Remembering

I was in my 8th grade science class when the first tower was hit and history class when the second was hit. My small, private school was out in a field and did not have cable, but we were able to get one tv with rabbit ears to pick up a station. They gathered all the students into the gym to tell everyone all that had happened. Classes were basically cancelled and there were a few ministers there if anyone wanted to talk. What left the biggest impression on me was my history teacher. He was from New Jersey and had many friends in the World Trade Center. I never found out or wanted to ask how many people he knew who did not make it out.

For those of us who watched it unfold and were old enough to understand what was happening, we will never forget. But there is a whole generation who will never remember because they were not old enough or not born yet. I have four little cousins and while three of them were alive, none of them remember. The oldest was 3, the youngest 3 months. For them this is a history lesson, but not an actual event that they can recall. Security at the airport has always been this way, certain areas of buildings have always been off-limits and the New York skyline has never had those two magnificent buildings. My dad said tonight that many kids today don't know that there was time when you could walk people to the gate at an airport and say goodbye without a ticket; or park curbside at the airport for more than 30sec. These same kids don't know a time without war, and most don't know why we are fighting. Explaining it can be tricky because it is hard to know when you have gone too far or how much detail to include. I have no idea how I will ever explain it my kids (when I have them) or how I would go about it in a classroom. It will be easier the older the kids are, but these days kids are asking questions earlier and wanting more information. More and more this will be taught and it will be up to those who teach and those who are parents to provide the correct information. But also the personal side to that day needs to be told, where you were and what you remember. Everyone in this great country was touched that day, and in the days after we became a united country. Maybe that should be the lesson, how people came together in the time of need. Maybe that's what we should tell the kids. Maybe that's what we should remember.