I salute you America

On a somber note, I wasn't sure if I wanted to do one of these posts. I'd read several 9/11 post this morning. I didn't know if I could do it justice. I didn't know if anyone would even care what I would have to say. I would like to recognize the anniversary of 9/11/01. It's a day none of us will ever forget. It's like how our parents know exactly where they were when the first man landed on the moon, and where they were when JFK was shot to his death. This is a day that I can remember as vividly as if it were today. It was sunny and clear, blue skies in Memphis that day. I remember walking to class with sleepy eyes, and hair a mess thinking what a lovely day was being ruined by having to go to American History at 9:40am in the morning. I went into class and sat in a seat in the auditorium. My teacher came in and announced that class was cancelled. He said, "Today is a day you will never forget. You will always remember exactly where you were for the rest of your life when you find out what happened today. You will NEVER forget. Go home. Go home. Go home and turn your televisions on." He didn't even tell us what had happened. People were rushing all over campus, and everyone was talking on their phones. All I kept hearing were people saying one plane, no two planes, OMG, OMG, I need to call so and so. I finally got home and turned the tv on. Because, in college, I didn't watch the news. I didn't care about the world as a whole. I cared about my own little world; I didn't even realize that there was a world outside my little world. As, I watched the television and the castastrophe laid out before my eyes, I was stunned. You hear and see these type of things happening in other countries far away from the United States. I never fathomed it could happen on our own soil. It was America, the United States, land of the free, land of opportunity, not a war zone. I was naive and sheltered like many Americans were. These were things I read about in textbooks about times past. Not my country. But today, sadly, the children of America will grow up with the lingering thoughts of terrorism. They will not have the carefree days of being naive and sheltered thinking America is invincible and safe. Those were the days I lived until 9/11/01. Today, I pay homage and respect to those who lost their lives that day. It is a day that no textbook could ever describe in enough detail to know the panic that bled through America's heart. Today and every day, I am proud to be an American and hope that our country can one day return to the days where we ran through the sprinkler in our front yard in the summertime without a care in the world.......