My 9/11 story... I had just joined the Army National Guard several months before the 3 planes, and some zealots, changed our lives forever. The morning of 9/11 I was scheduled to go in to the local armory and do some random work. As I was putting on my uniform, the phone rang. I let the answering machine pick it up. It was the girl I was dating at the time. She began to leave a message which I thought was a complete joke. Hearing the “caller is done leaving a message” beep, I wondered why she would say such a stupid joke and turned on the TV. I stood motionless as I watched the replay of the first plane. Have you ever had that “this is not happening…and I can’t move or say anything” reaction to something? 5 minutes later as I stood in front of the TV there was a lot of commotion and I watched as a 2nd plane flew into the 2nd tower. “Seriously?” I thought to myself. “Are you serious?” was all I could say (literally out loud). I watched for what seemed like an eternity, but then remembered what I was wearing – a uniform of a United States soldier…and a uniform of a Guardsman. I quickly jumped in my car and sped to the armory. There were already guards and fencing in place when I arrived. All hell had broken loose, as people were shouting and arming themselves. I was quickly issued a wooden stick (since all 5 of the rifles that we had immediate, direct access to were already given out) and stationed at a spot directly in front the main gate. Picture this: I am in full armor, helmet, vest and all, and I am holding a big stick! Oh, I forgot to mention that they rolled up one of the reserve tanks, so I had a big stick…and a tank! If terrorists wanted to come crashing into this armory they were going to have to deal with me…and my stick…and my tank!! Needless to say, a small armory in Kent, Washington was not high on the terrorist’s hit list that day. I share all of this to build up to a moment that I will never forget. Several days, and little rest later, I was told to go home to try and get some sleep. On my way I decided to stop at REI (an outdoor clothing store) and just lose myself in the “stuff”…I also wanted to be around people…people out of uniform. This was also the day that the President called for a moment of silence at noon…and I wanted to be on my feet for that, not driving in a car. I grabbed something (to this day I still can’t remember what) and stood in the check-out line. As a spot opened up I walked towards the cashier and noticed that she was just this side of crying. She was a young girl, had probably just celebrated her 21st birthday. Just then it hit noon and literally no one talked. We all stood there…some of us pondering life…others trying to hold back sobs, but not being successful…and others trying to control the anger that was still so fresh. The girl and I, separated by a counter, looked at each other and tried to console each other with silent motions. Finally, after the minute was up I asked her if she needed a hug. Crying, she said yes and we met at the end of the counter and just hung onto each other like the world was about to end and this would be the last human we would ever touch in this life. Nobody around us said a word. I think they would have joined us, had it not been such an intimate moment. Pulling away from each other I held her arms for a few seconds more and said to her that everything was going to be ok…even though we both new that it wasn’t true. She nodded in appreciation and we said goodbye. She did her best to compose herself before walking back behind the counter. I noticed the tears that still stained my right shoulder as I walked away. I turned once more and saw the lady that was next in line behind me walk up to the counter and smile to the girl. I silently left the store, getting many nods from the other customers. Closing the door to my car I sat there and wept silently. I had noticed an older gentleman coming my direction as I was going to get in my car – whether to thank me or tell me how evil the government was, I don’t know – but when he saw me crying he slowly turned and walked away. I was thankful he did. Not because I cared if he saw me crying or not, but because like the girl in the store, I needed someone older and wiser than me to hug and tell me that everything was going to be ok...and he would have been an unwitting participant in that comfort I needed right then. I drove home and collapsed onto my bed. I slept for maybe 2 hours and then got back up to watch the news some more. After a few minutes I fell back to sleep and woke up, many hours later, to the President addressing the nation...
Posted on: Thu, 11 Sep 2014 17:47:53 +0000
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