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9/12/2009

The day after the day before

I remember how strangely silent everything was. The day before, the unthinkable had happened in New York and now the whole country was quiet.

I stood outside my home and listened. There was almost no background noise. Living as I do, in the landing pattern for Midway, and just south of the pattern for O'Hare, there is an almost constant under noise that you don't really notice until it's gone.

And it was gone. The sky was empty. The sky was silent.

We had no idea of the extent of the conspiracy then. We knew many had died - but not how many. We had all watched in horror as first one, and then the other, collapsed. There was that uncertainty - the hope that everyone had gotten out - that there had been enough time - that maybe it had happened early enough that the buildings were mostly empty. It became a certainty over time, but that day, we didn't know how many.

The rest of the world reacted in horror. And sympathy. For a while, but especially on that day, the day after, the whole world was on our side.

We had been publicly violated. Raped, in front of the whole world, and they understood.

It was the day after. There was so much we didn't know.

Yesterday was a day of remembrance. Yesterday the names were recounted and more tears were shed.

Today? Today I remember the silence.

And to all of those who died .... Ndinombethe.

18 comments:

moneythoughts said...

Not everyone felt we were violated. In some places people actually danced in the streets and celebrated. I was in Washington, D.C. on business and I remember that day very well.

Not everyone wants to be our friend.

Jientje said...

I have always wondered how it must have felt. You described it so well. The silence, yes. That must have made such a big difference.

Shadow said...

a world in shock... that was the day after for sure.

MissyBoo said...

I remember the world's shock.

I remember the news break here at 9pm, and watching 'live' as the 2nd plane hit the towers and thinking I was watching a movie not something that was actually occurring in real time.

Emily/Randomability said...

The bank where I worked was under the flight path of our small little regional airport and yes. The quiet was unnerving.

Patsy said...

What you expressed is much the same as what my daughter in Fort Worth describes. She lived close to an airport too and she says she remembers how the planes came and came quickly that morning all landing and then the eerie silence of the skies afterwards. She said even the traffic seemed quieter.

That silence still haunts her as it does you.

Unknown said...

It was completely surreal. My heart broke for the people left behind to deal with the aftermath of their lost loved ones. As the sister of a firefighter and the wife of a pilot, it kicked me in the face of "what if that were my loved one????"

I remember Mr Hyphen was grounded for days as the FAA sorted out who would be allowed back in the air.

I will never forget that morning.

Mrs F with 4 said...

I remember it vividly.... No 1 son was exactly six months old. My sister-in-law flies for British Airways and she was en-route to New York over the Atlantic. Mr F was in Dallas... I was eating tiger prawns with garlic mayo with my mother... I vomited them up as we watched in horror... disbelief ... have never eaten them again....

The worry, silence, paralysing fear that followed, for your country, for mine, for the future of our world. I cannot forget it. I should not forget it.

Unknown said...

I don't think I'll ever forget that moment; where I was and watching the horror unfold on TV.

I hope my daughter will never have to see something like that in her lifetime, or in ours ever again.

Tara R. said...

This year's anniversary of that terrible event affected me more than any other past year.

Myst_72 said...

Eerie.
Tragic.

I think it was a little bit similar here after the Port Arthur massacre.

G
xx

Audubon Ron said...

I remember, it was awful.

Elizabeth said...

Some things from that day still remain in sharp, jagged focus. Certain aspects of that day seem to be hazy to me, much like the perpetual haze I felt that I was walking in for days afterward.
What a horrific day; there are some things you can never forgive nor forget.

OHmommy said...

Perfection Lou. It was THIS day that we decided to have a child.

Thanks for making me remember.

tracey.becker1@gmail.com said...

We lived by a small airport and it was usually very active. Lots of private jets and such... It was VERY quiet on Sep 12. And 13, 14, 15... I remember the first time I saw another plane go overhead after the crashes. Scary. Scary and eerie...

Joyce-Anne said...

I don't live too far from NYC and boy was it ever eerie and somewhat scary. This year's anniversary was rain drenched but it didn't keep people from visiting all of the sites of the events of 8 years ago.

Loraine said...

((moment of silence))

Coal Miner's Granddaughter said...

God, you're so right. That next day was so very quiet. I remember not knowing what to do, how to act. I was terrified of leaving the house and leaving the news and not knowing what was happening.

Frozen. We were all frozen.