We do our loved ones a
disservice by telling them that we will protect
them, and that nothing would ever happen to them. Why? We would be
lying. Instead, we should tell them that our entire world can crash
down around us in...the Blink of an Eye.
On September 11, 2001, we
never saw the truth of this as well as this day.
In
the Blink of an Eye…
The phone rang at work long
before the doors opened for our patients.
“Kim!
Quick! Turn on the TV in the reception room! We're under attack!
We're under attack!”
For
only one second, I was paralyzed as I sat staring at the receiver I
had just slammed down on its cradle. The next thing I knew, I was
running up the hallway to tell everyone, only to find that several
others had been notified. We ran into the reception room, and one of
the girls turned on the TV.
Complete silence rained down
on us as we stood watching the horrifying scene before our eyes. A
plane flew directly into the WTC, and the building exploded. How it
managed to stand at that point, I had no idea. Of course, it was a
replay of the first incident.
The news anchors were truly
professional in their coverage, but they couldn't hide the shock in
their eyes and voices. This was the first attack. Discussion back
and forth revealed that it never entered their minds that this was an
attack. That's when the second plane dove into the second tower –
live! None of us could believe what we were seeing. While we sat
stunned, and silent, we were all thinking the same thing. Is this
real? No! It can't be real! It's some sort of joke! But, deep down,
we knew it wasn't.
True terror broke out in our
little room, and even more obvious...on TV. The anchors kept asking
if this was an attack, but like us, our brains weren't connecting.
Then, the next plane crashed
into the Pentagon. At that point, realization, finally, grabbed us
in the grip of terror unlike any of use had ever felt. We were under
attack. There was no other option. But, if so, WHERE would it end?
That's the question that kept going around and around in my mind.
Answer was? The next plane was on its way to Washington after it
turned in the opposite direction.
This plane was taken down by
the people on the plane after several called their loved ones on
their cells – something we are not allowed to do. These people
chose to go down to keep who knows how many people from being killed
in the end. True heroes are never born. They are made in the moment
of choice. The plane crashed into a field. All planes were
grounded. We will probably never know how many more planes were
actually going to crash into other major government areas.
In the Blink of an Eye…
It
was time to open our office doors, so we all went to our places in
silence, and dazed. None of us wanted to be there, because of the
feelings we were all holding, but were unwilling to express. The
idea of talking was abhorrent to us, but we knew that wasn't
possible. No
matter what, our days would go on, our lives would continue, but
something inside of us changed that day – with just a blink of the
eye. One second, all was normal, the next second, it would never be
the same again. Like a person who has had his home invaded, our home
just felt no longer safe.
First,
I grabbed my cell phone to call my husband and my daughter. For the
next two hours, I could not reach them, and I was beside myself, but
I went through the motions of my job as patient representative and
collector. I had a radio in my office, which I turned on to listen to
see if another attack was coming. Once all the planes were grounded,
the chances of that dropped to almost zero. But, that still didn't
stop that tightness in my chest that made breathing so hard, and that
knot in my stomach wouldn't let me eat that day. When my husband
answered after a couple of hours later where I discovered he had been
trying to call me as well, my chest eased a bit. Then, I finally
talked to my daughter, and it eased up even more. She, too, had been
trying to reach us. At that time, she was covering everything for her
college TV station.
In
the Blink of an Eye…
I
listened to the radio all day long hoping that is was over, only to
find out it wasn't – not by even a mile! No. Some experts were
brought on the air, and suddenly, I heard them say they hoped that
the Towers would not collapse! Again, I was stunned speechless. I
stopped what I was doing, and stared out the thin window in my
office. And, then, in the middle of the “what ifs”, I heard them
yell that it was going down! One of the towers was going down. At
this point, I know they had mentioned flight numbers and towers,
etc., but I was fixated on planes crashed, and tower collapsing. My
heart sank into my shoes when I heard the horror in the voice on the
radio as he described what was happening.
It didn't make a difference
that I had never been to New York, or DC or even Pennsylvania. As far
as I was concerned, everyone of those people were my brother and
sister. We came from many different countries and races. We were
different colors. But, that didn't matter at all. We were one,
because we were Americans. We
may bend, but we do not break. It's our diverse culture that makes
us so strong.
And,
then, I just waited. The other one was coming down, too. I knew it.
There was just no doubt in my mind at all. Later, we would see the
horrific scenes of people jumping instead of burning to death. At
this point, I had not seen the TV, but even our patients couldn't
speak that day. It was as silent as the grave, except for what we
had to do. I spoke several more times to my husband and daughter.
We needed reassurance that we were as OK as possible. It
was the only certainty that we had that day.
In
the Blink of an Eye…
When
we came home, my husband and I – like billions of others – sat in
front of our TV as if we were in some type of spell. And,
perhaps, we were.
We couldn't take our eyes off of it. I
saw everything that had happened that I had not seen while listening
to the radio. We went through the motions of eating, but not tasting
anything. Sleep
was long in coming that night, and quite frankly, I doubt anyone in
this country slept.
And,
for One Moment in time, Just One Moment...
Everyone
on TV were covered in a gray dust. Suddenly,
I
was reminded me of a line out of “Volcano”.
“They
all look the same,” the little boy told the officer holding him,
who
had asked him
if he saw his Mom.
And,
for just one moment in our history and time, just
one moment?
Everyone
was a “gray”. We were all
the same:
the
same
color, same people, same faith, same life, but only
ONE
PEOPLE!
While we all knew
that we would return to our silly bickering about everything and the
kitchen sink, just
for
just this ONE MOMENT in time?
We
truly were ONE!
In
the Blink of an Eye…
...remember
this. Life can change in just that minute moment of a blink of an
eye. We almost have no time in the short life that we are granted
upon this Earth. Why waste the short time that we do have?
Everything
changed that day. Everything. Instead of arguing, we need to be
vigilant, because what happened on 9/11 could easily happen once
again – only this time? The outcome could be a lot worse. And, it
can all happen…
In
the Blink of an Eye.
