9/11

like many americans, i have a complicated relationship with 9/11. i hate that it happened. it is seared in my memory as an awful day. but, i also really don't like what it was used to justify. i wanted to throw things at the tv every 40th time giuliani said it during his presidential campaign, and every time cheney says it i despise what he stands for even more.

mostly, though, the day makes me homesick. i was working puerto rico that day. the planes hit while was i counting trees in the forest. meanwhile, my brother saw the smoke from his dorm, my mom was in the subway headed a block away from the towers and my dad was trapped in queens. they were all happy i wasn't there, but i wasn't. i may be one of very few people who has never watched the footage. really, i've never seen it, on purpose.

plenty of people have much sadder memories of 9/11 than i do, whether they be of lost loved ones or in the form of post-traumatic stress disorder (see article on the mental emergency below). i wish them all well on this anniversary and still hope that good can come out this tragic loss.

mental health emergency from 9/11