I took a writing course in high school titled Creative Non-Fiction. The course went over how to write memoirs and the like. During one class a peer asked, "What am I to write if I am unsure whether I can recall the events correctly?" The teacher responded saying memory is so faulty that even when an author believes he's being honest, he's writing a quite inaccurate account. And so he said to write whatever makes the story more interesting / supports the theme of the autobiographical piece. I still question this piece of advice. One should try to write what they remember, even if their memory is faulty. With that I invite the reader to view my attempt at an accurate portrayal of one of my earliest memories - the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center in Manhattan.
I was seven-years-old and in 2nd grade on the day. The first recollection I have is being pulled out of class with one other kid. We were told our parents would be arriving at the school in a few minutes to take us home. This occurred at around 9:30am; the knowledge of the ~6:30am attack took time to propagate throughout the city. Naturally I was excited, as for both young and old any break from routine is entertaining.
On our way home there was a large amount of traffic and no cabs available. So we hitchhiked into one of those large Chinese tour buses.1 To my seven-year-old-self 9/11 was only an exciting day where strangers were particularly friendly.
Being picked up from school and getting into the Chinese tour bus to get home is the only memory I have that I am sure happened on September 11, 2001. The next few days I recall distinctly watching the video reel of the second plane hitting the second tower. Or rather watching others watch that video reel. Throughout the city every establishment with a TV had CNN2 replaying that clip over and over. Sports bars looked as packed as they do in Europe on the day of a World Cup final. Watching the video of the 9/11 attacks was a group activity.
The most profound memory I have is seeing the debris cloud. I imagine most underestimate the length of time it took for the smoke to go away. It is not a 1 or 2 hour process nor a 1 or 2 day process but instead a 1 or 2 month process. So for about 45 days when I went to school I could see that gray smoke lingering in the sky along with the patrolling fighter jets.
No one close to me died during the attack. The person I knew who seemed most disturbed by the event was a family friend. He had a nice photography studio along the Hudson River that faced the World Trade Center. On 9/11 his scenic view turned into a nightmare as he watched people jump from the top floor of the Twin Towers to end their misery. He sold his studio shortly after claiming that the reminder of the memory from the view made it too depressing to continue working there.
Nowadays I hardly think of 9/11.3 I don't wonder about the whole conspiracy thing. I am sure the USG used the event to increase its power, but the question of whether or not the attack was orchestrated from inside the border is impossible for most to know the answer to.
Might be interesting to read Jacob's brief recollection of it too.
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