I remember.
I remember the beautiful day outside. Not a cloud in the sky. Slight breeze in my hair and thinking of how awesome it is to be alive.
I remember listening to the radio making me laugh and lighting up a cigarette. Enjoying the wind from the open window in my car.
I remember when they first broke news of a plane hitting the twin towers and thinking of how a “joke like that isn’t very funny”
I remember walking past a TV for the first time since I found out that it indeed wasn’t a joke and looking at 30 people huddle around a small 26″ set.
I remember all of us holding our breath as the second plane hit and all of us, Every, single, person getting upset.
I remember feeling helpless and not knowing how many more or what else may happen.
I remember hearing of a plane hitting the pentagon.
I remember hearing of the plane in PA hit the ground and thinking of somehow that being better than hitting another building.
I remember feeling guilty for thinking that.
I remember saying, along with every other person who I saw that day, that we should kill whoever was responsible for it.
I remember people regardless or race, gender, creed, religion, beliefs, being in a state of shock and treating everyone with respect and courtesy.
I remember a feeling of wanting to help
I remember people helping.
I remember everything from that day 8 years ago and I always will. For the sights, sounds, and smells from that day are forever engrained in my brain.
I now know how people can remember horrible events in their lives forever, because I now have the unwanted honor of carrying my own memory shared by millions upon millions of people of a tragic event. It is an unwanted, but welcome memory that I keep so that someday I may tell others of what may happened.
I keep this memory so that no one else will NOT remember what happened and who did it.
I still pray for the people that died that day and for the families who were involved, and the people who are effected deeply by an event 8 years ago today.
God Bless all of you on this day Sept 11, and may you all remember, forever what happened.
Jeff Emanuel