September 11, 2010

Everyone remembers where they were when they heard the news of the attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. I was teaching a group of newly hired nurses at Mercy Medical Center. It was the second day of their employment, and I had just introduced myself and outlined the plan for the next four days of classes. It was a routine I had performed many times before. According to the itinerary, I had just introduced the first speaker of the day and shortly after 9 a.m. I walked up to our IT department, where I would confer with the computer trainer who would be spending the afternoon with the group. We always reviewed the attendance roster so that she could prepare the new employee logins. As I entered the cubicle-filled room, there was loud chatter from the usually quiet group. I asked if I had missed the invitation to the party. "The World Trade Center has been bombed" someone in the group told me. Shocked, I looked to see that several people were streaming live newscasts on their computers. Looking over shoulders, I watched the smoke billow from the first tower as together we saw the second plane cross the field of vision, then disappear. It took a few moments before we realized what had happened.

At some point I remembered my room full of new employees. I returned to the room, watched as the speaker finished, and prepared to dismiss the group for the morning break. I struggled with whether to break their concentration with the news. Would the rest of the day be lost in a wave of distraction? What if the US were under some big attack? Didn't they have a right to know? I decided to give them what sketchy information I had. "You need to know that in just the past few minutes I've learned that there has been some sort of attack on the World Trade Center in New York. I don't really know any details. We have a 15 minute break and there is a television in McDonalds just down the hall." One of the women in the group cried out, "My son just finished Marine boot camp. Oh my god, we're at war!" and she ran from the room.

The rest of the day and week is a blur of images and impressions, but those few minutes are crystal clear in my memory. I asked Hannah today if she remembers anything from that day. She was 4 years old, and though we tried hard not to, apparently Al and I watched enough television and conveyed enough fear that she slept in our bed for several nights. Today, she doesn't remember any of it.

For a few years, each September 11 brought a bit of nervousness as rumors of terrorist activities circulated. Now, nine years later, it seems that things are pretty much business as usual. The BIG Iowa vs. Iowa State game was the news of the day, and the families of Hannah's fall softball team had our own tailgating party during a break, circling a generator-powered big screen TV that one of the dads provided. Aside from the flag flying at half-mast at the softball field, there was no mention of that infamous day.

These little girls are playing in the shadow of the flag pole, completely unaware of the meaning behind the flag's position. They weren't even born yet in 2001.

Most of the girls playing their games today have little or no memory of September 11, 2001. The flag was a quiet reminder to the rest of us who vividly remember that day.
















And as a reminder that fall is nearing, I caught this photo of these children playing in a freshly harvested field. Though the sun was out, the wind was cool today. It reminded me very much of this day 9 years ago.

The laughter of our children reminds us that life goes on and even the painful memories of the worst tragedies fade in our memories over time.  May God continue to pour his blessings upon America. And may America never cease to be one nation, under God.