt sadness as media coverage of the event continued over the next days and months. I was unwilling to fly for some time after the attacks and opted instead to use Amtrak when traveling. We became accustomed to the new anti-terrorism measures implemented by our government. Richard talked of applying for a position as a sky marshal because he really wanted to go after the “bad guys.” He would have been an excellent sky marshal.
After twelve years, I still cry when I see 9/11 coverage on TV. I wonder if the images of the attacks will always affect me in this way in the years to come.
Natasha's Memory Garden 
Thank you for sharing. We need more memories and feelings to pass on to those who were to your to remember than the simple words “Never Forget.”
I like to read stories about what people were during when important events occurred and their feelings about those events. You’re right – the specific memories have more meaning than the words “Never Forget.”