My 9/11 story is simple enough. It starts long before that day. After high school, I joined the Army. I could do the push-ups and the sit-ups, however I couldn’t get past the run part of the physical. There is no shame really, I guess I just wasn’t built for running.
On that fateful day, I was at home waking up and I tune my radio to Howard Stern (I don’t care what you say about him; he had the best morning shows on the radio at the time, hands down) to wake up to. I had class later that day and was in no hurry to get up. I remember getting hungry, so much so that I needed something to eat. I got up and made myself a bowl of cereal. A few minutes later, my dad comes running into the kitchen (I lived with my dad at the time) and tells me something aweful has happen. We turn on the tv and there was the first tower smoking.
Now I have to stop here and tell you that I thought my dad knew about some kind of horror/action movie was on and was playing this up to joke on me. This was just to horrorible to be real. After a few minutes and switching to other channels, the reality shunk in. Then, right before my eyes and live on tv, the second plane hit the second tower.
The rest of the day was a blur. All I remember is that the rest of the world faded away and all there was what was happening on the tv. I barely ate and I was a weck by the end of the day.
I knew going forward that I really could not rejoin the Army. But I did support our efforts to fight the War On Terror. I even met a girl who joined the Army in the middle of Iraq/Afghanistan and fell in love with her.
Now, Osama Bin Laden is dead. Justice has been done. While I still don’t like Obama politically nor will I ever vote for the man, I tip my hat that he kept this quite until we had his body.
Last night I almost went to bed before turning the channel onto Fox News. They said Obama was going to give a speech. I am now relieved that I stayed up and was able to hear Obama’s speech on the death of public enemy number one.
My good friend Moe Lane said it best:
(L)et us now get on with our lives; bin Laden is dead, and I am alive, and that is precisely how things should be.
Amen.
Added (05/11/2011): Heh.
Well, see ya’ later!
(more…)