Where were you?

9/11/01 ...

I remember that day perfectly. Jake and I were still living in Hudson... In our trusty, humble tiny apartment. Downtown Hudson, living the life on the St. Croix River, above all the hot spots the city had to offer. I had recently graduated from UW-W and was making stellar use of my undergrad degree by working at Target. :) Jake was still finishing up school at UW - Stout. That a.m., I wasn't scheduled to work. Jake was sleeping and I was watching the news. When I turned on the t.v., all I saw was one of the twin towers, smoking. I was thoroughly confused. And seriously, I thought it was an accident. I mean really, how could it have been anything else? I actually yelled into our bedroom, "Babe! Someone crashed a plane into one of the twin towers and I think that pilot is in BIG trouble!" (Those of you who truly know me will not be surprised to read that I honestly thought it was a giant mistake and that there would be trouble for the idiot who made the wrong turn w/his plane.)

I don't remember what Jake said or did at that moment. I just remember turning around, watching the t.v., and seeing the second plane hit the other tower. At that moment, I knew things were very very bad. The reporters were shocked, I think they were crying. It was absolutely surreal. Shocking. The world stopped. Literally. It stopped. Jake went to school, but was sent home. I think he was still in shock when he left, not fully realizing how serious it was.

Not knowing what to do w/ourselves, we took a walk to our favorite place - the pier on the St. Croix. No one we passed was talking. It was silent. It was a gorgeous day outside. But it was silent. I remember at one point hearing sirens and it scared me. I knew it had nothing to do w/the situation in NY, but the sound of the sirens scared me and at that moment I wondered if we should be scared, if we should even be outside. If more was coming??

After a whirlwind of a day, I remember Jake saying to me, "Babe, I'm still enlisting in the Army you know." I had a meltdown and told him that if he did, he'd have to go to war. He said he knew that. He wanted to. He had to.

Never forget this day, or what it stands for. If you have questions about why we're doing what we're doing in this war, talk to someone who experienced that day in NY, firsthand. Or, talk to someone in the military who's served overseas and seen first hand the difference we're making there. How we're helping the innocent civilians who want nothing more than to live a normal life where they can go outside and not be afraid to be who they are, who they want to be, and to simply live a normal future with the freedoms WE enjoy, and continue to enjoy, because of what our soldier's are protecting us from and what they're fighting for.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3loXqbgXYaA