Memories Of 9-11-2001 Remain Rampant

I am a native New Yorker and it feels like the September 11th terrorist attacks that occured back in 2001 remain with me to this day. The World Trade Center's twin towers have been a fabric of my life since their construction began in the early 1970's. By 1973 these massive buildings graced the Manhattan skyline as they commanded attention of local residents like myself and fascinated tourists with their vibrant presence.

At one point in my life, I have gone to the top floor Observatory while taking in the spectacular view of my beloved city and beyond, dined at Windows Of The World Restaurant and while working for a local messenger service, I was dispatched in that vicinity to pick up and deliver packages at various offices located within both towers.

So you can imagine when American Airlines flight # 11 hit the North Tower, it seemed surreal, but it was not my imagination. This was REAL as thoughts came into my mind wondering if the incident that occurred was a bad accident. A half hour later, United Airlines flight # 175 crashed into the South Tower and that convinced me this was NOT an accident as news reports surfaced these events at The World Trade Center were an act of terrorism on American soil.

The horrific images were etched in the back of my head and STILL are to this day as lower Manhattan turned into a war zone and I'll never forget seeing these giant pillars crumbling down as I could not believe this was happening in the city where I was born and raised. Two other attacks also occured at The Pentagon in Washington D-C and I consider the passengers and crew of United Airlines flight # 93 which was intentionally brought down in Shanksville, Pennsylvania as TRUE heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice to prevent another terrorist attack from coming to fruition as their actions truly saved lives.

Overall, just under 3,000 casualties were reported throughout these past two decades as this was considered the worst terrorist attack against The USA. It took weeks before the nation returned into a sense of normalcy as the economy was in a major tailspin and the Stock Market remained closed for about a week. Plenty of unanswered questions came into my mind wondering how this tragedy would impact our country.

The next day, I was called to engineer wall-to-wall news coverage of post-news reports

on a radio station that normally played top 40 music as regular programming ceased for days at the New London, Connecticut studios. This probably was a prelude where I was appointed as News Director and anchor for WSUB-AM at that same facility about a year later as my radio career took a different direction and it's quite possible 9-11 played a key role in this impending move from radio personality to news anchor.

On Friday's WSBS Lunchtime Request Hour, we took some time to remember this dark day in history as listeners chimed in with a selection of music that honored those who gave all as their memories will ALWAYS remain eternal and everlasting. 2 words that describe September 11th 2001: "NEVER FORGET!"