Where Was I When the World Stopped Turning?

It was a Tuesday as you know.

I guess I stayed up later than I should have as I had a hell of a time getting out of bed that morning.

I did, but was running about 15 to 20 minutes behind.

At the time I worked in the Riverside office of State Assemblyman Rod Pacheco.

The Assembly was in session and  Rod was up in north in Sacramento so I wasn’t too concerned about running a little late for my job.

I was driving to work from the residence I shared with my friends Ryan Wilson and Tony Wyman in the Arlanza area of Riverside.

I turned on KFI AM 640 to hear the morning news. Bill Handel was talking about how the planes had hit the buildings and how fast they had both come down.

I couldn’t figure out what he was talking about.  I thought he might be talking about a movie he had gone to see the night before.  I changed the station.

I turned to 96.7 KCAL to hear some hard rock instead.  For some reason the Morning Stiffy crew was talking and they weren’t even being funny.

I turned the station to KFROG for some country.  Again, no music just talking.

This was my first inkling that something was wrong, but I had no idea to what magnitude.

My pager went off with a text message.

It was an emergency message from the Assembly office asking me to call in as soon as I could.

I had a cell phone too so I called the office.

Kelly Bringhurst answered. She just wanted to make sure I was okay.

I asked her, “Why wouldn’t I be okay?”

She couldn’t believe what I said and replied, “Dude, we are under attack!”

My heart stopped and all I could say was, “You mean this shit I just heard on the radio is real?”

It was real.

Far more real than one of my worst nightmares.

My life changed that day, as did everyones.

Until 2001, September 11th was just a day a week or so after Labor Day with no significant meaning.

Then it became a day that will always make me feel hollow inside as I remember that horror and the tragedy of what happened that Tuesday.

I will never be the same and will never forget what our enemies did to us.

The unity we had as a people in the days that followed was like nothing I’d seen in my entire life.

I hoped it wouldn’t go away, but knew it would fade and it did.

If anything good can come out of this 10 year memorial of 9/11 is that we put aside our petty and partisan difference and remember that we are all Americans.

We are in this together and as Benjamin Franklin said, “If we don’t all hang together, we will all hang separately.”

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Thank you for taking the time to read this today.

I hope we all take the time to remember all of those who lost their lives in these attacks, and those we’ve lost since — both at home and in military service to our country.

1,400 rescue workers have lost their lives due to 9/11 related causes.

1,140 people who lived, worked, or studied in Lower Manhattan have been diagnosed with cancer caused by “exposure to toxins at Ground Zero.”

8 pregnancies were lost as a result of the attacks.

Life is precious and life is fragile.

So today, let us hold our loved ones a little tighter, put aside petty grudges, and maybe even tell someone you haven’t spoken with in a while how much they mean to you.

For the best way to remember those we have lost is to remember the things in this life that are truly important and beautiful.