September 10, 2006
Every American will mark in some way this fifth aniversary of that terrible day. We all have the memories of where we were, what we did and thought. I went back to look at my journal of that sad and alarming time. Andy and I came up to the ranch the weekend following the disaster. There was a tropical storm, constant rain and the power was out. We were so agitated that all we could do was walk about in the rain- sodden fields, criss-crossing through the grass as the skies wept and we cried. I very much wanted to have my entire family huddled close and never go away again. On that terrible day we watched the towers go over and over again on television as if by watching we might somehow expunge the images. We had spent anxious hours trying to connect with our daughter who lived in Washington and worked downtown. Finally we did and she was o.k. Everyone has these stories.
Five years later the world seems so much more complicated, really so much more threatening. We've gotten over anthrax powder, wrapping our homes in vinyl, colored security alerts. We're getting used to taking off our shoes in airports. But lots of us will never get used to having our citizen rights curtailed. Some of us still revere our Constitution.
After 9/11 I think that many people became better consumers of information. We learned what we could about Islam, the geography of the Middle East, global warming and oil. We learned a lot of disgusting things about the venality of our present administration (both parties!).
I can feel so depressed about our country five years after 9/11. I do know that three of my six grandchildren have been born since that fateful day. Should this give me hope?
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