Happy Birthday Dad! Looking forward to dinner with the fam tonight!

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While I realize that my personal experience on September 11, 2001 pales in comparison to those of anyone who lived in New York City or Washington, DC, I can’t help but ruminate on the morning 5 years ago that changed everything.

I was on my way to work and Alli and I were driving together as we did back then. Just before I dropped her off, we heard some news on the radio: something had happened in New York City - a missile or something had hit one of the two towers at the World Trade Center. We were safe and sound back in Kansas City, but my dad was working for a New York-based company at the time and his office was in Chelsea, a mere 20-some blocks from the World Trade Center.

I immediately called my dad and this is about what our conversation went like:

Me: “What’s going on?” (in a panicked voice)

Dad: “Not much. How are you?”

Me: “Can you see the World Trade Center from where you are at?”

Dad: “I can see it from the balcony. Why?”

Me: “They’ve said that it got hit by something, maybe a plane or a missile. I’m surprised you didn’t hear it.”

Dad: “I’ll go outside and check it out.”

…

Dad: “Oh my…it’s like something out of a movie. The top floors are all smoking.”

Me: “I heard it on the radio and had to call to make sure you were OK.”

Dad: “I’m fine. I’m fine, but…HOLY SH!T…something just hit the other one.”

Me: “What? Something hit the other one?”

Dad: “Yeah. I think it was a plane. I need to let you go.”

Me: “Are you OK? I’m worried.”

Dad: “I’m fine. I’ll call to let you know what is going on. I need to go now.”

Me: “I love you, Dad. Be safe.”

Dad: “I love you too. Tell Mom and Jake that everything is OK.”

Me: “I will. Love you. Bye.”

Dad: “Bye.”

It was the weirdest day. I went into work, but I watched TV in our training room for most of the day. I was the only one in the office who had family in New York. It was surreal. I remember watching the towers come down and I don’t remember thinking about terrorists or patriotism or anything like that at the time. I just remember thinking: I want my dad home. Right now.

It was several days before he could get on a flight and come home. I think that he was on one of the very first flights that left LaGuardia when planes started flying again. I was so happy to see him when he returned. So glad that he was safe. The following days were a blur. That morning, I remember thinking that we would be lucky if there were less than 20,000 people that died that morning. If it was about luck, then we were more than lucky. A much lower number lost their lives that day, but the effects continue to resonate through our daily lives today.

I don’t know if our lives will ever be the same. We’ve been at war seemingly since that day and there isn’t an easy end in sight. The chain reaction of events has been felt around the world as the United States’ war on terror travels around the world. Thinking back to that day, I can’t believe that it was only 5 years ago. It’s amazing to think how much time has passed, yet we still haven’t found any semblance of normalcy. I hope that it is in our future, but my fear is that it may not be.

Today, I just wanted to remember - to remind myself of the amazing strength that the city of New York showed in a time of adversity. It made everyone proud to call themselves American and it made everyone admire the city’s resilience. Most of all, for me, it make me remember how much I love my dad and how glad I was to hear his voice on the other end of that line and how glad I was to see him return home.

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