the past 2 weeks have been kind of crazy. earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, and now we are coming upon september 11th. a day i will never forget.

i thought about posting my usual today but how can i? the 10 year anniversary is coming up, sunday actually, and it seems to be the only real thing on my mind. it’s a day that i will always remember, like it was yesterday.

september 11, 2001…

it was a beautiful day in ny, remember? the sun was shining, it was the perfect morning. i woke up a little later then i was supposed to that day and just figured, eh, it’s nice out, i’ll just take my time getting to work today. i turned on the news right before i was about to leave to make sure my train was running (i lived off the G line) a plane had just crashed into one of the world trade center buildings. at that time we were told it was an accident. a helicopter lost control. weird i thought. my train was running ok so i just left. i walked out of my apt and looked down the street. i lived in brooklyn at the time and i had a direct view from my block of the world trade centers. it was like i could reach my hand across the river and touch them. i saw smoke and then my neighbor walked out of his building. we just looked at each other and shrugged. we both commented on how weird this all was and we both  continued to walk down to the subway. we were turned around. there was a police officer stationed at every entrance and we were told the subways were off limits until further notice. so i called into work, turned around and went home.

at that time no one in midtown really new what was going on. my boss had no clue and when i called in she didn’t believe me. we hung up after me telling her to go turn on the radio in my office. as i continued down the street and turned down my block i saw the 2nd plane fly into the building/the explosion. all i heard was screaming. i ran home and turned the tv on only to find out what was going on.

i sat there alone and stared at the tv in shock. my phone rang and it was my brother, he lived in dc at the time. he asked me if i was ok, and where i was and then said parts of dc were being evacuated. his classes were canceled and he was on his way back to his apt. we hung up and i tried to call my mom. no answer…i called my grandparents who live uptown…no answer. it’s moments like these you realize how alone you really are. i just cried.

i finally reached my mom, she was in midtown doing some buying and ran up to my grandparents apt as soon as everything started happening. while everyone was running out of the city all i wanted to do was get in. i wanted my family. i needed a hug.

a plane went down in dc, it hit the pentagon…

and then the south tower fell…

flight 93 went down…

and then i watched the 2nd tower fall…

i was alone. my neighbor rang my bell and told me to come outside. all i saw when i walked out my door was a huge dust cloud covering lower manhattan. we were all away from our families and all came together. it was the comfort i needed, from strangers i nod to every morning only because i was trying to be friendly.

i will never forget that day. the sadness, the tears, not being able to do anything.

i had nightmares for months. every time a plane went over head i watched to see where it was going.

nyc was different. it wasn’t cold anymore, everyone was helping each other and lending a hand. it wasn’t the same city i grew up in.

not only is september 11th the day the world changed,  it’s also my grandparents anniversary and the day of a good friends birthday. it’s a day i will never forget. it’s a day that will always be with me.

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