The Sky Was Never That Blue Again

I remember where I was when the news began to break on September 11, 2001.

Everyone alive at that time remembers. I was at work, fifty miles from home. It was a beautiful, clear-sky morning in Indiana. A friend working nearby called me that morning and asked if I had seen any news about a plane flying into the World Trade Center. Early details were sketchy and we assumed it was a small plane accident. An hour later we decided to go out for lunch, to some place with a television so we could find out what the hell was happening.

The attack was unbelievable, the audacity only eclipsed by the results. On the way back from lunch we heard on the car radio the Pentagon was also attacked. It was too much to sit with in an office, so we called it a day.

The long ride home was eerily quiet and I was amazed at how few cars were on the road. The clear blue skies weren’t criss-crossed with contrails, there were no planes in the air. When I got back to town I tried to stop for fuel but long lines had formed at all the gas stations. I couldn’t understand why as there had been no news of an attack on our fuel supplies. I guess everyone just wanted to fill up in preparation for the unknown. I saw an actual fist-fight breakout at one station where they had run out of gasoline to sell.

These are the things stuck in my memory from that day.

Twenty-five years ago today. A quarter century of carrying this anger. Of course I was angry. I’m still angry when I think about it and it has made me understand why my Dad never forgave the attack on Pearl Harbor, even seventy years later. That anger is refreshed every year as we remember this solemn occasion.

It was a turning point for America, and not for the better. I remember every politician and religious leader in 2001 saying that if this event changes our way of life then the terrorists won. Well, we changed so I guess they won. Nothing has been the same in America since 9/11.

The sky has never been as blue as it was that morning before the attack.