serenity55's Journal

It was about 830 am and I was asleep in my bed at the time living on Long Island with my parents.

I heard my sister, Linda calling my name in a panic telling me that something weird is going on in NYC...she said " A plane crashed into one of the twin towers", now my sister has a way of dramatizing everything so I kinda poo-pooed her off..so she went away...then which seemed like minutes after, she came back screaming..." Deb, You have to get up and see whats happening...another plane has crashed into the other tower..they think it is a terrorist attack"'.

 It was then that I bolted up off the bed and went to the TV.

it was chaos...not only were they showing us NYC, but the Pentagon..I was crying and in shock and I could feel the fear ......

in the days coming..I called the Red Cross to see if I could help in any way..distribute blankets..water...anything...I felt such a sense of responsibility to do something..anything to help... but when I called they said they had plenty of help and i would need training anyway and besides there was no way I could even get into NYC.

I couldnt believe what had happened and as days went on and we began to get all the numbers of lost lives and see the horrible images of people running for cover and bloodied faces and dead bodies..I knew then this world was never going to be the same...and neither was I.

I used to take walks at sunset and I still remember seeing the smoke and smell in the air above me...we were only about a 45 minute drive away from Manhattan..the smoke left a fog ..a smog for a very long time...it stayed within miles of us for months as rescue tried to recover and save as many people as they could.  it was complete devastation...something too hideous for words.

And so ...it is now 7 years later....

the greiving still continues..the images are still fresh in many minds.  Lost ones are still being identified and found....and terrorism still threatens our lives in many ways.

We live in a country that has blessed us with so many freedoms...so many opportunities. 

As an individual living in this country..I believe it is my responsibility to try and touch a life anyway I can...here or in another country. What may seem like a small gesture of helping someone may be a huge gift to another..from a simple smile to used clothing, books or our time..

because for every contribution we as individuals can make to make a difference is one more way of not allowing the hate and visciousness win.

September 11th will live on  as one of the saddest days in history .