18 Years Later

In memory of Gary Box, NYFD, running through the clogged tunnel to get to the towers. He was never found after the collapse.

We were both preparing to leave the house and head to our respective schools for the day.

While downstairs getting our breakfast ready, we happened to turn our TV on; something which was out of our normal habits for the morning's activities.

Suddenly there was the image of the twin towers of the World Trade Center with tower #1 smoking like a coal stack from the plane which had already hit it.

Then, as we were watching what was being reported by the "talking heads" about what they thought was an accidental collision by some small aircraft having hit the tower, what seemed to be a commercial aircraft appeared from the left side of the screen flying directly at tower #2 and slamming into it; this time lower than what had hit tower #1.

As the visual of the humongous fireball from the fully fueled aircraft billowed out of the far side of the impact, the shock for both of us suddenly made us realize that something monumental had just changed everything.

Knowing that we were pressed for time, we quickly consumed our breakfast as we left from our house in our respective vehicles and headed for our school.

Once I arrived at my school the staff was clearly abuzz with trepidation about what they too had seen at home; wondering how things had developed. In the staff lounge, the television was turned on and some were standing around listening and watching the continued reporting as both towers continued to smoke.

At the time, we exchanged conversations of speculation about what was behind this before having to head to our respective classrooms to face our class of students. For me, it was a 4th grade class of 9 & 10 year olds. The principal came into the lounge and spoke to us about the need to not dwell on this issue with our students in the grades old enough to understand what had occurred back in New York City.

So, requests to turn on our room's TV from students in my class were ignored and were simply directed to wait until they got home to talk about it with their parents.

By the time the morning recess arrived and I was heading back to the lounge to get an update on what had occurred, it struck me that something had changed while I was walking from my class to the lounge in the outside hall; there were no jet aircraft flying overhead in their normal take-off pattern over the school from Sea-Tac Airport.

Upon entering the lounge the TV was on and other members of the school staff were just standing and staring; listening quietly. The longer I stood there, the more I realized that both towers had fallen; killing the thousands of workers on the 100+ floors of each tower, along with the first responders who'd gone in to rescue them.

After bringing the class back into the classroom, it wasn't long before we got word that school was being shut down for the rest of the day, and students would be taken home, either by their bus, or parents who were coming to the building requesting to do so almost from the start of the day; many had not come to begin with.

For several days, which was unforgettably eerie, there was no aircraft in the skies, which normally passed directly over our house several times a day. Across the nation, everyone that was traveling across any part of the country was grounded for the interim. The only mode of transportation fell back on trains, buses and cars.

As the days turned into weeks we gradually learned the background story behind this tragic and horrendous event. We, as a nation, briefly unified as a people; concerned about the reality that we were not as impervious as we once thought we were. This was the wake up event which had never before occurred on our home soil.

But, the months passed, and somehow, at the first anniversary, the media decided that showing any footage would be too traumatic to those directly affected by the event.

This media policy was in force for many years. To remember the anniversary of the event as the years passed, there were the obligatory specials which focused more on the families impacted by the loss of their loved ones, but the actual facts behind the event were glossed over; mostly by the Media (D) who was gradually aligning with the Democrat Party, especially once Obama was elected.

Thus, our youth never learned the facts as to the real motive behind the attack and why our young soldiers were fighting in Afghanistan.

Today, because of such "fuzzy" history and the protective measures by the Media (D), most 18 year olds have no idea why we have only recently, on such conservative stations as FOX News, begun to show footage again of this most memorable event to happen on American soil.

Here is a current video composition, set to the redone song of "The Sounds of Silence" by Simon & Garfunkel - a '60s rock hit when I was a high school student - created this year to commemorate the day which change the country, if only for a while. All photos are from that day, and days which followed in a vain attempt to rescue any potential survivors of the collapsed buildings. (Thanks, Steve, for sharing this.)

We can only hope that those who happen to view any of these specials will begin to wonder and research about the truth of the matter and cause them to embark on a journey of discovery and maturation.

Combined with the undeniable experience of the lowest employment and best economic record in more than 50 years, it may just make some of the indoctrinated youth in our country to really be "woke" in a fact based reality and vote to re-elect Pres. Trump!