9/11/21

I’m not American, and I have never been to New York (although it is scrawled on a bucket list of places to visit, somewhere in between New Zealand and the Canadian Rockies). 

I didn’t know anyone working in or visiting the World Trade Centre or any of the people on the planes, and have never met any of the emergency service personnel involved. I have no first hand links of any of those terrible events.

The last thing I want to do today is upset anyone who has close links – which is why I am putting my thoughts here, rather than being another post on the overwhelming rolling feed of Instagram or Twitter. And yet… I can’t let today pass without some sort of a comment. A recognition. A note to say ‘I remember’ – no, more than that. A note to say ‘no one will ever forget.’

But I still feel the cold stab of horror, the incomprehension of what I was seeing as clearly today as I did twenty years ago. It’s as if I can taste the dust and ash. Tears well up simply at the thought of those events. 

And I don’t ever need to see the pictures again, because they are branded into my brain. For ever.

I have no recollection of where I was or what I was doing when the planes went into the Twin Towers – my day-to-day existence paled beside what was happening. My entire consciousness became filled with pure disbelief, then horror, then immense, overwhelming sadness. My emotions were slowly replaced by the countless tales of ultimate sacrifice and bravery, the stories of messages left on the phones of loved ones by people who knew they were going to die, the guilt felt by survivors…

Nothing can change what happened on 9/11/01. But if you are lucky enough to have loved ones – today has to be a day to give them an extra big hug. Today is the day to reach out and connect with the people who matter. To do something you enjoy. To stand for a moment in the sunshine. To appreciate life.