September 11

The Jazz Bus: September 11, 2001
Where were you and what were you thinking when you first heard the news that a plane had crashed in to the Twin Towers? Naively, I thought a jet had veered off course and a tragic accident had occurred. Immediately turning the television on, watching the building burn, I noticed a second plane come into view and right then my heart dropped. What was happening? Coincidence? Did the navigation systems go haywire? Within the next two hours both buildings had tumbled to the ground, thousands of lives lost, tens of thousands of families shattered and millions of heart broken.
Nineteen terrorists simultaneously hijacked four (4) commercial passenger jet airliners originating from Boston, Newark and Dulles in Washington D.C. with intent to purposely crash these machines into their intended targets; WTC #1, WTC#2, The Pentagon, and The Capitol Building.
8:46 a.m. - The North Tower is hit followed by The South Tower at 9:03.(Seventeen minutes apart) Both buildings burn frantically while in Washington a third plane hits The Pentagon at 9:37 (51 minutes from first impact). In horrifying view on television The South Tower collapses at 9:59 (73 minutes from impact) while aboard United Airlines Flight #93 passengers are engaged in a struggle with the hijackers who targeted The Capitol. That flight crashed at 10:03 am in rural Pennsylvania missing its intended target because of the heroics of the passengers. The second tower fell, 10:28 am.
The aftermath is astonishing. Survivors, my friends who worked on Wall Street went unemployed; some refused to return to work in the vicinity of The Towers. First responders fell ill from the air quality during their heroic attempts to save lives and are still lacking in appropriate care. Businesses disappeared. The beautiful New York skyline has never been the same. And the man responsible for it all is still at large.
We Americans seem to be divided on our politics as of late. The gap between politic beliefs and expectations are ever widening. Questions arise as to where our troops should be deployed and where our money spent. Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Afghanistan. Put troops in….no pull them out others say. Many an argument revolves around this topic. But to me, simplistically, the bottom line is “Where in the world is Osama bin Laden?” and “Why hasn’t he paid for his sins yet?” The War on Terrorism should have more teeth than making me take my shoes off at the airport. Let’s get the man responsible for this horrible event with all its aftermath before the tenth anniversary of his crime against The United States of America.
September 11, 2001 is a day of remembrance but in actuality is a “Day We Will Never Forget”. Always in our hearts, always in our mind. Flag etiquette for the day is half-staff all day. God Bless The United States of America.
Jazzbus@gmail.com