The crystal clear sky of that day, the perfect weather in becoming the horror, terror and a subsequent turning point in the US. I was working for FEMA Response and Recovery in Virginia and saw live on Tv the second plane hit the second tower- the first already engulfed in flames-a strange circumstance that I happened to be passing by the break room where my supervisor stood paralyzed in front of the TV. Every individual has a story a history and memory, some far worse than others Of that day. Is my story the shock of not knowing where my husband- who worked at the Pentagon- or my daughter who was on a job training in Maryland and whether they were safe or is it somehow entwined with hundreds of stories told to me by 9-11 New York survivors needing FEMA assistance. What I wish to address here is something else and has to do with how I saw the traumatic effect 9-11 had on my daughter, a Millennial. The day of 9-11 had, in my experience, an eerie dark presence like the day Kennedy was assassinated, or the tenuous days of the Cuban Missile Crisis, the everyday drowning in fear of the Cold War as two Titan Nations, the USSR and US squared off, each building a bigger bomb at every turn. And much more on the list- like Vietnam or the CIA toppling of an Iranian Democracy to install a dictatorship, let alone Central America and the list goes on. What I am saying is this- I had experience from the past that allowed me as an adult to experience this in a way that was tempered. If you grew up during Détente, as my daughter did, well that is something so very different and nothing could have prepared your psyche then or now to figure out the complexity and depth of how this touched and changed your life as well as being part of a larger generational network still working on this. I certainly don’t have answers for this but I believe to keep writing on it, expressing it is also the elucidating of it.
I can’t even imagine what it must have been like being in NYC on 9/11. It was heartbreaking, eerie, and frightening just to watch the devastation on TV. Being there, worried about friends and family - would be too much to bear. I loved your words, “breathe through.” Hold to the center. And pray for wisdom. Thanks, D.
I was in a house we were renting (2 or 3 other roommates at the time). We were both entrepreneurs, so we both had little internet businesses set up in our rooms. My roommates told me something crazy was happening in NY, but the TV stations had zero info. I found info on the internet, and from there on out understood that the place for breaking news was no longer TV or radio.
It was a shock, to say the least. We have not recovered from 9/11, nor will we ever.
The crystal clear sky of that day, the perfect weather in becoming the horror, terror and a subsequent turning point in the US. I was working for FEMA Response and Recovery in Virginia and saw live on Tv the second plane hit the second tower- the first already engulfed in flames-a strange circumstance that I happened to be passing by the break room where my supervisor stood paralyzed in front of the TV. Every individual has a story a history and memory, some far worse than others Of that day. Is my story the shock of not knowing where my husband- who worked at the Pentagon- or my daughter who was on a job training in Maryland and whether they were safe or is it somehow entwined with hundreds of stories told to me by 9-11 New York survivors needing FEMA assistance. What I wish to address here is something else and has to do with how I saw the traumatic effect 9-11 had on my daughter, a Millennial. The day of 9-11 had, in my experience, an eerie dark presence like the day Kennedy was assassinated, or the tenuous days of the Cuban Missile Crisis, the everyday drowning in fear of the Cold War as two Titan Nations, the USSR and US squared off, each building a bigger bomb at every turn. And much more on the list- like Vietnam or the CIA toppling of an Iranian Democracy to install a dictatorship, let alone Central America and the list goes on. What I am saying is this- I had experience from the past that allowed me as an adult to experience this in a way that was tempered. If you grew up during Détente, as my daughter did, well that is something so very different and nothing could have prepared your psyche then or now to figure out the complexity and depth of how this touched and changed your life as well as being part of a larger generational network still working on this. I certainly don’t have answers for this but I believe to keep writing on it, expressing it is also the elucidating of it.
Once again, I find your “breathe through” such an apt and real expression. It is like a hand on the shoulder. Nice!!
A day unforgotten by the world, a day that changed all our worlds.
You write always with such profound understanding Darren... thank you 🙏🏽
I can’t even imagine what it must have been like being in NYC on 9/11. It was heartbreaking, eerie, and frightening just to watch the devastation on TV. Being there, worried about friends and family - would be too much to bear. I loved your words, “breathe through.” Hold to the center. And pray for wisdom. Thanks, D.
I was a toddler. I didn't have a clue of what was going on
Breathe through, breathe through...
This is so powerful, Darren
I love your words, and the way you honor life with them
💜
I was in a house we were renting (2 or 3 other roommates at the time). We were both entrepreneurs, so we both had little internet businesses set up in our rooms. My roommates told me something crazy was happening in NY, but the TV stations had zero info. I found info on the internet, and from there on out understood that the place for breaking news was no longer TV or radio.
It was a shock, to say the least. We have not recovered from 9/11, nor will we ever.