Remembering 9/11 All of us who were alive can remember where we were 13 years ago today. I happened to be thirteen years old when it happened. The images of the Twin Towers billowing with smoke before collapsing and disappearing into the cloud of dust called Manhattan are engraved permanently into my mind. Wondering if anything terrible was going to happen next has become a habit Ive found hard to break. A lot has been said on the subject, and there are still people suffering from the effects of that day, whether from the loss of a loved one, from respiratory problems, or PTSD. From questions that havent been answered, from the wars that have been started since, from the fleeting sense of security to the constant state of paranoia we find ourselves in, it is fair to say that the world doesnt feel the same as it did before September 11, 2001. I woke up thinking about those who are 13 years old and younger today; children who arent old enough to remember that day but who have seen the footage their whole lives. They never experienced the world that I lived in before the planes crashed into the Towers. They grew up in a country that was injured, confused, and still recovering from what happened. Thats all theyve ever known. The National September 11 Memorial and Museum in New York is commemorating the 13th anniversary of the events with a video that tells the story of a pear tree that was badly injured during the attacks, yet survived after being nursed back to health. Today it is the only tree that remains at the site that isnt an oak. This video is aimed at those who are too young to have vivid memories of that day. The video closes with these words: “You can see in my trunk where I go light from dark, where my limbs were reborn, where I grew brand-new bark. My blossoms remind us how strong we all are. I’m a living reminder how we rose from the dark. With the power of hope, there’s just one way to sum it: There’s nothing so bad that we can’t overcome it.” -F&T
Posted on: Thu, 11 Sep 2014 13:43:07 +0000
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