I worked and lived twelve miles west of the World Trade Center four years ago. The smoke was visible from the high ground in my neighborhood. You could smell it when the wind was from the east.
Four years on, and the view has changed.
Four years on, and Al Qaeda no longer has free reign in Afghanistan.
Four years on, and Saddam Hussein is rotting in jail and about to go on trial for his life.
Four years on, and there has been no second attack on American soil.
Four years on, and there have been hundreds of terror attacks in some twenty-six countries, including Spain and Great Britain.
Four years on, and it’s not half-done yet. Osama bin Laden still exists. The world still refuses to acknowledge that a world war began in 1993, escalated in 2001, and is ongoing today everywhere that militant Islam exists.
Four years on, and I’m now a hundred miles south of Washington, D.C.
Four years on, and I have nightmares about nuclear bombs exploding again. They had stopped shortly after the Berlin Wall came down.
Four years on, and I haven’t forgotten. Some of us won’t forget. Some of us can’t forget. Some of us refuse to forget. But some do forget. Some refuse to remember.
I remember.
Four years on.
Four years ago today I was walking down Bleecker Street on my way to work at around 8:45 AM when I saw Flight 11 (American Airlines) fly directly overhead and in a few seconds alter, strike the South Tower. My eyewitness to history. I felt no fear, only a primal rage.
Love Joel’s last sentence. You have some of the best commenters, Meryl.
And this:
Four years on, and I have nightmares about nuclear bombs exploding again. They had stopped shortly after the Berlin Wall came down.
Yep, likewise. Didn’t relish their return, either.
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I largely avoid the 9/11 rehash, but I just read this and I am moved to say that this is the most refreshing perspective I’ve come across in a long while. Thank you.
I, also, can relate to the “primal rage” remark. Spot on!