For me, three distinct dates comes to mind. April 19, 1995, March 1, 1997, and September 11, 2001.
April 19 was the date of the Oklahoma City Bombing. I was in sixth grade science class when we found out. It was just after lunch and we immediately turned on the news. My fears that day were for my Mom who worked in downtown Little Rock, Ar. She worked for the state and I was so scared that her building would be bombed as well. I don't remember watching much news coverage. I think that my parents probably made sure we didn't get overwhelmed by it all.
March 1 is a day that most Arkansans will never forget. There were numerous Tornadoes. One of the worst hitting a mere five miles from where I lived. God was with us that day and we were actually in Hot Springs at a Boy Scout Expo when it happened. The events of that night and the following days were terrifying. Many were missing or injured. Several were dead, including a fellow classmate. I was in eighth grade at the time and all I wanted to do was help! I remember just feeling helpless. There was nothing I could do but pray and I didn't think that God was answering my prayers fast enough.
September 11, 2001 is a day that I will NEVER forget. I wanted to take a second and tell you what i did that day and what I felt.
I had just turned 18 years old. I was in my second week of Freshman year at college attending the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. I had an 8:00 am class so Mom dropped me off at school around 7:30. I went to biology and was bored to tears like normal. It wasn't until we got out of class shortly before nine that I heard about the first plane. My first thought was that there was horrible accident. Something had gone wrong and the pilot had lost control. I had a psychology class that started at nine so I went ahead with my day as normal. When I got into class I found out that my Prof. was a retired Marine and had himself just heard about the first plane. He was very emotional but insisted on having class. Shortly after class started someone came in late and said that the second plane had hit. Many of us began to cry including the teacher. We did our best to continue class but it was pointless. We all knew were were under attack. I had a walk-man radio with me and I turned it on and listened to the news while pretending to be listening to the class. I very quickly found out about the two other planes and had to leave class.
I was terrified. What was happening to our country. Was this the end of the world? Was Jesus returning? I had so many things running through my head and I was at this new school all alone with no friends or family and no way to leave. I was in a place for of people but I felt all alone. The first thing I did was call my Mom. We cried together and she told me to be strong. All I wanted was to be at home with my family but I don't remember why now, but Mom couldn't leave work. My brother Jon was at the University of Arkansas in his second year and my Oldest brother was also working downtown near Mom. Dad was at work as well. Once I knew where everyone was and that they were safe I relaxed a little but, I could not wait to get home!
My next call was to Chris. We had only been dating for about three months but had been friends for 7 years. I wanted to make sure he knew what was going on. He was at work watching it on the TV. I was just going through my phone calling anyone I could think of just to say Hi, I'm thinking about you, are you Okay?
I then went into the Student Union. What happened in there still bothers me. Colleges are very diverse. I sat there watching new coverage with all types of people. Some crying uncontrollably because they knew someone who worked in the towers or the Pentagon. Some were unemotional, almost cheerful. I felt like they were celebrating saying America deserved it. I left the student center quickly. I was scared that there would be demonstrations and riots breaking out all over the country and I wanted to be at home!
A great friend took me home that day. Once everyone in the family was safe and together, I went and spent the evening with Chris. He has always had the ability to life my spirits and that was so needed. The following weeks were so hard on all of us, daily hearing accounts of what happened and watching the death toll rise. But through all that i was so proud to be and American. I saw a country that came together in a time of need. That for the most part put issues aside and helped those in need. We knew that day it was going to be a long road to recovery. We knew that finding those responsible was going to be a huge challenge and that many service men and women would be called to duty.
Today, 8 years later we are still fighting the war on terror. I am not surprised by this and I want our soldiers to finish what was started. We have come a long way, but we still have a long way to go. We didn't ask for this, but our soldiers and government have kept us safe for the past 8 years and we owe a them all a great deal of thanks. We may not agree with the way things have been handled. But we should all agree that the things done in the past 8 years have been necessary not only for our safety but for all of those innocent people killed on September 11.
I want to say thank you to everyone who responded that day. To everyone who has worked to help rebuild our country. To everyone who has fought or is fighting to keep us safe and free. To our government for stepping up and seeing we were under attack and fighting back! Most of all I want to thank those who have sacrificed their life for me and for our country. To their parents, thank you for raising someone not scared to do what was right!
God Bless You! God Bless America!
0 comments:
Post a Comment