4 Years Later

My parents can tell you exactly where they were and what they were doing when JFK was assinated. I can tell you where I was and what I was doing the moment Space Shuttle Challenger exploded.

Everyone I know can tell you where they were and what they were doing at 8:46am four years ago today.

That particular morning I was working for the USDA, Natural Resources Conservation Service. I was scheduled to have an interview with the C.I.A. for a position as an image analyst later that day. The interview was set up through a friend of mine who works there and had come to visit me that particular weekend. My friend was also a former employee of the USDA, so she decided to stop by and catch up with all her old coworkers.

By the time the second plane struck the towers, we had the TV on at work, watching in disbelief. When the news broke about a plane striking the Pentagon, the station showed live shots of the immediate aftermath. My friend instantly broke into tears.

The area that the plane struck was the same area that she was assigned to work to for the past few months. Her office was destroyed. Her new coworkers killed. If she had not taken two vacation days to come visit me, she too would most likely be dead.

What do you say at a moment like that?

The butterfly effect of that day sent shockwaves of insecurity and change throughout the world. Still to this day, the images and actions of 9/11 remain fresh in my mind. And with me traveling for work, not a minutes goes by that I'm not standing at an airport somewhere, waiting in line for security, realizing over and over again, what it took to put America in this state.

Like each generation before me, I have my life-altering event. The one single thing that globally changes the way we live each and every day.

May we learn from the events that led up to these disasters, so that our children won't have to write blog entries like these.

UPDATE: I just finished watching The Flight That Fought Back on the Discovery Channel. This was an excellent program and I recommend it to anyone who just feels the need to know more information and a personal look at the heroes on Flight 93. Excellent material.