Pyrate News

By: Martin Rand, III
Date: September 11, 2011

On this day of remembrance, I find it hard to believe there are Americans who cannot remember where they were or what they were doing the morning of September 11, 2001. I know I remember almost every key fact from that day.

I was living in New York City at this time; and the morning started out like any other morning. I woke up not wanting to go to school. The school year just started and I was still in "summer mode." However, I woke up, walked to the public bus, got on and went to school.

Homeroom with Mrs. Hutchinson was boring as usually. Everyone in the class was going around doing their homework and trying to see if they got the same answers. I was pretty good at math, so I had a lot people asking me for answers. Boring.

First period, which was my social studies class with Mr. Kuhn, was when everything happened. Although, none of us in the class knew about it. Everybody in the class was talking and joking with each other. Mr. Kuhn, who was sitting at his desk, seemed frustrated; but, I thought it was because no one was paying attention to him. Then, he slammed his right hand on the desk and everyone went quiet.

"How can y'all talk and laugh at a time like this," said Mr. Kuhn."Y'all should be ashamed of yourselves."

After he said that, we all just looked at each other in confusion. Finally, a girl asked,"What are you talking about?"

In New York City public schools at this time, no classroom had a television; so we couldn't just turn on the news and see what happened. Also, this was before the era of everyone carrying a cell phone and having internet access. We had no clue what he was talking about; but everyone was quiet for the rest of the class, probably more out of confusion than wanting to learn about history.

Little did we know, we were living history at that very moment.

Then, a lot children's parents started checking them out of school. By lunch period, half of the cafeteria was empty. I still didn't know what happened in downtown Manhattan. Only thing I could think of was, "Maybe there was a virus outbreak in school and all the parents were worried." That's the best thing my 12-year-old mind could come up with.

It wasn't until the end of the day, when Mrs. Hutchinson finally told us the Twin Towers were hit by planes and completely destroyed, along with a lot of buildings around them. When I heard that I couldn't believe it. These buildings were so huge and massive I couldn't imagine New York City without them.

Then, it hit me, "Yo! My mom works downtown. Is she okay, is she hurt, is she alive?" I didn't know; and, I got a very sink feeling in my stomach.

I couldn't wait to get home, call my mom's office to see if she was okay and turn on the t.v. to see what was going on. I called my mom's office and she didn't answer; so, now I'm really worried. Then, I turned on the t.v. and couldn't believe what I saw. Seeing these buildings on fire and planes going through them sent shivers up spine. Seeing people jumping out the buildings was horrifying. Now, I'm really thinking my mom is gone, and I'm never going to see her again.

Thankfully, she eventually called home and my fears were put to rest.

However, this is the feeling that a lot of people shared. Being scared of what was happening, not sure if someone close to you was dead or alive, and just overall confusion.

This day shows the true character of people. New Yorkers have a reputation of being very cold shouldered people and not willing to help out their fellow neighbor. But, on that day, although there was a lot of ugliness and destruction, it was beautiful to see people helping one another and risking their lives to save one another.

After ten years, this shouldn't be a day to be sad. This should be a day of celebration for all those who risked their lives. Celebrate their memory and the courageous acts they performed before their untimely deaths. Celebrate the memory of the innocent, who had no chance to escape the devastation.

There are a lot of terrible pictures and videos of Sept. 11. Although, we should never forget what happened, we should change our feelings toward this day and celebrate the human lives that were lost and the ones that survived.