Today as I watched the 9-11 Memorial on CNN, it still felt so raw. It felt like it was yesterday as I could remember exactly what I was doing. I can't believe 10 years have passed already.
It will be another one of those days that will be etched on our memories for ever, for different reasons of course; like the death of Elvis (yes I am old enough to remember!) or the death of Princess Diana (I lived spitting distance from Kensington Palace and I will never forget the haunting silence around the palace on that Sunday morning when the news came through that she had died).
As I watched the 9-11 Memorial, it reminded me of one of my favorite songs/videos, that make me cry every time I listen to it.
Please take a moment to watch it (there are no images of 9-11), and ask yourself, have we made progress? Have things changed?
What were you doing on that fateful day?
I had just moved to Spain, was unpacking some boxes and decided to put on the TV.It was about 2.30pm. Hubs walked past as I put on the TV just as the unspeakable was happening, and said "Oh an action film. Do you mind if I watch it?" Eight hours later we were still watching.
What about you? Please share if it's not too painful.
Such a sad day. Kori xoxo
ReplyDeleteI was doing PR for a private club/hotel here and sat on the bed in the Penthouse with three of my friends - they are all dead now - it was such a tragic day and now my memory of it is all the more raw. One committed suicide last year and the other two died from cancer.
ReplyDeleteNow it's just me and a telephone that rarely rings.
Just watched the video - no, man's inhumanity to man will never change, we are tragically flawed.
ReplyDeleteI was sat on the sofa watching a black and white film about Lord Nelson with Laurence Olivier in it, when interrupted by a newsflash. Never did see the end of the film.
ReplyDeleteVery sad video, but as bourbon&pearls has said, there will always be man's inhumanity to man I think, but we must try as individuals to spread as much goodness as possible into the world.
This is beautiful, I have it playing as I write. I love Stevie Wonder.
ReplyDeleteMy daughter was 6mths old and she was at my mother in law's house 15 mins away. I happened to put on the TV and - like many others - thought I was watching a movie. I remember just not believing what I was seeing, calling my mother in law & we were on the phone in silence. Then an evening of trying to get through to friends in NYC and eventually getting thru to them about midnight.
We flew to Spain the very next day on holiday, our first flight with our new baby - can't believe we did it now, I think we were still in shock. I remember being in the airport & avoiding looking at the front pages. The plane was virtually empty and the staff sat with us since no food was allowed on the plane & they had nothing to do. We spent the first few days on the holiday glued to the TV in shock.
I remember listening on the news to the phone message of a beautiful girl who was on business in NYC, she was a newlywed and had phoned from one of the highest floors in the towers. She phoned her husband to say she loved him & that she was scared - he slept thru the whole message and never got to talk to her again. I've never forgotten it.
We will never forget that day....never.
I remember I had just gotten to work around the time the planes first hit--the towers were still up. Everyone at work was frantic--we had no doctor that day, so no patients either which was good because we were trying desperately to get a channel on the TV so we could see what was going on...trying to even understand what was going on. When they collapsed--we just sat there, horrified, crying...and then when more reports started coming in about the Pentagon and the flight that went down--complete disbelief. It was such a scary and sad day...and the feeling of helplessness was overwhelming. Bliss
ReplyDeleteI would like to think and hope, that people will continue to learn from the senseless loss of life and treat one another with respect and love, ONE DAY!! ... Beautiful video .... thanks for sharing your heart felt words.
ReplyDeleteI was waking up and had just turned on the TV and couldn't believe what I was seeing or hearing... blessing xo HHL
OMG! I knew I shouldn't have read these comments just before leaving the house. Now I look like Alice Cooper with mascara running down my face :-(
ReplyDelete@Tabitha aka Bourbon & Pearls: My God! your comments are so, so sad. Just reading how since that horrfic day you have lost 3 friends was so heart-wrenching. Yesterday must have been so painful for you for many reasons. Sending you HUGE hugs sweetheart.
