This post originally appeared on the Bargain Hunter blog, which I wrote at the LA Daily News.
A lot has changed in the past eight years, but when it comes to finding bargains on September 11, I feel the same way I did last year. I cannot do my job. A few years ago I told you why and here’s that story again.
Forgive me for not posting any bargains today, the eighth anniversary of the September 11 attacks. Trying to save $3 on a sandwich or find a shoe sale seems silly and out of place today. Instead, I’m going to try to give blood, something I wasn’t able to do that day in New York.
So many people tried to donate on September 11 – we expected waves of injured people to flood the hospitals – that the blood bank was full. They turned us away.
Walking to and from the hospital everyone we passed was talking about the twin towers, you could see it on their faces and hear snips of the awful truth in their conversations.
I was stunned, like so many other people. Was it really possible those two massive buildings that stood almost twice as tall as any other building on Manhattan could collapse? But they did. I saw it from my kitchen window.
We lived on the third floor of a brick building adjacent to the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. One of the things we loved about the apartment was its three large windows that looked onto lower Manhattan.
We had a picture perfect view. On days when the air was crisp and the sun bright under a brilliant sky – almost impossible to imagine in hazy LA – I ate my breakfast cereal in front of the window, just staring at the buildings. My own New York postcard.
September 11, 2001 was one of those gorgeous fall days. I had just started grad school at Rutgers in New Jersey and had planned to go into campus that morning. But as it turned out the CDs I needed to listen to had arrived the day before in the mail. Otherwise I would have taken the subway into Manhattan, transferring to the NJ PATH train at the World Trade Center. With the CDs at home, I slept in.
The sound of sirens finally woke me up. I got out of bed at about 9 a.m. and I remember thinking there were more sirens than usual that morning. You get used to a lot of noise living in New York City. Then I saw a trail of smoke from the first tower. I went back into the bedroom and woke up Hubby, who was then my boyfriend.
“There’s something going on,” I told him, nudging him awake.
I turned on the TV and one of the people being interviewed on the BBC was declaring this was an act of war. That seemed drastic. Maybe this was just an accident?
When the second plane hit my gut told me it wasn’t. From my window I saw the terrible gash the second plane created on the side of the building. There was a lot of smoke. You could see flames.
We tried to guess how many people might work in the two buildings. Tens of thousands, we decided.
Then the buildings collapsed. Dark, smokey clouds billowed.
I bristle when people ask me what it was like to watch. What do you think it’s like seeing thousands of people die in a few minutes? It is terrible.
But there was one part that was beautiful. After the towers collapsed – but before the wind blew a blanket of smoke and debris over Brooklyn – the brilliant sky glittered.
A sparkling arc reached like a hand over the bay from Manhattan to Brooklyn. It was incredible and I watched it for a few minutes before closing the windows so the dark air would not foul our apartment. Later I found out it was reams of freed office paper catching the sunlight.
The air cleared and we went to the hospital. We wanted to give blood, to do our part, but we couldn’t. Today I am going to try again.
Join me in giving blood today. You can find a donation center through the Red Cross by clicking here.
September 11th, 2009 at 9:01 am
I had the same thought today, Julia. I found a blood drive that I could stop by on my way to work and made a donation…something small but I feel good for doing it on this 8th anniversary. I hope you will be successful in donating today, too.
Thank you for sharing your memories of that day. I was getting ready for work and had the television on, which I usually didn’t. I saw the second plane hit – NBC had the best coverage. Then, in my car, I heard about the crash at the Pentagon. I was in tears. My office was watching on television and we continued to watch in complete disbelief.
A terrible, terrible day, as were the weeks, and years, that followed as we continue to grieve for the heroes and brave men and women.
Never forget.
September 11th, 2009 at 10:36 am
Thank you for the beautiful post.
Eight years later, I’m not ready for this to be a normal day.
I feel especially strange being in California today, where I feel so alone and different from my coworkers and friends, who have such different memories.
