I woke up this morning and mentioned to my wife that today was September 11th. My 9 year old son was nearby and we asked him if he knew what happened on September 11th. He shook his head no. I was quickly transported to the 60 minutes story on Sunday where they were previewing the 9/11 Museum in New York City. During that story, the curator of the 9/11 museum said something like, “For anyone under about 18 years of age, they don’t have any memory of 9/11. 9/11 is just something they study in history books.” She used this to underscore why the 9/11 museum was so important and she’s right.
I think my son is finally old enough to have a talk about 9/11 and what happened. In past years he’d always been a little young to understand it. No doubt, he’s still too young to full understand what it means, but hopefully tonight we can at least help him understand the importance of what happened on that date and how many innocent people lost their lives.
I’m sure I’m going through a similar emotion to what many went through on the anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor. I definitely didn’t really understand what happened at Pearl Harbor until I had a chance to visit the site in my 20s.
In some ways it’s really unfortunate that we don’t know more and remember it more, but in other ways its good that we’re not dwelling on such a tragic event. I remember the strong feeling after the events of 9/11 that the best thing we could do to combat such evil actions would be to keep carrying on. Changing how we lived would mean they’d won. So, I think it’s healthy that we keep moving forward. Although, I also hope we never forget. I know I won’t.
Excuse the off topic post today, but I hope everyone will use it to remember this day. I know many in healthcare saw the tragedy first hand. I’ve never seen anyone share the stories of the healthcare workers that treated so many injuries. I hope someone eventually does. No doubt there were many heroic efforts by healthcare workers that day.
John,
I grew up 20 minutes from Manhattan but moved to CT at 18. I was at work in an ICU and a colleague & I immediately registered with the Red Cross.
When we weren’t called in 48 hours later, we re-contacted. Their answer was perhaps the most distressing: we weren’t called because there was no need for extra help. There was nobody to treat.
Thanks for sharing your experience Diane.