Going back 8 years in time I realize how long ago this unfortunate event was but how much it branded itself on my memory.
It was my first year in college, I smoked *yikes*, and hated math. and then there was 7 am Calculus with that guy that tucked his shirt halfway, with a protruding beer belly and cigarette butt stench, that spoke oh so softly (mind me, it's Math but I needed to listen to be able to understand!). By 7:05 am I would always step out for a morning smoke with my brewed coffee. I went to the coffee shop, bought my coffee and all of a sudden, a bunch of people started screaming, crowding by the TV area. Plane #1 had struck. Everyone was crying of how unfortunate this was, poor people on the plane, what a terrible tragedy, what a terrible accident. And, just then, Plane #2 struck. In our face, on live TV. No longer an accident, this could not be an act of nature. Classes stopped, people flowed out of the classrooms in my tiny college and crowded the TV's. More TV's were connected by staff members wanting everyone to be informed of this terrible series of events. Later it was confirmed: a terrorist attack. My day was shot. I knew a person that worked in the WTC and we couldn't get in touch with him. Fortunately, a week later we found out he was fine and that on 9/11 he decided to cancel breakfast at his law firm to go have a bagel and coffee at a shop around the corner. Some people, like him, were really lucky, it was definitely not their day. Other people, not so much, and they will be eternally missed. As for the firefighters who lost their lives that day, those rescued will be eternally grateful for that opportunity to be alive today.
I was able to experience the Twin Towers in all their glory when I went to New York City in 1994. And I will never forget that skyline.
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