Five Years

Five years is a long time. This is what has happened from Sept 11, 2001 to Sept 11, 2006. My family has moved in and out of two states, lost my father-in-law, been laid off from two jobs and on our fourth dog. That is just the tip of the iceberg.

Five years ago, we were living in St. Louis, MO. My mother had flown in the night before from New York City. She had planned on staying an extra night but decided against it. One kid was home, the other in pre-school. I was getting ready to go to work and Snark was washing the cars.

I was in the shower and Snark ran in and said "A plane just hit the towers." I hopped out and went to the tv. My mother was facing me and I said "Are they replaying it?" just as Dan Rather's shocked voice mentioned that was a second plane heading toward the other tower. It was not a replay.

Our first thought was my younger brother who lived in the City. I had spoken with him the night before and he had mentioned he was headed for a meeting at Morgan Stanley. I called his cell but the lines were busy and then when it rang would only say "There has been a tornado in the area. Please try again." He called later that day from a phone to say he was fine. He overslept and was late for the meeting. A friend of his wasn't so lucky.

I don't think you realize the magnitude of an event until time has passed. I hate it when people try to minimalize events in history. I thank God that my brother overslept and my mother didn't feel like staying the extra day to sightsee.