Remembering September 11

Remembering September 11, 2001

I think we all remember that fateful day on that beautiful Tuesday morning. The memory of that morning is still etched in my brain. I happened to be out of the country that day… Cancun. It was supposed to be a tropical vacation in paradise. But then an older couple, fellow Americans, looked at Holli and I, with troubled eyes as we headed down to the beach. They broke the news to us about that incomprehensible and unfathomable act.

 We came back upstairs to turn the TV on to see all those burning images we all remember with painful tears and shock. Then, the collapse of the first tower left us breathless, and the second tower left us numb. The rest of the week was surreal, and we spent the days walking the beach feeling empty, meandering around town eager to find some meaning in the senseless world. We could only find comfort in the crowds of the hotel bar, where fellow Americans would lock eyes and the vulnerability of that moment was real. I so wanted to just to say, "I'm scared too." I never felt so alone and homesick.

Usually, I take a week's vacations and try to savor the time before it slips away. But during that week's vacation, time crawled at a snail's pace, and the weekend felt so far away like it was a distant star in the galaxy.

When the week was over, we managed to get on a flight back home despite the backlog of stranded passengers. The tension on that flight home was palpable, and people were on edge for the four hour flight home. Then as the plane came floating down the runway and gently touched down, the captain came on the loudspeaker, and said, "Welcome home folks!" A huge American flag bannered over the hangar in the distance making me realize that so much happened that week: innocence was lost, America discovered its pride, and heroes were made. As we taxied to the gate, a cheer erupted as my fellow Americans chanted: "USA! USA! USA!" - Marvin Abrinica