As they release the 9/11 tapes for all of us to renew the horror of that day again, I feel my anxiety level raise almost as much as it did that very day.
I watched the face of the man I worked for stare in disbelief as he came rushing into the room to watch in absolute horror as the Trade Centers fell one after the other killing his close friend inside. As he collapsed on the couch, I knew I would never forget the look on his face for the rest of my life. Such complete disbelief and sadness.
My husband's niece was coming up from the subway on her way to work that morning when she noticed the commotion ahead of her. She worked directly across from the Trade Center. She followed the stares of the people around her, looking up across the street to the top of the Towers. She saw what no one should ever have to see, people jumping from windows to their deaths on the pavement below.
I have changed jobs over the past few years. I now work for a medical practice here in New Jersey. One of the doctor's here lost a very close friend in the towers that day. His widow comes in to the office regularly with her two young sons. I overheard the doctor say to the young son just yesterday, "I knew your Daddy very well. We were very close friends. I miss him very much. Yes, I do."
Let us never forget how we felt that day, where we were, what we were doing, when we knew that our world would never be the same again. Even if our lives were not personally touched by 9/11, let us not forget the widows, fatherless children, etc. who still are with us. They will never forget, nor should we.
Mrs. Shakita