Will 9/11 Ever Feel Normal

During my lifetime 9/11 will never be normal … it changed my life in many ways. While it’s been 7 years, the memories are so strong and the feeling so real it could have been yesterday.

Thoughts and prayers for all of those we lost, for those who fought and are still fighting; and for those who are still suffering from the destruction of that horrible day.

It’s hard for me to be upset over the lives of people I didn’t even know that were taken 7 years ago. Lots of people I don’t know die all the time in horrible tragedies. A close friend recently passed away and call me selfish but before seeing this post I didn’t even remember it was the anniversary of 9/11. Maybe I’m just too wrapped up in my own world but it’s hard to stay sad about things for so long.

That day.
I got home around midnight on a flight from Washington. Turned on the TV and saw the news. Shocking.

How far we’ve come.
Not far. The effects of that terrorist act are now felt every day.

Think about the ill conceived war we brought to Iraq and all the lives lost over there.

Taxes, oil, environment, freedom, security, terror. All worse.

Going forward.
It’s a mess and we need to think about who we are going to vote for in the next election.

That’s fair. And I agree with most of what Steve wrote.

That’s fair. And I agree with most of what Steve wrote.

I felt compelled to post a blog in my community encouraging users to recount where they were and share their stories. So far we have about 35 great responses. I likened it to growing up hearing my grandmother’s tales of where she was when JFK and Martin Luther King Jr. were killed. I’m sure my future grandchildren will know my story in and out as well.
No, it will never be the same. I think people will always need to talk about it. As community managers, we should encourage it.

I was in high school in LI and could actually see the smoke from the roof of our school, after school sports were canceled because they were afraid if strong winds picked up, the smoke would come our way. I remember that weekend I had to go to Jersey and driving over the GW bridge you could see the entire sky was covered with smoke, and at the time they had the memorial lights up representing the towers. Although I thankfully didn’t know anyone who was killed that day, the reminders are always there and I will never forget.

Craig
http://www.budgetpulse.com

I was in high school in LI and could actually see the smoke from the roof of our school, after school sports were canceled because they were afraid if strong winds picked up, the smoke would come our way. I remember that weekend I had to go to Jersey and driving over the GW bridge you could see the entire sky was covered with smoke, and at the time they had the memorial lights up representing the towers. Although I thankfully didn’t know anyone who was killed that day, the reminders are always there and I will never forget.

Craig
http://www.budgetpulse.com

It was a day that made us wonder. Made us feel for those who were in the towers, the Pentagon and in the planes.

Since that day, so many questions have come and gone. Some never have been answered. And there are others we perhaps should continue to ask ourselves.

How has this changed us?
How are we different?
Did it matter to us at all?
If not, why not?
Where were we before that day?
Where have we been since?
Is the whole remembrance of that day and the ceremonies taking place today a good thing?
Will this make us more caring, more open to what’s important in life?
It’s for us all to answer in our own way.

–David

No…it will never feel normal. Today is my birthday and ever since that morning on 2001, I have never had the ability to wake up feeling like I had something to celebrate with others versus the pain and suffering that the victims and the men and women in uniform did on that day.

Until today. This morning, my wife put my 8 week old son Ascher next to me while I slept so that his cooing and wiggling would wake me up and be the first sounds and experience of my day. That experience has kept me humble all morning and in awe of how important our actions are to each other.

So tonight, I’m going to go to my favorite Irish pub and have my pints with my mates, a ritual that I have done for quite some time now, and think of how awesome my life is with my wife and child on this day.

Smart post, Chris…Thanks.

Jason

i was pregnant but didn’t know it yet
i was at the library surfing
annoyed y people obsessed with the news
on every computer screen
i asked the librarian if the net was down or what?
she advised me to go home
the country was under attack
i just stared at her
then called you
all i wanted was for you to be home
that was my one and only thought
i had no TV
no radio
not net
i never saw the videos
only once at a bar
it was brief
thank-god

i was pregnant with our first child
and today i am caring for our children and our friends children
the youngest being 2
and i think all through the day
that we are together
and how blessed we are

i was pregnant but didn’t know it yet
i was at the library surfing
annoyed y people obsessed with the news
on every computer screen
i asked the librarian if the net was down or what?
she advised me to go home
the country was under attack
i just stared at her
then called you
all i wanted was for you to be home
that was my one and only thought
i had no TV
no radio
not net
i never saw the videos
only once at a bar
it was brief
thank-god

i was pregnant with our first child
and today i am caring for our children and our friends children
the youngest being 2
and i think all through the day
that we are together
and how blessed we are

Hey Chris, good point. Maybe it’s not about being wordy, but about being quiet. All I know is, no, I don’t think it’ll ever feel normal (no more than it did for people who remember JFK’s assassination or other such horrendous events). But I don’t think we SHOULD feel normal necessarily either. Cheers, @Jasperblu

The network of connectivity, of loss and stories of should-have-been-there-but-wasn’t reverberated though our acquaintances here in Kentucky in the weeks that followed.

My next door neighbor lost her sister-in-law, her brother’s bride of a year. My daughter’s gym teacher’s brother-in-law was on the plane from Boston. A co-worker’s sister returned to Atlanta Sunday night because of a sick child, missing a 9:00 am meeting in the second tower. Her family didn’t know until Wednesday that she missed the meeting. A close friend took off from Dulles for the west coast ten minutes before the ill-fated flight. Our CEO had a meeting scheduled in the WTC for later that day.

Air traffic coming to a halt changed the background noise in our city; the silence was broken periodically by the drone of military prop planes. To this day, the sound of prop planes makes me stop and reflect.

The network of connectivity, of loss and stories of should-have-been-there-but-wasn’t reverberated though our acquaintances here in Kentucky in the weeks that followed.

My next door neighbor lost her sister-in-law, her brother’s bride of a year. My daughter’s gym teacher’s brother-in-law was on the plane from Boston. A co-worker’s sister returned to Atlanta Sunday night because of a sick child, missing a 9:00 am meeting in the second tower. Her family didn’t know until Wednesday that she missed the meeting. A close friend took off from Dulles for the west coast ten minutes before the ill-fated flight. Our CEO had a meeting scheduled in the WTC for later that day.

Air traffic coming to a halt changed the background noise in our city; the silence was broken periodically by the drone of military prop planes. To this day, the sound of prop planes makes me stop and reflect.

I actually met up for lunch today with a guy I was working with at a startup on 9/11. It is strange how things have changed since then – things are not as quiet as the days after, but the noise is just a little different.

I had quite a few hits to my blog for a post from a few years ago regarding 9/11 – probably from those searching for unique stories or others to share their emotions.

No, it will never be the same. All we can do is learn and grow from it.

My current girlfriend and I started dating on 9/11. And I was born and raised in Manhattan. Go figure.

My current girlfriend and I started dating on 9/11. And I was born and raised in Manhattan. Go figure.