I Remember... too much

National September 11 Memorial & Museum

Today is 11th Anniversary of the 9/11 Attacks on our country, the United States of America. 19 al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked 4 US airplanes with the intent of suicide-bombing said planes into 4 American landmarks - the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, the US Pentagon, and the US Capitol building, both in Washington DC. They succeeded in targeting the first 3 locations, but the passengers of United Airlines flight 93 attempted to retake control of their plane, and the plane crashed into a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Nearly 3,000 people died in the attacks, including the 246 civilians and 19 hijackers aboard the four planes. The NY attacks crippled lower Manhattan and tested the entire nation. 
But today, on this anniversary, I am seeing reminders everywhere of this attack. And it's true, we should never forget. But the common theme I am seeing is: "Where were you?" 9/11 has become a point of clarity in the timeline of our existence. Everyone of a certain age will be able to tell you exactly what they were doing, who they were with, maybe even what they were wearing. This impacted (or should have) every citizen of the USA and many others around the world. But it starts me thinking too. Growing up, I remember my grandparents knowing where they were on "D-Day" and my parents knowing exactly who they were with when the Beetles crashed into America, when President Kennedy was shot, when it was announced that Elvis died. These pop-culture moments define a generation. And sadly some tragedies span almost the entire world.
So... with my odd sense of clarity and the ability to remember everything, here are the points of my timeline when I can remember exactly where I was, and who I was with:

 Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster
I remember January 28, 1986 with so much clarity that at 32 years old I am shocked to think I was just 6 years old and in Kindergarten. I did the math on paper. I was in Kindergarten. For many years, I always pictured Mrs. Dixon's 1st grade class, but looking back, I wonder if maybe that was something we saw on tv for the 1st anniversary. But I digress. 

NASA Shuttle Challenger breaks apart, killing all 7 on board.

We lived on the Mayport Naval Air Station in Jacksonville, Florida. It was so cold that winter. It had actually snowed in Florida - confusing everyone but those of us who had spent Christmas in Iowa. I remember walking into the family room that morning, and it was still pitch black outside. Grandma had the tv on, set to the NASA channel (which I am sure was something along the lines of PBS.) She'd had it on for hours, watching the launch prep. Grandma kept saying that they (NASA) were going to scrub the launch. I asked her what that meant. She said that it meant they were going to cancel it, maybe move it to another day. I asked why and and she replied that it was too cold. I looked at the tv, and I could  see the icicles actually hanging off the shuttle and launch equipment, even with steam coming out of the engines, there was ice everywhere. We kept watching the launch prep and the ice through breakfast - until we left for school. I've later learned that it was 18 degrees outside at launch time, around 11am. For the details of what exactly happened, check it out  here .
thinking back, I don't actually remember seeing the explosion in my Kindergarten class room, I don't even remember a tv. I know that we all watched the launches on the local channel, but my Kindergarten class was in a portable class room, like a 1 room house on a platform off the ground outside of the actual school building (1 had 3 such classrooms in 3 different schools, K, 2nd, and 3rd grades) so it's possible we weren't wired for television. It was a traumatizing event to say the least. The Space program was a huge part of life in Florida, as well as being a military family living on base. This was the first national tragedy to impact my small 6 yr old world. I firmly remember watching what had to have been a replay of the explosion in Mrs. Dixon's 1st grade class room at Mayport Elementary (inside the main building that year.) Someone made a stupid, rude comment, and the entire class received punishment (all standing and holding our arms out like a crucifixion until the viewing ended.) Obviously that's why it's burned into my mind. On the 25th anniversary of the disaster, MSN gave a report on the top 7 Myths regarding the tragedy, and the number one is that many people never saw the actual crash live. (it's a great article, check it out here.) My Mom and my grandma watched it live though on the NASA channel. The entire time my grandma kept saying that it was too cold, why didn't they cancel the launch?

My Elvis or JFK - 
It was a Friday or Saturday night (I can't remember), specifically August 31, 1997. I went to Pizza Hut with my girl friends for dinner. I remember having an excruciating headache, and being thoroughly annoyed with a few of the girls. After dinner, I said I was sick and I went home. I remember crawling up the 17 stairs to my bedroom, getting into my jammies, and crawling into bed with the lights off. I had the TV on, with MTV on (it was 1997, MTV still played videos.) I drifted in a state of headache induced semi-consciousness. I was woken up by the "Breaking News" music. I opened my eyes and saw Kurt Loder of MTV News floating in the darkness. What he was saying seemed like a dream. Impossible and unreal, yet they were showing pictures - Diana, former Princess of Wales, had been in a terrible car crash in France. Was she dead? Was she just injured? I remember praying that she was just injured, all the while knowing that she was gone. The images of the accident were just too bad. For a pretty good account of the entire tragedy, check out Wikipedia here.

