I remember the day when I was at home after I had got the children and my husband off to school and work. After taking a short nap, I awoke to the vision of the smoking tower which I thought was a movie.
Later, the second plane struck the second tower and I heard the reporter say he did not see what it was but someone had said they had seen another plane hit the second tower. I sat there is shock: Why and who would do such a thing? I did not believe that this could be happening; little did I know this was an attack on our homeland.
When Pearl Harbor happened, did the people who were at home that day feel the same as I had? Did they think they were listening to another War of the Worlds? Who would have thought of turning our own airliners against the people? Who was these people? But the way Pearl Harbor happened, wasn’t it the same way? Didn’t some people see the Japanese planes coming forth toward Pearl Harbor but they did not respond? How many months did the hijackers study our airlines and our security? Was it two years or three?
Then, after the minutes past, the report of the airline hit the Pentagon. This is when I realized, our security has been shattered. We are no longer in our little cocoon of safety; we are under attack. My children are in school, should I go and get them, my husband is at work, does he know? I began to think about my job — will it be affected? I sat there on the couch and tried to get the plan laid out to what do I need to do. Then the flight 93 struck earth. I thought: the Twin Towers, the Pentagon, and now one crashed in an open field. Why an open field? Later on I found out, the brave people who were on that plane decided to take things into their own hands and storm the cockpit.
They had talked to their loved ones by cellphones what had been happening here on earth. They the passengers were there in the plane with the hijackers, we on the other hand, were listening and watching on TV and radios. They were there! They knew what the outcome would be, so they had nothing to lose. So the plane went down in the lonely field at Shanksville, it did not reach its destination. What are we willing to give up to reach our destination? Let’s roll!