Would you like some cornflakes?

I know I'm a day late on this but I'm going to jump on the Blogging Bandwagon and post about 9/11.

Six years seems a long time... When at the time of 9/11 I was only a tiny freshman in high school. So much has changed since that day. For our generation the way we think of our lives is now pre-9/11 days and post 9/11 days....that day will forever be etched in my memory, and has changed my outlook on life.

I can remember being a kid and adults talking about the day that JFK was shot, and saying how everyone in the country remembered exactly what they were doing on that day. I couldn't really understand what they were talking about. I began to understand that on 9/11. I think it is safe to assume that everyone in America (and perhaps most of the world) can remember exactly where they were and what they were doing on that morning.

I was going to school every day because I had to, and to see my friends. I might have known what the WTC was but, to be honest, I didn't really care. Early that morning when I saw the footage of the first plane crashing into the first tower I was not really focused on the subject matter, but I remember the silence. The look of grave fear, anxiety, and sadness on my English teacher's ancient face. I knew then that we weren't in Kansas anymore... Life became different... people changed... and America would soon be at war.

I remember the news footage on every channel, every day, for about two weeks. I couldn't escape it. I watched, and watched... I wanted to know what had happend to my fellow Americans... And who were these people that were able to cause such mass chaos and destruction on our soil? On the bus ride home from that infamous day at school, I remember the older students were very angry and wanted revenge. People that had never talked to one another seemingly became brothers and devised ways of capturing Bin-Laden.

I am not sure which images have had the greater impact on me in the past six years. The visions of the towers being hit, or the images of the faces I saw on TV for the next couple of weeks of survivors looking for their friends and family members who were still missing. Do you remember the walls of pictures that people were hanging with faces of their lost? I do. It was like something out of a movie, but only made worse because we all know it was real.

Over the next month or two I also remember some really great memories coming out of the attacks. I found it amazing how the country moved in the exact opposite direction as to what the terrorists had expected. They may have wanted Americans to crumble and fall apart, but that was NOT what happened. There was more patriotism, and a more united feeling than I had personally ever witnessed in my lifetime.

Can you remember all the American flags everywhere you looked? I can. Every other car seemed to have a flag on it, houses, buildings, etc. They were everywhere. The country, for a short time, was united and strong, despite the terrorists best efforts to derail us.

Since the initial wave of unity and patriotism things have definitely changed in the past several years. It seemed to last long enough for America to go to war in Afghanistan, but once the Iraq war hit the unity was gone. It makes me sad to realize that we have divided just as the terrorists were hoping we would, but it wasn't because of their attack, it was because of our attack on Iraq. I'm not taking any sides on this debate as we each have our own ideas on the war in Iraq, but there is no way to dismiss the concept that this current war has divided the country to the breaking point.

I suppose the point I am trying to make is that when you look back today on 9/11, try to focus on the good that came out of it, and not the horrible images and feelings that the attacks may have created inside you. Remember the feeling when the Yankee's had their first home game following the attacks, remember the way people all across the nation joined in their support. Remember how it didn't matter if you were young, old, black, or white, you were American, and you were proud of that.

Anyway... Enough of my reflections for now.