Princess Diana of Wale

This was the first death of one of my "heroes." I can't believe that it's been 15 years since this happened! I grew up watching Diana become a Princess. She looked so shy and innocent, and as I grew up I watched her blossom into an amazing, strong woman. She left the Prince of England! She took her own life into her own hands. She was an amazing mother, woman, and humanitarian. I was in awe of her. I thought that we could have been great friends - she would laugh at my jokes, and would share some of her grace and style with me. And like every American girl, I dreamed of  becoming a princess. (Prince William wasn't that much younger than me.) And my heart ached when it was announced that she hadn't survived the accident.
Like my mother before me, I had lost a cultural icon. She has told me exactly where she was when President Kennedy was assassinated; my aunt remembers where she was when Elvis' death was announced. I remember the death of a Princess. Let me tell you the ending of that night: I tried to find my friends. They weren't at any of their homes, and this was long before we all had cell phones. I left messages with all of their moms. I sat in my room in the dark watching every minute of the story unfolding, flipping between MTV and all the other news broadcasts. I remember someone coming into my room (mainly the light from the hall cutting into my darkness as the door opened) but I can't tell you who it was. I remember my bff Anousha calling me from her home, and we watched the news unfold together via the telephone. There were tons of memorials and shows... but nothing affected me as much as the original broadcast with Kurt Loder, not even the sight of her 2 young princes walking quietly behind her funeral procession.

September 11, 2001
 Last year I tried I tried to acknowledge the 10th Anniversary of this horrible tragedy. And I couldn't write the post. I tried to avoid all of the media attention, and it was just impossible. It overwhelmed me and flooded into every part of my day. And I cried. and cried. and cried. But I think that I am ready:
It was a Tuesday in the very beginning of my senior year at Drake University here in Des Moines. I am pretty sure that I had class that day. I tended to bank all my classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays so I could work full time Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I was living alone in my little apartment on Vine Ave. in West Des Moines. Per my usual morning ritual, the first thing I do is turn on the TV to the TODAY show. So... on goes the tv and I start going about the business of getting ready. And then I heard some sort of ruckus and screaming coming from the tv. I ran out of the bathroom in just a t-shirt and this is what I saw:

United Airlines flight 175 preparing to crash into the South Tower of the World Trade Center, 9/11/01.

I don't even think that the TODAY show was aware what they were showing. They were just as dumbfounded as the rest of us by what was happening. It was like we were all in the room with the anchors. They didn't speak coherently or professionally at first. They were just normal people struck by the horror that they were witnessing. My knees gave out and I landed awkwardly on my couch. I just stared as the 2nd plane circled the towers. The news anchors kept saying that a plane had crashed into the North Tower. I think that they were just as shocked as we were when the 2nd plane crashed into the South Tower. I jumped off the couch and grabbed my phone and dialed my friend Brandy.

My view from my West Des Moines, IA, couch, 9/11/01

Brandy was asleep; I don't think she had class as early as I did that morning. I freaked her out and told her to turn on her tv. And we sat in shocked silence watching the events in Manhattan unfold. For the grand story, complete with details, here you go.
I have no idea when I left my couch. I didn't go to my classes that morning. I vaguely remember going to my Painting class in the afternoon - it started at 2pm. We didn't paint. We just sat on the roof in the sunshine for 2 hours and talked while someone had a radio of the news on. This was the time before iPhones, iPads and constant streaming data. We were in the island of Iowa. Our painting instructor was a chain-smoking free spirit. This shock or realization seemed to hit her pretty hard. We spent 2 hours trying to hold her together before she smoked herself right off the roof.

I literally watched this happen on live television. I was supposed to be in class.

The coverage of this disaster lasted continuously for what seemed like weeks. It's such a present thought in my mind that I can't believe 11 years have passed. 3000+ children lost a parent, some both parents, on that tragic day. I learned that a Newton, Iowa, woman was widowed in the attack when her husband was in a hotel across from the North Tower for business. The North Tower collapsed on him and the firemen surrounding him as they waited for instructions. Many more have died since that day due to illnesses related to the massive smoke/debris clouds that covered New York City as the towers fell, as well as the survivor search and rescue and the cleanup operations once it was determined that no survivors remained. This terrorist attack has remained in the hearts and minds of an entire country for 11 years. Finally in May of this year, President Obama authorized a Navy Seal mission that resulted in the capture (and death) of al Qaeda's mastermind, Osama bin Laden. Along with many of his henchmen captured and killed over the years since 9/11, I think that the demise of bin Laden and his compound has helped this country to heal. I hope that it has helped the 3000+ families of these victims to heal as well.
I'm not sure how to end this post... But I feel like saying that I have a wicked memory. I remember some moments with such clarity that it's like I am there all over again. Other things just disappear slowly with time. For instance, I remember most of the day of 9/11/01. But I can't tell you which classes I missed that morning. I know for a fact that it was my original senior year (I had to take an extra semester in the Fall of 2002 to complete some course requirements from the basic undergrad program.) That means I should have had my Senior Magazines class, though I don't remember us publishing anything about 9/11, let alone discussing it as a group. So, take this post with a grain of salt if you will. It's really just about my memories of the big timeline events of the world that affected me, decades after the fact.