OK, off to sort out my mascara and will be back to reply to the other comments ;-)
@Molly and the Princess:
ReplyDeleteYes, I think you are so right about man's inhumanity to man. That video was made so long ago, and yet it still means so much to us today. How sad we still haven't learnt our lesson.Thanking you so much for stopping by xx
@Simone-How on earth you got on the plane the next day I will never know. It took my 6 months to get back on a plane for a trip home, and I was terrified the whole time.For me, the telephone messages people left for their loved ones was the worst; haunting.
ReplyDelete@Bliss: I can't even begin to imagine what it must have been like for people living in the US/New York. Like you, we were glued to the TV, and as more and more reports came in, the feeling was just getting worse and worse; sheer helplessness.
ReplyDelete@HHL/Celia: Yesterday must have especially difficult for you I am sure; remembering what you were doing in 2001, and seeing how much your life has changed, and how much you have grown. Sending you big hugs xx
ReplyDeleteI was here in NYC. It was such a surreal day and time. It's still so painful to think about but I believe it's good to stop & reflect. To remember and to ask are we any safer? Is this world a better place? I think not, unfortunately. I wish the answer were different.
ReplyDeleteOh and on a lighter note, I remember when Elvis died too so we're in the same boat :) xoxo
I'd just graduated that year and was in my first job sorting through thousands of clothes on our buying floor and prepping for Paris in London. We had a TV on in our conference room and I watched everything happen live, everyone was transfixed to the TV, it was just horrible. I had friends out there and the only way of communication (for some) was email as nothing else worked. It was a sad sad time...
ReplyDeleteThat was one of the events that shook my outlook on the world/people and the 2nd horrific event was the 7/7 bombings, I'd caught the tube early that day (heading to Paddington), like 2 trains later and I probably wouldn't be here. I still count my lucky stars!
I was on vacation and had just had a cup of tea on my balcony, it was such a beautiful morning, and the sky was a magnificent blue that day. I turned on the morning news and started to make some scrambled eggs for breakfast when the news of the first plane came on. I took a look at the footage and was thinking that this was no accident and as I took another look at the t.v. they showed the second plane flying live into the second tower. I remember going numb and I must have been holding the frying pan in my hand because I remember the eggs dropping onto my foot.
ReplyDeleteI live in Toronto, Canada and there was some chatter that they might also try to bomb the financial district here and I was so terrified that I was actually unable to make a decision to do anything. I watched CNN about 20 hours a day for the next week. I felt so much pity and horror for the people affected by the bombers, but also for the innocent Muslim people who were targeted for the actions of some religious zealots. Love breeds love, and hatred breeds hatred, no matter what ones race, creed, colour or religion.
It was a pleasantly bright and warm morning. I was going down to my car heading to World Financial Center for a meeting at 11 am, when my cell phone ringed and my friend from London asked me if I've seen news this morning (which any other day I would have my morning coffee flavored by world news, not that morning though). He told that it was a terror attack. I run back, turn TV and in horror witnessed second aircraft striking second tower. The unpredictability of what would happen next, the anger and sadness paralyzed all emotional senses. The intense smoke of burning towers dimmed the sun, and the burning smell took control on the air. It would be had (actually impossible) to forget that nightmarish day.
ReplyDeleteWow! thank you so much for all your comments. Every single one of us remember every minute detail of that day. I have goose-pimples just reading all your stories. Thank you so much for sharing such a personal and painful day for most of us xx
ReplyDeleteI had returned from St. Petersburg, Russia a few days ago and was getting ready for my first day back to work. My brother called me (I was living on the west coast) and said, "Turn on your TV now," and hung up. I thought maybe he was on the morning news or something. And then I saw the horror and was watching as the second plane hit.
ReplyDeleteI made it into work two hours later, and those of us who did come in sat around all day watching TV on our computers. It was horrifying.
I can remember that day as if it was today. It was my parents´ wedding anniversary, and we were getting ready for going to the restaurant, when we saw the second plane crash...no need to say, we never made it to the restaurant. We stayed glued to the TV, watching those horrific images over and over again...and even today, I get goosebumps and I shiver, and I have tears in my eyes when I see those images again...
ReplyDeletexx Ivana
Style in the City
great post_I was the first to pick up my first and third grader at school--we walked home as the busses and cabs had stopped running. What a sad day--so many wonderful mothers and fathers lost.
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