Where Were You On 9/11?

With all the news coverage of 9/11, it got me to thinking about 9/11/01. I remember very vividly where I was.

I was in the car with my parents when the morning radio show announced that a plan had hit one of the Twin Towers. I remember thinking that was a crazy plane accident and someone at Boeing was going to lose their job over this. I didn't think much of it though.

I went to my JROTC classroom. Everyone was glued to the television, watching CNN. After about 5 minutes of watching, my perception completely changed. I realized that it wasn't just a really bad plane crash; it was a terrorist attack that was planned and was likely to get worse before it got better. Then the second plane hit. There was talk of more attacks but they didn't know where yet.

My high school was very close to downtown Chicago. My parents both worked downtown, as did many family members of many classmates. We were very scared because of all the unknown unknowns. We sat there and watched in horror as the first tower fell. People who were unable to get through on their cells to family members in New York,Chicago, D.C., and L.A. started to freak out and had to be calmed down. The thought of going to class really wasn't on anyone's minds.

I didn't go to my next class, but I did go to my third class because I knew that teacher would be holding class no matter what was going on. I was correct, he was holding class. In the middle of learning physics, my parents told me downtown was being evacuated and I should gather my things so they could pick me up on the way home. I gladly informed my teacher I was leaving for the day.

There is a bridge that crosses over the street between two of the buildings of my high school. If you stand right in the middle of the bridge facing downtown, you can see all the way to the Willis Sears Tower. I stood there for a moment on my way to get my stuff, imagining what it would be like if something were to happen to that big building in my big city. It was too much to think about, so I quickly moved on to the agreed meeting place for my parents and I.

They picked me up and we grabbed some food on the way home. We spent the rest of the evening watching coverage on all the news channels. We did that every evening for a long time. That video of the cameraman running away from the falling building as the debris and smoke clouds envelope him is forever seared in my memory. I was surprised how accurately I remembered it when it was shown again in 10 year anniversary coverage of that day.

In the years since 9/11, I've been actively trying not to remember the pain of that day. Much like the day my college boyfriend died and the day my great-grandmother died, I try to do things that day that refuse to acknowledge the deep emotions I'd feel if I stopped for even a moment to think.

This year has been different though. In the days leading up to 9/11, I remembered the pain. I felt small bits of hope when people who suffered personally find ways to rise above the ashes. And I found myself fascinated to hear what others were doing in those moments that changed America. What were you doing on 9/11? What have you been doing on 9/11 the last 10 years?

The World As A Robert Southey Story

Robert Southey was an English poet. One of the things he's famous for (or rather, should be famous for) is writing "The Story of the Three Bears", as in Goldilocks and the Three Bears. You know the story, we all know the story. That is, unless you had no childhood that involved the English language. In which case, read this.

This story applies to today's post because sometimes things are too hard. Sometimes they can appear too soft. But for me, things are just right.

This life's too hard

Image of some of this year's natural disasters via jafrianes.com

This year has sucked in terms of natural disasters. Again, if you don't know what I'm referencing, you've really got to get from underneath that rock. From sink holes to power plant meltdowns to earthquakes to famine to drought to hurricanes to tornadoes to flooding to snowstorms to hailstorms, we've had it all. And they've been big enough and bad enough to make national and international news. The people who have (or have not) survived through these events are not having a good year. Their year sucks and probably seems like it can't get much worse.

Those of us who aren't suffering could and should do something to help out. Sending money to charities helping these people who are about to get all their FEMA money wiped out by douchebag Eric Cantor (if he can manage it) would be a great first step. Okay, I'm getting off my soapbox now.

This life's too soft

Image via disney.wikia.com

It really wasn't that easy to think of who's life has been ridiculously easy this year. It seems like everyone is suffering. But then I remembered those most responsible for the suffering: fund managers. That includes hedge fund managers, CEOs, and bank executives. These folks are having an amazing year. Yes, they are laying off people because of lowering profits. But those profits aren't actually so low that they'll have to lose their lovely bonuses or sell a couple private jets. They're just lower than the other rich ass shareholders would like.

These people are living high on the hog and life is good. Everyone in power wants to appease their every whim. The rest of us are beholden to them, begging them not to raise our overdraft fees. Must be nice.

This life's just right
With all that's been happening around me good and bad, it's nice to look at my life and realize it's just right. Sure, things get hectic. There are days when I don't see Easy for a couple days in a row or only for ~10 minutes at a time because he's on his way in/out when I'm doing the exact opposite. That sucks, but we make the most of the time we do have together.

And work is awesome. I feel like I'm getting more info poured in than I can possibly retain, but then a night comes along when I have to prove I know it all not just in theory, but in practice, and it all comes together (much to my surprise).

My friends are awesome and my family is awesome. Having more time would be nice, but I can't have everything. As far as I know, no one feels neglected. Except maybe my cat Belle, who is very judgemental and temperamental.

She's not camera shy, but she doesn't like being photographed when she first wakes up.

So no personal tornadoes, but I do have over $100,000 of student loans to pay back. Yup, just right.