For those old enough to remember, there will always be the time before and the time after. Everyone knew someone. Everyone was affected.
Maybe it was less the actual event than it was experiencing the same collective moment on a shared timeline. The time before symbolizing an era when we were young and carefree and innocent. Though maybe it was never like this. Maybe I’m over idealizing life before 9/11. Maybe 9/11 made us all realize what was always there.
My experience of New York falls in the time after — my first trip to NYC was a couple years after 9/11 when there was still a huge hole in the ground. Time had passed but the memory was still so fresh. We were still hopeful; still at the beginning of a new timeline; still believing we could put it all behind us and be better people; a stronger country. I don’t remember a New York with two twin towers and yet that’s still what I see whenever I look at the skyline. I always see that empty space. I always wonder what could have been.
On a slightly more upbeat note, have you seen this video about the last known living 9/11 rescue dog’s birthday in NYC? Working/service/rescue animals are such unsung heroes. Love.
Karen
September 11, 2015 at 3:20 pmI remember my 10th grade Global Studies teacher always saying we didn’t know how good we had it – being a generation to grow up without fear of bombs and the Cuban Missile Crisis and all that (I was born in ’78). So yeah, in my opinion, life was a lot scarier after 9.11
I didn’t know anyone involved in what happened, but oddly my grandma passed away at 6am that morning. When I drove back to NY a few days later (I had just moved to the carolinas) I still had my NY plates (or tags as they call them in the south). And every trucker I passed who saw my plates honked at me. Definitely felt like a united country.
veronika
September 11, 2015 at 5:30 pmEveryone has a memory of that day whether you directly or indirectly knew someone. Even if you didn’t it almost felt like you did. I dont think I felt more unified as a country since those first few days/weeks after 9/11.
It did seem like we were living in a golden age pre-9/11. Not so much post. I wonder if every generation feels that way.