Today is September 11. Everyone knows what happened today and what they were doing when it happened. I remember being at work that morning and hearing what was going on in New York. I also remember that I had to leave work early that day because we were having a new hot water heater installed in our house that afternoon.
Not that it's not a sad day or anything, but it's not that big a deal for me. Mainly because I associate it so much with what happened the following week. On Sept. 18, 2001 our house caught fire and we lost nearly everything, including five of our cats.
The thing is, when you hear about Sept. 11, you hear so much about how people came together and how much help there was out there for people in need. But the next week, we didn't experience much of that. I can't say that some people weren't sympathetic; I can't say that some people didn't go the extra mile for us. There were plenty of people who did. But there were plenty of people who didn't.
Yeah, I suppose I am bitter about it still. And I really didn't realize that I was until now. I don't know many people who have been through what we had, so I guess it's hard for people to really understand what it's like to lose your beloved pets, whose poor dead bodies were treated like trash by the authorities. It's hard for people to know what it's like to go to K-mart at night to buy clothes because all you have is what you wore to work that day. It's hard for people to know what it's like to be told that your possessions are irrecoverable not because they are damaged, but because the cleaning crew is stealing from you. Those are the memories that I associate with September 2001.
Of course, I can't forget that there were very, very kind people who were quite generous to us. The pet cremation company who treated our cats like the children they were to us (and, funnily enough, the company gave us a "bulk" discount because we had so many to be cremated). There was the church group who donated sheets and bedding for us once we had an apartment and some furniture. And there were the people who gave us money to help us until the insurance kicked in. Those were the real lifesavers, especially in those first few days when we really had nothing.
So, I am sad for the people that died in the terrorist attacks eight years ago. I am sad for how divided our country is after a brief time of being united. But mostly, when people talk about today, I relive the time just after Sept. 11, when we lost so much ourselves.
Not that it's not a sad day or anything, but it's not that big a deal for me. Mainly because I associate it so much with what happened the following week. On Sept. 18, 2001 our house caught fire and we lost nearly everything, including five of our cats.
The thing is, when you hear about Sept. 11, you hear so much about how people came together and how much help there was out there for people in need. But the next week, we didn't experience much of that. I can't say that some people weren't sympathetic; I can't say that some people didn't go the extra mile for us. There were plenty of people who did. But there were plenty of people who didn't.
Yeah, I suppose I am bitter about it still. And I really didn't realize that I was until now. I don't know many people who have been through what we had, so I guess it's hard for people to really understand what it's like to lose your beloved pets, whose poor dead bodies were treated like trash by the authorities. It's hard for people to know what it's like to go to K-mart at night to buy clothes because all you have is what you wore to work that day. It's hard for people to know what it's like to be told that your possessions are irrecoverable not because they are damaged, but because the cleaning crew is stealing from you. Those are the memories that I associate with September 2001.
Of course, I can't forget that there were very, very kind people who were quite generous to us. The pet cremation company who treated our cats like the children they were to us (and, funnily enough, the company gave us a "bulk" discount because we had so many to be cremated). There was the church group who donated sheets and bedding for us once we had an apartment and some furniture. And there were the people who gave us money to help us until the insurance kicked in. Those were the real lifesavers, especially in those first few days when we really had nothing.
So, I am sad for the people that died in the terrorist attacks eight years ago. I am sad for how divided our country is after a brief time of being united. But mostly, when people talk about today, I relive the time just after Sept. 11, when we lost so much ourselves.
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