Tammi Hitchcock

Photo credit: Tammi Hitchcock. Photo was taken June 2000, a year before the World Trade Center, twin towers collapsed due to the terrorist attacks.

I’m sure that all of us can remember where and what we were doing on this day 10 years ago as the 9/11 attack on the United States unfolded. I was working at the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue as a computer programmer when my mom called to tell me. Immediately desk and cell phones started ringing throughout the room as families reached out to touch each other. In a cloud of disbelief we ran to a conference room where the live coverage streamed over a television. We watched as the second tower was hit before our very eyes. Standing there watching the World Trade Center crumble as if it was built of cardboard is forever seared into my brain. It took me years to erase the image of people and debris falling from skyscrapers like raggedy cloth dolls.

Flight 93 crashing in Shanskville, Pennsylvania was a sobering reminder how close we actually were to potential nuclear danger as the speculation that 3 Mile Island nuclear plant (only 10 miles away) may have been the hijacker’s intended target.

The jet that hit the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia was horrific as well. Oddly what I remember most about the Pentagon attack was the ability of the compound to withstand such an attack and the following months rebuilding the structure and the psyche of America.

Today, 10 years later, in my small way 5000 miles away I’m honoring those that lost their lives by practicing the Hawaiian tradition of floating a flower lei out on the ocean to remember.

Ten years ago was a reminder that what really mattered was those you have relationships with. Even today, in a time where Internet networks encourage you to build lists of “friends”, what REALLY matters is your relationships and your community. Build relationships, not lists.

In memory of the victims and heroes of 9/11…I salute you and will never forget.
To the firefighters, police officers, and other first responders who regularly put yourself in harms way to to keep us safe, thank you! For all of you who are serving in the military or who have served in the military in the past, thank you for sacrificing for our freedom and to keep us safe. Aloha.

Visit the 911 memorial website

PS.

Photo credit: Laurie Cicotello

Link to The National 911 Flag website.

Check out more photos and a blog post about the day we saw the 9.11 Flag aboard the battleship Missouri in Pearl Harbor.