As soon as I changed my calendar from August to September, I started seeing the towers in my mind, feeling the deep sadness for the families of the lost, and remembered the fear we all had in the days that followed.
I can’t believe it’s actually been 10 years since that unimaginable day. I had been sick all weekend that year, and eventually made the decision to call in to spare everyone from my germs and sluggishness.
I worked in a professional digital call center for Kodak and if you weren’t completely on your toes, you would never make it through the day. So, there I was…in bed feeling sorry for myself, when I got the call to turn on the t.v. Like everyone else, I was glued to the screen, mouth gaping open, grabbing tissue after tissue wiping tears from what I was seeing.
A few hours later, the news let us know that the Red Cross was waiting for any blood donations they could find. All I wanted to do was to drive to NYC to help, but in my heart I knew that I wasn’t the right person to be able to do much of anything. So, what I could do, was to give blood to my local Red Cross. I knew it would be really busy, so I hopped on my bike and rode over.
The nights and days following were solemn. I remember seeing memorials everywhere. I lived in the city of Rochester, and as you walked through the neighborhoods, there were candles, flags, and flowers on the porch steps, and in windows.
In thinking back to those 10 years ago, the American flag is what stuck out in my mind the most. I used to take it for granted sometimes, or forget about it … but now when I see one, I am instantly filled with pride and hope.
On this 10th year remembrance, I was going to head out and photograph some of the events that were going on to commemorate that day in history, but all I could think about was my family. How I still have a family, and how all the families out there had lost so many loved ones. I decided the best way to honor them, was to spend that time with my family and to proudly wave the flag at our home. So that’s what I did, and they were some of the best hours of my life.
