Where Were You On September 11, 2001?

It's a question that will be asked today.

Where were you on September 11, 2001? What were you doing? No doubt your reaction was of horror, shock...surprise. Anger at those responsible. No doubt we all felt that on that horrendous Tuesday morning, when life here in the United States forever changed. When the security and peaceful complacency we felt since the end of World War II, perhaps, have ended. If you put the events in terms of Don Henley's End of the Innocence, then you will have been pretty much right on the money.

Myself, I was in New Orleans, Louisiana. Now, you have to remember that New Orleans is only an hour behind New York (New York's in the Eastern time zone, as New Orleans is in the Central). I hadn't yet learned of the planes going into the world Trade Center, or into the Pennsylvania field, or the Pentagon in Washington DC, when I went to work at the Louisiana Superdome (to help clean up for the Saints' home opener against the San Francisco 49ers, which was to commence on the 16th).

I cannot remember exactly what row I was cleaning (though it was, if I'm correct, somewhere in the midlevel on the...I think riverside area of the Dome. As you know, in New Orleans, locals refer to the side of the street closest to the Mississippi River as 'riverside; and the side of the street closest to lake Ponchartrain as 'lakeside'), but around 11:30AM Central time, the supervisor, Mary Wilson, told everyone to stop what they were doing, take their supplies- supplies being mops, brooms, and buckets- to the supply room and evacuate. Now a lot of us worked for this temp agency named Temps Today, so Mary had to sign us out.

As soon as I left the Dome, I went to the Wendy's across the street to get a combo- I think I got a Triple combo, supersized (or as Wendy's call it Biggie). I walked a couple blocks to Duncan Plaza, which is across the street from City Hall, and I saw these buses from the New Orleans RTA (Regional Transit authority) and Jefferson Parish Transit Administration going up and down Loyola Avenue with the signs having either being "Evacuation" or "Emergency" on them. So I turned on the radio to WWL AM 870, one of the big stations in the Big Easy. It was then I had learned that something had happened to the tower. It took me some time to digest what had happened- the towers collapsing, and what not. So I thought to myself, a disaster happened at the World Trade Center.

About an hour after I finished lunch, I went to the New Orleans Public Library, which was also across the street from Duncan Plaza, only a block and a half north on the corner of Loyola and Tulane Avenues. As soon as I got on the computer, I went to the website of WABC-TV Channel 7, New York's ABC flagship station, .

It was only then I had witnessed the horror as planes flew deliberately into both towers of the World Trade Center. I sat horrified as I watched innocents jump from the towers, in vain efforts to save themselves from the inferno. And of people running for their lives from the collapsing towers, and the smoke from them.

Moments later, I learned that the Pentagon had been struck. Fortunately, not many people were in that wing that got hit. Then there is the account of the vain yet heroic efforts of those who tried to regain control of United 93 in Pennsylvania.

No doubt, September 11, 2001 will go down in infamy. Many, myself included, likened the terrorist attacks to the events of December 6, 1941- when another terrorist attack happened on our shores. One that forced our hand, and brought us into an World War. Those events, of course, being the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawai'i and World War II. In fact, many could call it this generation's Pearl Harbor.

New York City was shown a lot of love in the intervening days. The attacks seemed to have humbled them, and the big, mean image that they've been known for likely have softened that day.

The terrorists' intent, of course, was to bring the United States of America to its' knees. But instead of tearing the country apart, it brought us together. No matter the race, no matter the political party. No matter the sexual orientation even (Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell's knuckleheaded statement that gays, lesbians, and pro-choice folks brought on the events of 9/11 notwithstanding), people of America showed the world that nobody- especially some Islamofacist bastards- would tear us apart. I remember not long after the attacks, I bought a US flag pin, and wore it proudly. Also, in the intervening days and weeks, I've seen many images of anger and pride, intermixed across the country. In New Orleans, I saw this pickup truck passing
the Line 16/South Claiborne RTA bus I rode en route back to the (Temps Today) office reading WE'RE GONNA GET YOU!, In smaller letters, the caption read RIP, WTC, 9/11/01. I remember drawing (more like sketching) a picture of Osama bin Laden, with his eyes crossed- and a target right between his eyes. Oh, yes. I hated- and still do to this day, hate- him.

Speaking of that spawn of Satan, when I saw the picture of that bastard on the front page of The (New Orleans) Times-Picayune about a month later, let's just say that I had to hold myself back from throwing the first object I could pick up. To just fucking gloat as he rehashed details of how he planned the attacks...I just felt like running into Saudi Arabia- or wherever the fuck he hid at- finding him, then have him die a very slow, and painful death. I still feel this way to this day, only, our military troops are doing the job for me. Sure, we still haven't found the bastard yet, but I live for the day when we do. In fact, I'd love to see a televised public execution of Mr. bin Laden. That would do me proud!



Now here it is, five years later. I'm back in Portland, Oregon, about to head to Los Angeles. Will America be terrorized again? Who knows when it will happen again, if so? After all, several more attempts have been made- most recently, the plot to blow up planes coming from Great Britain using plain old liquids and objects. I won't play Mr. Worrywart and say that it'll be a matter of time before America gets terrorized again- be it from Islamofacists, or from members of our own citizentry, even.

The events of 9/11/01 have made us more vigilant and alert, no doubt. Let's not wait until the next terrorist attack to wake up to the danger we constantly face daily.