On this day, 25 years ago, my exchange student came into the kitchen and told me that an airliner had just flown into one of the World Trade Towers. We turned on the TV and there it was.
We were quite frightened as my sister worked across the street from the towers and it was hours before we heard from her. She lived 6 blocks away and her husband was looking out their living room window and saw the second plane hit. He witnessed 100's of lives murdered in an instant. It was a sight and memory he bore until he died.
My sister and brother-in-law had to find other lodgings for months. She is a universal donor so she went to a blood bank to donate. My sister said she was sitting there feeling sorry for herself when she heard a woman with three small children talking on the phone. The woman was telling the listener that she hadn't heard from her husband since he went to work in the towers that morning. My sister was a bit ashamed and counted her blessings. In the end, the blood wasn't really needed as there were very few survivors who needed it.
Si vis pacem, para bellum
