She Said, 'Turn on Your TV'

Its crazy how time flies. I was a high school Junior once, hanging out in my U.S Government class – playing just as much as learning. My Economics teacher came in and told us to put the TV on.
We all watched in stunned silence and I tried to understand how a crash was possible..so low.
Someone said something and I turned, faces changed and I looked back at the TV. The replay had it all.
Slow motion, real time, over and over again. Just like the voice in the TV set, we were certain there was no accident. Those kinds of coincidences don't happen.

We went to our next classes, mine was Economics. After a while our teacher hit the mute button and attempted to teach. I don't think anyone listened.

My next class was English. ..With a woman I constantly abused with my friends, as having no idea what she taught. There was no TV, but there was plenty of talk. Those with cell phones had realized that they couldn't call in to New York. Everyone had mentally confirmed whether someone they knew was at Ground Zero. Those who weren't sure..it was written on their faces. We didn't really smile as much. There was a calm quiet everywhere. At lunch, the buzzing cafeteria sounds were different, more serious. I told my friends to calm down, and wait for positive word. I told 'em, 'You'll hear stories about people who were late to work, or had Something keep them from going in today.' I said this praying that it was true, knowing that it had to be.

At home, every channel showed the same footage, everywhere looked like CNN. Even MTV looked like CNN. News rolled in about the plane en route to the Pentagon. I wondered about the last moments of those heroes, and knew eventually there'd be a movie.

I was a mix of deep sadness and numbness. The air was heavy and every commercial that rolled by irritated me. They said, the real life images looked like something out of a movie. Except the shadowy footage of people jumping out of windows wasn't done by Hollywood magic. And real people had died.

A bunch of terrorists wanted to punish America, yet the world felt the blow. Not only Americans and Europeans, but Nigerians as well. Middle Easterners. All walks of life. How long after were they still shifting through the rubble? They days after That Day are a blur.

-They did a memorial today. I came home raving about my NYSC discharge certificate, and saw it on the news, as I watched, the familiar sadness came back.
I can't believe I had forgotten today was the anniversary.

But I can never forget that day.

May God be with the families and friends of those who fell. And May God be with us all.