9/11/2001 Changed My Family Forever

Fires, twisted metal, shards of flesh. My uncle arrived to this scene shortly after the collapse of the Twin Towers. A Corrections Officer at Rikers Island, born of two Irish Immigrants, this man has seen a ton in his day…but today was unlike no other.

People running, debris falling, bodies like rain. My uncle arrived to this scene shortly after the first plane hit the World Trade Center. I’m running in. “Honey where is your mother?” A NYPD officer, born of two Italian immigrants, this man has seen a ton in his day…but today was unlike no other.

Remnants of skyscrapers, buddies dead, human ashes. My uncle arrived to this scene shortly after the collapse of the Twin Towers. A FDNY firefighter, born of two Irish immigrants, this man has seen a ton in his day…but today was unlike no other.

Nothing, nothing, nothing. My uncle arrived to this scene shortly after the collapse of the Twin Towers, hoping to bring somebody/anybody to the hospital. There were no bodies, all turned to ash. A Paramedic in NYC, born of two Irish immigrants, this man has seen a ton in his day…but today was unlike no other.

Tower, BOOM, No Tower. My uncle watched from his Rockaway 6^th floor apartment as his brothers last known whereabouts were in the area. I call, no answer. A sanitation worker, born of two Irish immigrants, this man has seen a ton in his day…but today was unlike no other.

Morning coffee, BOOM, run, run, run. My uncle walked for hours from Downtown Brooklyn to Bay Ridge, Manhattan on lock-down. A bank employee near Ground Zero, covered in ash, born of two Irish immigrants, this man has seen a ton in her day…but today was unlike no other.

Ring, ring, ring. My mom turned the television to see the towers she would enter with her children a week prior now on fire. Wait, my husband was in the area! Ring, ring, ring. No answer. I need to help. An Emergency Room nurse, born of two Irish immigrants, this woman has seen a ton in her day…but today was unlike no other.

“I’ll talk to you later,” *key turns on car*, Boom. My dad watches from his rear-view mirror as a plane blasts into Tower 2. Oh my God. *gasp mouth open* A food salesman, who just met a client in the area, born of two Irish immigrants, this man has seen a ton in his day…but today was unlike no other.

Takeoff, Screams, Goodbye. My mom’s friend watches from her airplane window as she descends to the tops of buildings in New York City. Is this really happening? God, take care of my family. A police woman off-duty, this woman has seen a ton in her day…but today was unlike no other.

Takeoff, We need to Fight, Crash. My cousin’s neighbor fights to the end with hijackers as he crashes the plane into the middle of a Pennsylvania field. God, take care of my family. An average Joe, this man has seen a ton in his day…but today was unlike no other.

Math, lunch, school speakers, military jets, where is everyone going? I go home on the bus wondering why teachers are crying, wondering why my friends left early – I want to leave early. I get home to see both my parents transfixed on an image replaying on CNN. Silence, tears. My mom wonders where her brothers are, friends, coworkers. My dad wonders what could’ve happened. I’m hushed out of the room, don’t look Brian. I know something happened, I feel it. The world has changed. My family’s life is no longer as happy as is it once was. Why?

I found out shortly after that it was because bad guys attacked America. They killed a lot of good people for no reason. For some reason, all of America is upset and we are going to fight them. We are like a big family that are rallying together. There are yellow ribbons on my neighbor’s trees. American flags are sold out everywhere, they are on everyone’s car. “Mom can we get an American flag too?”

9/11/2001 changed my family forever. PTSD, drug addiction to drown out the scenes replaying in their minds, physical & mental paralyzation, seizures, tears, silence. Silence is the language of my family today. Friends without parents, family without friends, parents without sons, mental injuries that killed before their body did. It is a sad day in my house.

Remember all the heroes of today. The one who died on that terrible day 17 years ago, and the ones still going through the events that transpired. Many workers like my uncles volunteered to search for bodies, finding nothing by thumbs, ashes, and fingernails. Many workers volunteered to help, only to find nothing and have the ash destroy their lungs & images destroy their minds.

We remember all those who died, all those who died shortly after, all those dying, and all those left behind.

#NeverForget.