[Edit: We had a remembrance and a potluck for charity at work today, it meant a lot to know that we all have feelings and memories of this day.
http://www.lowlevelmanager.com/2009/09/remembrance.html
]
NYTimes live blog on the commemoration:
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/11/remembering-the-horror-of-a-bright-blue-morning/?hp
The trauma of mental health professionals, trying to help others while they were also affected:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/11/nyregion/11nyc.html?_r=1&hp
The President has followed your lead and called for this to be a day of Service.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/12/us/12capital.html?hp
September 11th, 2009 at 1:07 pm
This is one of the most beautiful pieces I have read regarding 9/11. Thank you for always remembering…let’s hope none of us ever forget.
September 11th, 2009 at 2:08 pm
I read your article in today’s paper re: Costco deals and wanted to comment on it, but when I read your blog page my comment no longer seemed relevant.
That September day was an absolutely beautiful day with an endless, brilliant blue sky. We too watched our home TV and saw the second plane crash into the tower … it seemed like any other action fantasy show – could this really be happening?
I later saw the terrible smoke of the reality while driving to work from Madison (NJ) to Newark (NJ) – it was so terrifying – I can’t even imagine what it was like to be anywhere near the towers or even anywhere in the city.
A group of employees and I collected money from most everyone in our company and bought about $2500 worth of things we thought the rescue workers could use. And just to come full circle, we bought it all at Costco!
And when we went to deliver our goodies which we had been schlepping around in our company vehicle, we found that unbelievable amounts of masks and gear and gloves and shovels and buckets and food and snacks and gum and drinks and socks and clothes and blankets and medical supplies and a zillion other things had already been donated! And when I say a zillion, I mean a zillion – room after room was stuffed beyond capacity with like things grouped together and stacked to the ceilings.
Americans are basically very generous people. In memory of 9/11 and to honor all those affected by this tragedy, it would be wonderful if we could pull together, as we did then, to help those around us today who are struggling to survive without jobs or health care or child care or homes or even food.
We can’t go back and change history but we can go forward and work to make our history better!
Katharina Pietraszek
September 11th, 2009 at 6:55 pm
Thank you for sharing your painful memories of one of the worst days in history. We must NEVER forget!
September 11th, 2009 at 7:43 pm
I am a 30 year Flight Attendant with American Airlines and some of my favorite flights were flight 11 from BOS – gets me home at noon, I would be in BOSTON to eat lobster the night before and flight 77 – also gets me into LA around noon, rest of the day was my own. Got into Dulles/DC in time to go sightsee and eat, what a life. I am so lucky. Then “crew scheduling” changed the crews flying those trips to BOS and DC crews. I cried and cried, eventhough I only knew Capt Ogenowski (BOS).
I was at home when I turned on the news to see the United Newark plane crash into the towers. I was in shock and am today. Everyday I get on an airplane and I look at each passenger as they board because I don’t know them and I want to make sure they aren’t out to hurt me and my plane.
To this day F/As are security on the airplanes, anything we see as suspicious we bring up to the Capt.
It’s hard, I still love all of you – my passengers. I just saw the world and life change 9/11.
Thanks for your kind comments, must have been terrible seeing the towers in smoke and flames.
Take care.
September 13th, 2009 at 7:42 am
I read your title of your post and thought someone else gets it! I too remember like it was yesterday and watched the TV for days in horror. While I want the country to honor the people that died that day – and those that volunteered for weeks at the WTC site and the Pentagon I don’t want the day to become just another excuse for a day off and to shop. Wouldn’t it be better if those of us that have the privledge of living in the US give up a vacation day to volunteer – not expect our employer to pay us (with a mandated federal holiday) but to give of ourselves freely?
September 14th, 2009 at 2:14 pm
Hi Julia, thanks for this beautiful letter. I couldn’t even go online on the 11th; it was enough to spend time doing a good deed with my kids, one of whom I was pregnant with that awful day 8 years ago. I’ve got tears in my eyes as I type this, just as I had that terrible day and days afterwards when it happened. Kudos to you for keeping it real, and keeping the memory of that day in a positive light, as to what we should be doing to make it a day of remembrance.
September 14th, 2009 at 2:44 pm
Thanks for letting me know how you feel, Jenni. It is so much easier to get through Sept. 11 knowing other folks remember too. And I’m proud to say I successfully gave blood Friday!