The day after 9/11, I went to work...for United Airlines. As many of you know, I grew up with United in my life as my dad worked there for as long as I remember. When I got to the airport, the only way I can describe the feeling is eery. It was so quiet, but the automated recordings that we all normally tune out seemed to echo thru the terminal. The planes were all pushed back from the gate-almost as if they were in some sort of quarantine. The only people we saw were those of us that were wearing uniforms. We sat in the break room, staring at the TV, waiting to hear the news that the planes were allowed to take to the sky again, we held hands, we cried, we sat in silence, we felt like our worlds had been attacked on a personal level. And I think, we all felt a certain thankfulness that we were safe. And then we felt guilty for feeling that way as so many Americans were suffering with loss and fear, panic and pain.
This morning, as Eva laid in bed with us, I realized that someday, I will have to explain to her what happened on that day. She will never know a day where you could go to the gate to meet your loved ones exiting from the plane. She will never know a day where 9/11 wasn't in her history books. She will never know a day where you do not have to take your shoes off as you proceed thru the airport. She will never know 9/11 to simply mean an emergency phone call or just another day in September. But she will know, no matter what I have to do to teach her and show her, that for a brief time in American history, the country came together, the walls between conservative and liberal, the barriers between democrats and republicans dissolved and we were all simply Americans. We were joined to honor the fallen heroes of that day, we vowed to stand up to the enemies that had preyed on our vulnerability and stole the innocence of our children.
I ask myself if we have changed. Life has gone on. We all struggle daily with the economy, with bills, with high gas prices and health care. But I can't help but feel somehow blessed that we have these difficulties to endure, because so many people who perished, will never have the chance to go thru those day to day activities.
The first plane to land at Denver International Airport after 9/11 was a United flight. Many of us were there to watch the weary passengers and crew members exit the plane. As much as I will never forget seeing the United plane fly into the tower, I will never forget the faces of those travelers. At once terrified, but victorious as life began to slowly return to normal...to what has been referred to over and over as the post 9/11 world.
May we always remember that day, the tragedy and the triumph, the fear and the victory. May we teach our children to honor those who lived and saved and those who sacrificed their lives. Each year, as we approach the anniversary of this day, may we come together, as Americans and thank God that we live in this amazing country, thank God for the land of the free and the home of the brave.
