Never forget

I saw this on a t-shirt with a cartoon drawing of a dinosaur underneath it.  The owner explained that it was a play on the Never Forget 9/11 paraphernalia.  Really, I didn’t understand the shirt even after the owner explained to me.  Did it mean we were never to forget dinosaurs either?

On the morning of September 11, 2001, one of my best friends boarded a plane leaving the Boston airport.  He was dressed in full military uniform as he was traveling for work that day.  Of all days and of all trips, it was this day that he forgot his cell phone.

Later that morning, I was driving to Rock Hill (the hill that rocks) and heard on my favorite morning show, Bob & Sheri, that a plane had flown into one of the twin towers.  As the commute was fairly long, I stayed tuned in as Bob & Sheri narrated the news over the radio as the second tower was hit.  I was experiencing this broadcast live as many of us did that day.

I’m sure that everyone who reads this blog will remember exactly what they were doing, who they were with, and how they felt the moment they found out about the 9/11 attacks.  I remember that there so much confusion as people were drawing cash from ATM’s, stocking up on canned foods, and filling their gas tanks.

Later that day, I received a phone call.  My best friend had found a pay phone at the airport and his plane was grounded during its layover over in Charlotte.  All he knew was that in the time after he left Boston and before he arrived in Charlotte, something big had happened.  He had quickly changed out of his military uniform while waiting.  All flights were immediately grounded and military personnel were restricted from travel as well.  I left work early that day and picked him up from the airport.  We spent the next few days trying to make sense of this horrific event while appreciating and enjoying our unexpected time together.

After the dust settled, patriotism was at an all time high.  I remember everyone had an American flag sticker on their car.  One guy had a full size American flag and flag pole installed in the very middle of the bed of his pick up truck.  The flag flew proudly everywhere he drove.

Please let’s never forget 9/11 (umm… and the dinosaurs too).