September 11th...always a day filled with deep reflection and, certainly, plenty of longing for the way things "used to be". Sadly, I honestly can't remember the pre-9/11 world since I've lived all but two years of my adult life in a post-9/11 military. Unlike numerous events that my memory struggles to recall, I don't even need to close my eyes and try to replay that Tuesday morning ten years ago today. I don't want to dwell on the topic but I do want to quickly document my memories because, if you know me, there's a chance I may not remember my name in another 10 years.
Jace and I were juniors at USAFA and we both lived in Vandenberg Hall so I'd always swing by to say hello on my way to class before the chaos of the day began. At that time we had room inspections on Tues AM so everyone's doors were open as the normal churn of the morning got underway. As I was walking down the hall I saw a few people's televisions displaying crazy "Breaking News" tickers and images of smoke billowing from one of the World Trade Center towers. At the time, the media thought it was just a small plane that made an incredible navigational error. Fast forward a bit as I sit in my military strategic studies classroom and our instructor gets word that the impact with Tower 1 was deliberate, another plane had hit the second, a third had crashed into the Pentagon and one other was unaccounted for. We turned on the television and watched... It was quite difficult to watch a few of my classmates' faces as they listened to what was going on at the Pentagon because their parents worked there. From there it's a blur of ID and bag checks, new restrictions, lots of fighter jets overhead and basketball practice (yea...'nuff said on that).
As I bring myself back to the present, to the times of national terror threat levels and two wars (and some interesting politics) that have bankrupted this country, I can only think about Easton and how different his childhood will be from both Jace's and mine. The military lifestyle alone will be a complete 180 from what Jace and I know of being born and raised in the same town but I think more troubling is the fact that he may, once aware, always live with this ever-present uneasiness, one that I've only come to realize since 9/11. As we move on from this day, one that's been spent with numerous tears of both sadness and admiration streaming down my face, my hope for the next 10 years is that our son will have a beautiful and happy childhood filled with hope and excitement for his future...
Jace and I were juniors at USAFA and we both lived in Vandenberg Hall so I'd always swing by to say hello on my way to class before the chaos of the day began. At that time we had room inspections on Tues AM so everyone's doors were open as the normal churn of the morning got underway. As I was walking down the hall I saw a few people's televisions displaying crazy "Breaking News" tickers and images of smoke billowing from one of the World Trade Center towers. At the time, the media thought it was just a small plane that made an incredible navigational error. Fast forward a bit as I sit in my military strategic studies classroom and our instructor gets word that the impact with Tower 1 was deliberate, another plane had hit the second, a third had crashed into the Pentagon and one other was unaccounted for. We turned on the television and watched... It was quite difficult to watch a few of my classmates' faces as they listened to what was going on at the Pentagon because their parents worked there. From there it's a blur of ID and bag checks, new restrictions, lots of fighter jets overhead and basketball practice (yea...'nuff said on that).
As I bring myself back to the present, to the times of national terror threat levels and two wars (and some interesting politics) that have bankrupted this country, I can only think about Easton and how different his childhood will be from both Jace's and mine. The military lifestyle alone will be a complete 180 from what Jace and I know of being born and raised in the same town but I think more troubling is the fact that he may, once aware, always live with this ever-present uneasiness, one that I've only come to realize since 9/11. As we move on from this day, one that's been spent with numerous tears of both sadness and admiration streaming down my face, my hope for the next 10 years is that our son will have a beautiful and happy childhood filled with hope and excitement for his future...
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