We can never forget

Where were you when the world stopped turning, on that September day?Were you in the yard with your wife and children, or working on some stage in L.A.? Did you stand there in shock, at the sight of that black smoke, risin’ against that blue sky? Did you shout out in anger, in fear for your neighbor, or did you just sit down and cry?

I remember like it was yesterday. It was a beautiful Tuesday morning, at 9:40 a.m. I was at home, taking care of my dad, who was so ill. He was taking a nap, so I turned on MTV (yeah, they actually played music videos then!), and saw all the chaos and panic.

At first, I thought it was part of a music video; that was kind of big then for artists – people screaming and running, while things exploded and you waited for the music to “come in.” But on this, the music never came.

A chill came over me and I thought, maybe it isn’t just a music video. I remember the look on MTV host Carson Daly’s face. He was pale and shaking, and fighting tears. He kept choking up, trying to get his words out.

So, with mounting dread, I turned to a news channel, then another and another. And each anchor was like a rerun of Daly. Some couldn’t even form words, as they repeated themselves, over and over.

America is under attack. The Twin Towers in New York, have gone down. Planes have flown into the sides of the buildings, killing hundreds of people. This was no accident.

And as I knew these horrible scenes were truly real, I sank down into the glider rocker and sobbed. Not just for all those who lost their lives that day, but for the ones left behind, and most of all, for the ones who planned and carried out the acts of terrorism.

My heart broke a million times over, watching the replay of the second plane hitting the tower, when the whole world realized this was not just an accident, when the television showed people, leaping to their death from the towers before they collapsed, rather than being burned alive or buried in rubble.

That someone actually set out to do this to innocent people – well, I’ll never forget how I felt at that moment. Never.

As the day unfolded and my tears continued to flow, we learned of the attack on the Pentagon and of the Hero Flight, who stopped yet another plane that was hijacked, but still lost their lives, in spite of their bravery. I wondered if I ever could be so brave.

All I knew at that moment, was that my country was targeted, my people killed, my beliefs shaken. And I could do nothing, but pray and mourn.

The news outlets worried there would be more attacks, even worse, if you can believe it, targeting nuclear and military facilities. We waited, but the attacks didn’t come. Was it because we were more diligent, here on our home turf? That more security measures were put in place in airports, arenas and shopping malls?

Or had the terrorists simply done what they set out to do? Drive fear into our hearts.

Eventually, as the years passed, I stopped holding my breath as planes passed overhead. I stopped feeling as though the next breath would be my last. I stopped being afraid of what was to come.

But I never forgot.

For a long time, every American I knew was full of patriotic pride and hailed emergency personnel as the heros they are. Every yard flew a flag and every hand was over the heart during our Star Spangled Banner. But, like all history, the events of Sept. 11, 2001, faded into the recesses of the mind.

Have you forgotten how it felt that day, to see your homeland under fire and her people blown away? Have you forgotten, when those towers fell, we had neighbors still inside, going through a living hell.

Now, here we are, 20 years later. We got the ones responsible for the attacks. Hey, Uncle Sam put your name at the top of the list. Brought to you courtesy, of the red, white and blue. We changed how we thought and how we protected ourselves. While much of the change was for the better, we also let hate and mistrust enter our lives, targeting cultures different from ours. Police officers, once without reproach, are now the villains.

It saddens me, maybe even more than the 9/11 attacks, to see us fighting from within, when we should band together to fight those who would destroy the freedoms we stand for. If we don’t, the terrorists win and that’s not acceptable. No, we can’t forget what happened on 9/11, but we can learn from it, grow from it and become better, because of it.

We can’t erase that day or what came after, nor should we. All we can do is move forward, as a better people, learning from the experiences we share. And we must never, ever forget what brought us here today.

It’s like a major league baseball ad said as play resumed two decades ago, just after 9/11: We play. We mourn. But we never forget.