DerosbyBrothers.com

I know it has probably been done before, and most likely much more effectively than I can do it here. But I was thinking on my drive this morning, where I was 8 years ago this day.

I was just starting my third year of teaching, and I was in room 318 (during second period I believe) when a student of mine from another period came down the hall to inform me that a plane had crashed in New York. They weren’t sure but they thought it had hit a building (which they incorrectly assumed it was the Empire State). It seemed so unbelievable so we continued on with class. Shortly thereafter an announcement came on informing the school of the horrific news. The towers had been hit and the total damage had not been assessed, however the outlook did not look promising. I sat with my class of students as they begged for information that I did not have access to. We dealt with the possibilities of terrorist attacks as well as other options. Slowly the realization set in that too many lives had been lost and the heroic efforts of others had helped to save some.

It was on this day that so much changed for myself and many others. Until this point we could not imagine an attack of such magnitude occurring on our own soil. We sat around watching the news for days, weeks, months, etc. We were engrossed and horrified at the details. There was much confusion in our lives, minds and hearts. Now, we had fear and doubt. We were filled with anger and confusion. There weren’t the answers we wanted or expected.

I only posted this because even after 8 years, the events are so vividly etched into my memory. There are days that I can’t remember what I had for breakfast, yet these details never escape me.

I often look for songs that have deeper meanings or background. If you have the moment, check out the youtube video for Tom Morello’s “No One Left”. He’s listed as the Nightwatchman and it’s his personal expression of the events. He stated that in all songs, no one was able to capture how he felt and so he wrote this.

Please feel free to share how you felt and what your experiences were during this powerful, traumatic, and impacting time in American history.