7 years already

Knock, knock. Who's there? 9/11. 9/11 who? You said you'd never forget. Well, it's been seven years...

Doesn't it feel like yesterday? A beautiful late summer day. Sun shining. Mild temperatures. Children back in school. Normal school year and commuting routines starting to get back to normal. Yankees and Mets fighting for playoff spots. Jets and Giants off to another season of aggravating football fans in the NYC area.

That entire day seems fresh in my memory. I was in my office listening to the radio, doing my emails, when the morning guy broke in that there was a fire at the trade center. I went to the employee lounge which had the view of lower Manhattan and watched the smoke pour out of the building. I went back to my office and soon my radio said the second tower was on fire. As I went back to the lounge to see both building burning I think I realized that it was an attack. I don't know why, but I do remember replying "what do you think?" when someone wondered how both buildings could burn.

Next was total confusion in the office. Rumors were flying. The White House is on fire. The Mall is on fire. The Pentagon is on fire. There are still missing planes. I remember sitting in front of my radio, still on the music station which had gone all news, wondering "what the heck was going on?" We eventually all convened in the lounge and watched the buildings burn, and then fall, one by one, pretty much in shock.

After the second tower fell, the lounge was packed but silent, except for the radio and some people crying. I remember one manager with his head in his hands and a completely devastated look on his face. We could hear the fire engines roaring past our building headed to the city (I guess). Soon we were evacuated and I remember standing in the street in a suit, sweating and thinking "now what?" "Fortunately" my office had recently moved to the Jersey side of the Hudson and I was able to get home before too long. It was very strange going down the Garden State Parkway and seeing nothing but army and emergency vehicles headed north. Same for seeing all the trucks just parked on the side of the road by the Outerbridge approach to Staten Island.

It seems like yesterday, but I've noticed that the shock and raw grief are long gone for us, which is interesting considering my wife and I had lived in Brooklyn Heights, just across the East River from the Twin Towers, for many years until 2000 when our son was born and my wife wanted to live near family in Central Jersey. I still think there is something missing when I look at lower Manhattan, though I can at least look at lower Manhattan again and not feel sad.

As to other changes, I hate the way the home of the brave has become the xenophobic land that is scared of our own shadows. For example, if I ride the subway I may have to consent to have my bag searched just so somebody in the middle of the country will feel more secure. Same thing for other public events: when I take my son to his final Mets game at Shea on Sunday, I either have to plan to arrive early so we can wait on long lines while our bag is scanned or plan on buying him food when we get there. Feel good measures that accomplish nothing.

Though we still fight the war on terror, the events of 9/11 are now in our past. Memorabilia from the day is in museums. A new generation of children is growing up with little or no first hand knowledge of the pre 9/11 world. The pain is mostly gone and we are a different people, and not necessarily for the better.

We've come a long way since then. The country is now deeply divided. Hopefully, Senators McCain and Obama's trips to NYC today will remind us of a time when America was united.

Knock, knock. Who's there? 9/11. 9/11 who? You said you'd never forget. Well, it's been seven years...

Doesn't it feel like yesterday? A beautiful late summer day. Sun shining. Mild temperatures. Children back in school. Normal school year and commuting routines starting to get back to normal. Yankees and Mets fighting for playoff spots. Jets and Giants off to another season of aggravating football fans in the NYC area.

That entire day seems fresh in my memory. I was in my office listening to the radio, doing my emails, when the morning guy broke in that there was a fire at the trade center. I went to the employee lounge which had the view of lower Manhattan and watched the smoke pour out of the building. I went back to my office and soon my radio said the second tower was on fire. As I went back to the lounge to see both building burning I think I realized that it was an attack. I don't know why, but I do remember replying "what do you think?" when someone wondered how both buildings could burn.

Next was total confusion in the office. Rumors were flying. The White House is on fire. The Mall is on fire. The Pentagon is on fire. There are still missing planes. I remember sitting in front of my radio, still on the music station which had gone all news, wondering "what the heck was going on?" We eventually all convened in the lounge and watched the buildings burn, and then fall, one by one, pretty much in shock.

After the second tower fell, the lounge was packed but silent, except for the radio and some people crying. I remember one manager with his head in his hands and a completely devastated look on his face. We could hear the fire engines roaring past our building headed to the city (I guess). Soon we were evacuated and I remember standing in the street in a suit, sweating and thinking "now what?" "Fortunately" my office had recently moved to the Jersey side of the Hudson and I was able to get home before too long. It was very strange going down the Garden State Parkway and seeing nothing but army and emergency vehicles headed north. Same for seeing all the trucks just parked on the side of the road by the Outerbridge approach to Staten Island.

It seems like yesterday, but I've noticed that the shock and raw grief are long gone, which is interesting considering my wife and I had lived in Brooklyn Heights, just across the East River from the Twin Towers, for many years until 2000 when our son was born and my wife wanted to live near family in Central Jersey. I still think there is something missing when I look at lower Manhattan and I hate the way the home of the brave has become the xenophobic land that is scared of our own shadows.

Though we still fight the war on terror, the events of 9/11 are now in our past. Memorabilia from the day is in museums. A new generation of children is growing up with little or no first hand knowledge of the pre 9/11 world. The pain is mostly gone and we are a different people, and not necessarily for the better.

We've come a long way since then. The country is now deeply divided. Hopefully, Senators McCain and Obama's trips to NYC today will remind us of a time when America was united.