10 years ago I learned what the Twin Towers were.
10 years ago I woke up earlier than normal, got ready for school, had some time to kill so I decided to go into my mom's bedroom to watch some cartoons. I turned on the TV and saw the Twin Towers. I turned to my mom and told her that a building was on fire. When I turned back to the TV, I saw the second plane crash into the South Tower. I will never forget that image. I didn't understand what exactly was going on, but I was afraid. I turned back to look at my mom and she had a blank expression on her face and then she said "Ripsy is there." Ripsy is my older sister. She is from Armenia and she came to live with my family as an exchanged student when I was 6. She is exactly what I wanted in a big sister, especially when she helped me with my math homework. Ripsy is smart, she graduated from BYU and from Harvard. She then went on to work for a big company in New York City, and her office was blocks away from the Twin Towers.
10 years ago I got on the bus and went to school. I was in 8th grade, and I had just rearranged my schedule so that my first class of the morning I was an Office Aid for the Main Office and my job was answering phones, and it was my very first day doing it. The more phone calls I received from frantic parents asking me if our school had a bomb shelter, the more I realized the seriousness of the situation.
10 years ago while working in the Main Office I had to go to the library to give a message to one of the teachers there. I walked in and saw one of my teachers, Mr. Chilcoat, standing in front of the big screen TV, with his hand over his mouth and his eyes closed. Students sat around and watched and nobody said a word. I stood near the TV and watched as the first tower fell. I choked back the tears, ran back to the office, called my mom and asked her if she had heard from Ripsy. She hadn't.
10 years ago I got home from school and my mom was waiting in the kitchen for everyone. Ripsy had told someone that she was safe and word got to us, but we still hadn't talked to her. Several days later she called.
10 years ago Rispy was at work when she heard a loud crash. The alarms went off and then a voice came on over the speakers and said it was a false alarm and they didn't need to evacuate. Later she heard another crash, and looked outside to see airplane parts, building parts, and debris fly by her window. The alarm went off again, and this time they were told to evacuate. Ripsy walked outside with two of her coworkers and started walking away from the towers. When the towers fell, they ran. The three of them ran together but the debris was catching up. Ahead of them was a very tall man that pulled them into an alley as they were swallowed up by the debris and covered them with his coat. After the debris settled, Rispy had to walk several miles home.
10 years ago I learned what it meant to be proud to be an American. I had sung all the Patriotic songs before, but now I understood. And I learned that no matter what happens in life, evil won't win.
10 years ago I got on the bus and went to school. I was in 8th grade, and I had just rearranged my schedule so that my first class of the morning I was an Office Aid for the Main Office and my job was answering phones, and it was my very first day doing it. The more phone calls I received from frantic parents asking me if our school had a bomb shelter, the more I realized the seriousness of the situation.
10 years ago while working in the Main Office I had to go to the library to give a message to one of the teachers there. I walked in and saw one of my teachers, Mr. Chilcoat, standing in front of the big screen TV, with his hand over his mouth and his eyes closed. Students sat around and watched and nobody said a word. I stood near the TV and watched as the first tower fell. I choked back the tears, ran back to the office, called my mom and asked her if she had heard from Ripsy. She hadn't.
10 years ago I got home from school and my mom was waiting in the kitchen for everyone. Ripsy had told someone that she was safe and word got to us, but we still hadn't talked to her. Several days later she called.
10 years ago Rispy was at work when she heard a loud crash. The alarms went off and then a voice came on over the speakers and said it was a false alarm and they didn't need to evacuate. Later she heard another crash, and looked outside to see airplane parts, building parts, and debris fly by her window. The alarm went off again, and this time they were told to evacuate. Ripsy walked outside with two of her coworkers and started walking away from the towers. When the towers fell, they ran. The three of them ran together but the debris was catching up. Ahead of them was a very tall man that pulled them into an alley as they were swallowed up by the debris and covered them with his coat. After the debris settled, Rispy had to walk several miles home.
10 years ago I learned what it meant to be proud to be an American. I had sung all the Patriotic songs before, but now I understood. And I learned that no matter what happens in life, evil won't win.
3 comments:
Good post. (Y)
You were in 8th grade?! So young.
I remember being so worried about Ripsy and knowing there were lots of people other people cared about in that destruction. I truly changed our perspective of "freedom."
Well written.
xoxo
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