I will never forget that day, 8 years ago, while driving home from work in the early morning of September 11. As I listened to 10-10 WINS news on the radio in my car, I stopped at a traffic light, the windows in my car were down, it was a warm morning. As I sat and listened to the news reports tell the story of what might have been a plane off course hitting into one of the Twin Towers in our great city of New York, the hair on the back of my neck stood up as I began to let the thought of my own husband, fiancee at the time, a police officer in the New York City police department still at home safe, waiting to go in for his evening shift. I called him immediately and woke him up to let him know I was on my way home and to turn on the television. As I walked into his parents home, I could hear the television loudly playing the horrible details of what was unfolding at that very minute. It was horrific. We watched the whole thing from the safety of our own home, feeling every ounce of pain as we saw the people running through the very streets that my husband Steven would have to go through that evening. He waited for the call to be mobilized, then after waiting too long, he thought, he called in and was told to come in at once, every police officer was being mobilized, even those on vacation and on leave. As he was getting ready, I remember watching him pack all of those things that he had never had the chance to use as of yet, he was still a young officer, not even graduated from the academy and without a gun. HE was going into that war zone with a few cans of mace, a baton that he was not officially trained to use yet, a gas mask, gloves, vest, and some other things I found out later were to be administered to himself if he was caught in a situation where chemical reagents were used. This was terrorism, we knew from the beginning. We knew the Towers were going to fall. We were just waiting. How many people could get out? How many people narrowly missed death by missing work that morning? How many people went in when they shouldn't have? I've heard many stories about all of this. It is a horrible, senseless act that has brought together many and torn so many apart. Today I remember all of those that fell on that terrible day. I will never allow myself to forget all of those brave souls who tried to help a hopeless situation. Thank you Steven for going in, scared of what may happen, and for helping all of those people that you touched on what was a very sad day in history. God Bless the USA today and always.
~thyme2sow
