Alarm…snooze…Alarm…snooze…
After hitting the snooze button a few too many times, I awoke to check IMs/Email only to receive a somewhat frantic IM: “Pete, are you watching this?”
Whatching what? I think to myself, somewhat bleary eyed. “Do you know what’s going on?”
I had no idea, but I do now. After listening quietly to the horror that has unfolded regarding a half dozen (or more) acts of terrorism against the United States of America in the span of a few hours, the weight of this morning’s events is finally starting to settle in.
In the span of just a few hours, a terrorist group (report by some as the PLO), has transformed the United States from a confident, bustling giant into an aprehensive and pensive mass. Two plans have crashed into the World Trade Center, collapsing both towers. A plane has crashed into the Pentagon. A car-bomb went off somewhere in D.C.. A plane has crashed into Camp David. A plane crashed somewhere in Pennsylvania. The FAA has grounded all flights. Those already in the air have been rerouted to Canada. The whys and hows still have yet to be determined, but I can guarantee that you’ll remember where you were when you heard it.
When I hear people of my parents’ generation talk about how they felt when JFK was assassinated I could only wonder how I would have felt. To be completely floored by what I was hearing; to not believe a word of it. I’ve always been curious about what kind of event would have such a lasting impression that I would remember that moment in time for the rest of my life. Now I know.
The reality is mind-blowing. All of the death, all of the destruction. Innocent American Citizens killed and wounded, families desperately trying to determine if their loved ones are ok, a nation holding its breath — waiting for the next strike from the unseen aggressor.
Is this over? I sincerely doubt it.