For those of us who were around 16 years ago, especially in #nyc, the images are seared into our brains. Apparently I'm only 30 miles from the #freedomtower, closer than previously thought. It was my freshman year of high school, and it was very early, at the end of first or second period of the school day. My aide and I decided to wheel me up to the study hall room because we knew Ms. Ricco had a portable radio she would occasionally let us listen to. So for about 3 hours, I played "hookey" from class and listened to WCBS-AM until we were let out f school, listening to the on-site reports. I remember going home and watching Peter Jennings on ABC, one of the last widely-respected news people in the world, before people lost trust in the media (another subject for another day altogether)....it still seems surreal 16 years later. I also admit that in the weeks after #september11th 2001, music pretty much stopped on local radio (which was actually helpful considering the circumstances) as people called in to shows like #opieandanthony and #ronandfez - and these shows, normally "shock-jock", outrageously obnoxious and crude, decided to take calls from people searching for even tiny fragments of loved ones trapped underneath the rubble. Most people know what happened that day, and gradually, we did rebuild, and we did move forward, and for at least a few months, it seemed like the entire country, but here in #nyc especially, we put aside our differences, #politics and otherwise and truly rallied around in support of each other. It's ironic how, in times of tragedy or disaster, we do put differences aside. I have friends who lost loved ones that day. For some, it might get a little easier, others still have nightmares. We also shouldn't forget those near the #pentagon or in #pennsylvania who lost their lives trying to stop further chaos that day. Unfairly, tensions rose in the years to follow for those of the Muslim world because a few truly sick individuals disparaged their culture. I wish it had never happened. We can all still work towards harmony, if we #chooselove instead of automatically choosing violence, especially here in #america #neverforget (at Stamford, Connecticut)
