.png)
Did anyone watch the documentary "102 Minutes that Changed America" on the History channel last night?
It was video captured by people who were in the vacinity of the World Trade Center on September 11. There was no host and no script. It showed the 102-minute time period between the first plane hitting the first tower and the eventual collapse of the two buildings through eye witnesses and news channel footage. It was people with their personal, handheld video cameras watching the events unfold from their apartments complete with their raw emotion and reactions as well as real-time interviews with people on the street as they watched everything take place.
I'm not certain I could fully articulate how I felt watching this. Certainly not well enough to do myself justice. I experienced every human emotion possible - from anger, confusion, outrage, sadness and fear to pride in our fellow Americans who were reaching out to help perfect strangers and sheer amazement at the bravery shown by the members of the police, fire and EMS departments. At times, I was almost sick.
I have watched everything I can about this day. I was one of those people who, in the days following the attacks, watched the news coverage everyday until 4 in the morning, waiting to see if something else would happen and struggling to see if someone would give an explanation as to why this happened. Even now, if I see there is a special on the architecture of the twin towers or something, I will watch. I simply cannot read, watch or learn enough about it. But this documentary was unlike anything I've ever seen. It's cliche to say that I felt like I was there, but I really did. It was incredible and horrific.
I'm sure most people can't see these things any longer because it is emotionally exhausting and painfully difficult to watch and that's completely understandable. But I have to. It's my way of making sure that I REMEMBER. Even though I remember every detail about the day from my experience, it's important to me that I remember that some people weren't lucky enough to be sitting in the Toledo Zoo marketing department watching the events on television. They were there, they had friends and family members who were there, they have children to whom they've had to try and explain why those buildings aren't there anymore and if they want to share their stories because its helps them to feel better, then I will listen. And watch. And cry.
3 comments:
i watched that show last night. i was crying, shocked, angered, all of the above. it was terrifying all over again to watch it all happen. i kept thinking "the towers aren't going to fall"..not sure why.
the parts that really got me were the 911 operators telling the people in the towers to "stay put" and wait for help. you just have to know those people all died. and the firefighters calling for help from the 78th floor...just minutes before the tower collapsed.
i'm like you: i HAVE to watch these shows. and i'm one of those people who have all the newspapers from 9-12-01 in a sealed container so some day i can show my kids. and try to explain it to them.
Yeah, those firefighters on the 78th floor was extremely hard to listen to.
I hate to call attention to this, but I was simply sick over seeing the people fall from the buildings. And when the buildings collapsed, seeing the smoke "chase" people down the street was so surreal. That's how it happens in movies when people are running from giant monsters and the like.
Overall, it was hard to believe I was watching reality when it seemed so much like scenes from a movie. The stark realization that this really happened was overwhelming and terrifying.
OH I watched that last night and let my 7 year old see parts of the beginning to try and explain what happened on that day. (I could not let her watch much past the planes crashing in--too much info for a little one)
She was 5 months old when it happened. I did a time capsule of her first year--and many newspapers and I think Time and Newsweek all went into it.
I still bawl like a baby when I watch those documentaries, but cannot pull myself away. Seeing the people plunge from those buildings still makes me want to throw up.
In '98, I went to the Prince Concert up in Detroit for a multiple gal pal 30'th birthday celebration. That happened to be the day they imploded the old Hudson's building. We were in Greek Town at Hellas and we were in the "fallout" of the building coming down--it seemed like hell. and that building was not even 1/3rd of the size of one of the buildings--I remember the big clouds of smoke and the crap that came raining down on the buiding and our cars--it did seem like something out of th emoives--but I cannot imagine being in that on a much larger scale--terrifying.
Post a Comment