Where Were You?

There are a few dates in history that live in infamy. I was not yet born when Pearl Harbor was bombed. However, my father, his brother, and one of my mother's brothers were drafted and served in the Armed Forces as a result of that attack. Their generation bore that burden and was forever affected in one way or another.

My own generation spent years, ducking under our desks during drills, identifying the locations of the nearest air raid shelters, and scrambling into underground tunnels during our college years. Vietnam permanently scarred some of us and scared all of us.

Every one of us still remembers where we were when we learned of Kennedy's assassination.

And yet, nothing. Nothing in our experiences. Nothing in our imaginations. Nothing prepared us for the assault on the World Trade Center. Frozen in horror. Motionless in shocked disbelief. Most of us were not in New York, but we could not turn away from the images on our television screens.

Where were you? I was here, tending America's hope for the future. La petite classe de francais .... a month later, we were making a photo album for a classmate's mother (the school secretary) who was in the hospital ...... dying. My smallest class ever. (French was dying too.) I loved each one of those kids (yes, smaller classes do mean more teacher/student interaction) and many others, and I pray that they are able to overcome the challenges they face, including the aftermath of 09-11.