Seven Years.

Chris asked the question this morning "What is your 9-11 story?"

I was at work. I was logged into AIM and was chatting with my friend D, from New Jersey. She said to me "OMG. A plane just hit one of the World Trade Towers!" And I responded with "Pilot must be sick, or crazy!"

I was thinking along the lines of a small commuter/Cessna type aircraft. Maybe the pilot had a heart attack? Or a stroke? Then she said to me "No Jen. A PLANE. An airliner!"

I totally did not believe her. D was a prankster, but not in this fashion. Yet I couldn't really grasp what she was telling me. She told me to go put on CNN. So, I walked out into the other room and flipped on the tv.

I will never forget that moment. That one single moment when my eyes saw the tower, and the smoke, and debris flying around in the air. I did not know anyone in those towers. But anyone with an ounce of empathy felt awful that day. I remember not being able to breathe for a moment or two. Bossman said to me from his office "Jen? What's up?" Cause, you know, I don't usually sit around and watch tv while I am supposed to be working. Heh, I shouldn't have been chatting on AIM either, but I was.

Anyway, I said "You need to come here...." And he replied that he was very busy. So I said "No, Ed, you NEED to come here. One of the trade towers was just hit by an airplane..."

Silence from his office, and then he said "What? A cessna?" I replied "Eedddd. Just come."

He walked out from his office, and when his eyes fell upon the tv, he froze, all color draining from his face. "I used to work in that tower..." he said, as he plunked down next to me on the couch. So we watched. And we listened. And then we saw it.

"Is that another plane??" I asked in total and utter disbelief. Before Ed could say anything, it crashed into the second tower. I remember Ed stood up, ran his fingers through his thinning hair and started walking around in circles saying "Oh my GOD!" over and over again.

At this point I was physically shaking. A few minutes later they had footage from a different angle, and you could clearly see and hear the plane enter the building. I will NEVER forget that sound, EVER.

Then, Ed says "I just saw someone jump..." We sat and watched the footage being played over and over, and sure enough, you could see people falling away from the building. It was at this point that I had to leave the room. I felt like I was going to be sick. Trying to imagine the horror in that building, the horror that would make someone jump from 80+ floors up? Unimaginable.

I came back and sat down next to Ed. We sat there in silence until the towers fell. I remember hearing Ed whisper "Oooh. Oh Noooo.." as they came crashing down. I couldn't say anything. I was thinking of the people inside, and again, felt sick.

We sat there for a very long time, in silence. Ed then told me to go on home.

When I got back on AIM, D was gone. She had emailed me before she logged off though. Her boyfriend worked in one of those towers. I found out a day or so later that he was late to work, encountered a traffic jam due to an accident and went home instead of going into the office that day. I had another friend who watched everything unfold from his living room window.

And let's not forget the people on those other planes, either. Those people on Flight 93 gave their lives, and should NEVER be forgotten.

I remember laying in bed one night with T after watching more news footage, just sobbing. It was a very sad, and very scary time. I couldn't lose those images of the people jumping. Or of the towers falling, or of the plane hitting, or of all the people trying to get away as the towers fell. And you know what? Seven years later I STILL cannot lose those images. Nor can I fathom what would make someone do what was done that day.

Chris talked about one day telling his children of this day, because in telling, it will never be forgotten. We too, will tell Maya when she is old enough. Because we shouldn't ever forget. I know that I won't. I can't.