I remember

I was born and raised on Long Island, in the shadow of the greatest city in the world. New York City. I am a die hard Giant's fan, a Met's fan and a sometimes Yankee fan when all else fails. Even though I no longer live in NY I am proud to come from such a wonderful place. New Yorker's whether you are born and raised on the Island, in the City or Upstate, are a breed all of their own. We are proud, we love NY, and for the most part we defend it with all we have to outsiders.  When I was a Marine and stationed on Camp Lejeune,NC I would drive home on leave or on 96's (and sometimes the occasional 72) and as I was coming down into NY off of 95/NJT one of the first things I would see on the NY skyline were the Twin Towers, that was always my first indication that I was  closer to home then I had been in weeks or months. It the first thing I always looked for. When I brought friends home, it was the first thing I would point out at 2 a.m. The beautiful skyline, an amazing sight.

Today is Saturday September 10th 2011. The 10 year anniversary of September 11th, 2001 is less then 24 hours away. Every year around this time, I am surprised that another year has passed since this awful day. I know exactly where I was, I remember every conversation, everything I did on that day. My son was less then 2 months away from his 2nd birthday which means I was less the 2 months away from being 2 years out of the Marine Corps. We were in Georgia at the time, we had gone down there with the hope that Jake's biological father would actually act like one. We were all living with Kathy, Jake's grandmother or Nannie. Jake and I were watching Spongebob SquarePants when the phone rang it was Kathy "Have you seen the news?" she asked, no I replied, Jake was watching cartoons and I was reading. "turn it on now, something is going on in NY, a plane hit one of the towers" she said. I hung up the phone and tried to explain to Jake that I would change it back in a minute and I turned to NBC, in time to see the second plane hit the towers. I was stunned and horrified. I walked in to Kathy's room where Raymond was sleeping and kicked him awake. He was all of maybe 2 weeks out of active duty service with the Marines. I told him something was happening and he needed to see it. I turned the cartoons on in Kathy's room for Jake and went back out to watch the news. I saw it all. I saw the people jumping trying to get out of the towers. I remember hearing that not only had a plane hit the Pentagon, but there was also a plane that went down in a field in Pa. I watched for days, I saw that there were rescuers that got trapped and rescued while looking for survivors. I remember Raymond and I fighting, and a week later I was on my way back to NY. I stopped on my way out of Georgia for gas, and was stopped by an elderly gentleman who said " I see your license plates are New York license plates, are you going home?" Yes sir, I replied. " Well be safe" he said "and make sure they all know we are praying for them and are horrrified by what has happened". I told him I would, got back in the car with Jake and drove on. As I was coming down the Jersey Tpke, into NY I could see the lights, and the smoke from Ground Zero. It was dark, past midnight, Jakob was sleeping in his carseat, and I was so overwhelmed and overcome, that I had to put my hazard lights on, pull over and cry. Not only for all of the people that I knew were lost, for what their families were going through, and for those rescue workers who had lost friends and kept on going, but I also cried because I knew our life was forever altered like the skyline. It would never be the same.

I wanted to do... something, anything. I knew going back into the military was no longer an option, but I knew I wanted to make some sort of difference. My father was a cop for 20 years, he has also been a volunteer firefighter for almost 40 years. I was extremely heartbroken over the lives lost, and I felt the loss of the First Responders more then anything.  I became a volunteer for the local ambulance corps. I became an EMT, I wound up moving and working for 2 years as a paid EMT.

I never knew anyone personally who was lost on September 11th, 2001, but it doesn't mean that I am not devestated and saddend by it. I have been struggeling to put into words how I feel. It's almost impossible for me. I have been watching the footage and the 10th anniversary programs remembering those who were lost, and I cry everytime. I don't know why I have this reaction but I am truly heartbroken over these events and I know my grief is nothing compared to those who lived through it or lost loved ones and friends on that day.  I admire the people who ran into that building, or stayed in that building to get others out, be it Cops, Fire Fighters or Civilians. I am amazed at the people who came to help in the days/weeks/months/years after.

I am sad for those children who will never know their mother/father/aunt/uncle/grandparent. There are stories out there that may never be told, of those who were lost. They shouldn't be told just once a year, they should be told all year. Phil and I talk about that day alot over the course of the year. We let want our children to know the story, we want them to know that Some Gave All. We want them to know that WE REMEMBER. We always will. We know where we were, we can never forget.

✰✰✰✰✰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰

✰✰✰✰✰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰ This Flag In Honor Of The VICTIMS,


✰✰✰✰✰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰ FALLEN HEROES, & THEIR FAMILIES

✰✰✰✰✰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰ That have been affected by 9/11!

☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰ NEVER FORGET 9/11/2001

☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰ God bless them all!

☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰ GOD BLESS THE U.S.A.