September 11
I don't know why I'm thinking about Sept. 11th more than usual. I don't know whether the news broadcasts are doing more this year because it is the 5th anniversary or whether I just happenned to catch a couple more of the shows. Anyway, it did bring back another poignant memory of Kevin which I hadn't thought of in a long time.
I first arrived in Iowa a week or so before 9-11. Sept. 10th was my first day at work at the MTA. The next day I was sitting in the break room waiting for the next step in my training. The trainer and fellow driver, Britt, or someone I've come to know as my fellow driver, came in to tell me there was something I would probably like to see on the tv. He knew I was from New york. I think he might have even mentioned something about a plane going into the World Trade Center but it didn't register and, disbelieving, I guess I thought he was kidding. Obviously, I couldn't believe what I saw. Many of the drivers, including my trainer, had to go to the airport to help transport passengers as all the air traffic in the nation was coming to a halt and all aircraft were required to land at the nearest airport. I was told I could go home for the day.
I could'nt go home and so went down to Flanagan's where Kevin was working. Kevin was very visably upset, tears in his eyes, and all. His brother, Brian had just been released from the military in Italy and was in the air when this happened, September 11, 2001, his release date. No one knew what was going on and Kevin was afraid and concerned that this turn of events would mean that Brian would not be able to return to the States. I can't remember exactly when we heard from Brian, either that day or the next, perhaps that evening, but Brian was in Holland, I believe (I'll have to check and make sure), and was stuck at the airport, there, until flights were resumed 3 to 4 days later. So all tied in with September 11th it is such a strong memory of Kevin, and Brian too, and my home State, and my new home, here, as I had just arrived in Iowa not even two weeks before. I was very surprised that I felt so srongly about New York but my roots are there as well as most of my life spent. My early years were spent on Long Island and if I had continued to live there, undoubtedly, I would have directly known someone or a family who had experienced a loss of a loved one on that day. It really hit home. That day, though, I spent many hours at Flanagan's with Kevin and glued to the tv set.
A little on the lighter side; I still had my New York plates on my car. Being new to Des Moines I didn't know my way around. People continually honked at me!
Unmercifully! When 9-11 happened everyone stopped honking at me. Sad to say, New York wanted their plates back and so I had to send them back and put Iowa plates on the car. People started honking at me again because although the plates had changed, I still didn't know my way around!
So why is this September 11th different, I don't know. Last year Kevin wasn't here. Things change as time goes on. Different memories surface all the time as a flash of memory is triggered by a daily event, a sight or smell, a flower, anything, and so this was no different. At times I go by the Greyhound station or Kevin's high school, everyday, twice a day I go to Brody, Kevin's middle school, but my mind is elsewhere. Then any one day I can go by a particular place and it immediately triggers a memory. I have seen lots of kids on bicycles, for example, with not a second thought. Yesterday it triggered the memory of Brian, Kevin and I walking through Union College. A kid was speading through in a car, scared Kevin, and Kevin fell off his bike. I was so upset, ran after the car but couldn't catch it. Another memory. But this was an important one(the memory of 9-11) and I'm surprised that it did slip my memory, but it did enter my awareness again, this year, the 5th anniversary of 9-11.
I first arrived in Iowa a week or so before 9-11. Sept. 10th was my first day at work at the MTA. The next day I was sitting in the break room waiting for the next step in my training. The trainer and fellow driver, Britt, or someone I've come to know as my fellow driver, came in to tell me there was something I would probably like to see on the tv. He knew I was from New york. I think he might have even mentioned something about a plane going into the World Trade Center but it didn't register and, disbelieving, I guess I thought he was kidding. Obviously, I couldn't believe what I saw. Many of the drivers, including my trainer, had to go to the airport to help transport passengers as all the air traffic in the nation was coming to a halt and all aircraft were required to land at the nearest airport. I was told I could go home for the day.
I could'nt go home and so went down to Flanagan's where Kevin was working. Kevin was very visably upset, tears in his eyes, and all. His brother, Brian had just been released from the military in Italy and was in the air when this happened, September 11, 2001, his release date. No one knew what was going on and Kevin was afraid and concerned that this turn of events would mean that Brian would not be able to return to the States. I can't remember exactly when we heard from Brian, either that day or the next, perhaps that evening, but Brian was in Holland, I believe (I'll have to check and make sure), and was stuck at the airport, there, until flights were resumed 3 to 4 days later. So all tied in with September 11th it is such a strong memory of Kevin, and Brian too, and my home State, and my new home, here, as I had just arrived in Iowa not even two weeks before. I was very surprised that I felt so srongly about New York but my roots are there as well as most of my life spent. My early years were spent on Long Island and if I had continued to live there, undoubtedly, I would have directly known someone or a family who had experienced a loss of a loved one on that day. It really hit home. That day, though, I spent many hours at Flanagan's with Kevin and glued to the tv set.
A little on the lighter side; I still had my New York plates on my car. Being new to Des Moines I didn't know my way around. People continually honked at me!
Unmercifully! When 9-11 happened everyone stopped honking at me. Sad to say, New York wanted their plates back and so I had to send them back and put Iowa plates on the car. People started honking at me again because although the plates had changed, I still didn't know my way around!
So why is this September 11th different, I don't know. Last year Kevin wasn't here. Things change as time goes on. Different memories surface all the time as a flash of memory is triggered by a daily event, a sight or smell, a flower, anything, and so this was no different. At times I go by the Greyhound station or Kevin's high school, everyday, twice a day I go to Brody, Kevin's middle school, but my mind is elsewhere. Then any one day I can go by a particular place and it immediately triggers a memory. I have seen lots of kids on bicycles, for example, with not a second thought. Yesterday it triggered the memory of Brian, Kevin and I walking through Union College. A kid was speading through in a car, scared Kevin, and Kevin fell off his bike. I was so upset, ran after the car but couldn't catch it. Another memory. But this was an important one(the memory of 9-11) and I'm surprised that it did slip my memory, but it did enter my awareness again, this year, the 5th anniversary of 9-11.
posted by Patricia | 9:22 AM
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