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This column was originally published in September 2023.
Jim Fabiano is a retired teacher and writer living in York.
I wonder if anyone still remembers. Has Sept. 11, 2001 evolved into a date in history only seen in textbooks or in online searches? Since that day, we have experienced many times that are hard and changed our lives. The COVID-19 pandemic has to be one of them with the war in Afghanistan being another that altered the way we viewed our nation and our society.
There are certain days in our lives that define who we are and the path we will take in life. Mine occurred on Nov. 22, 1963. I remember what I was doing and where I was. I even remember what I was wearing.
Sept. 11, 2001 started like all my other teaching days. I was concerned with things that now have little importance. I was giving a test in one of my chemistry courses when my computer reported that one of the World Trade Center towers in New York City had been hit. I felt sorrow that such an accident could occur. But, it was an accident I thought and accidents happen all the time.
I decided to turn on a television that was located on the wall behind my desk at the front of my room. Another defining moment in my life had begun. A new defining moment for my students was about to be born.
We watched in disbelief. The test no longer existed. The silence in the room was overcome by the crackled sounds coming from my old television.
One of my students came to my desk and asked if this was real. I told her it was and in her eyes I saw a bit of hate because I didn’t tell her that this was some special effect from an old disaster movie. As she returned to her seat all I could say was, “I’m sorry.”
We then watched as one of the towers burned. We watched brave men and women with unknown faces and names run toward the building in order to help. In order to do the jobs they were trained to do. They wore thick black coats with bright yellow stripes, some with air tanks draped across their back. They didn’t hesitate. They ran toward something they knew they had never seen before. They ran toward the disaster because they wanted to help.
We continued to stare at my television when we saw another plane. We watched in horror as we saw it disappear into the other tower and then explode. I didn’t hear anyone gasp or even breathe. I just heard total silence from my students who were supposed to be taking a chemistry test. The test no longer had any importance.
In a few seconds I heard one of my students exclaim, “Independence Day.” He had just spoken what they must have all been thinking. This couldn’t be real. It was never supposed to be real. We were promised that it would never be real.
The commentators said this was the worst kind of terrorist attack and that it could not be happening in our nation.
The pictures that were coming from my television now started to show something else. The pictures now showed another building in flames. The Pentagon, a building that was thought to be more powerful than any other building in the history of life. A building that was now broken and in flames.
Once again my students and I watched brave men and women with unknown faces and names run toward the building in order to help. In order to do the jobs they were trained to do. They wore thick black coats with bright yellow stripes, some with air tanks draped across their back. They did not hesitate. They ran toward something they knew they had never seen before. They ran toward the disaster because that was what they were supposed to do.
“Are we at war, Mr. Fabiano?” I looked up and stared into the eyes of a large young man who appeared to be both afraid and angry. Before I could answer him I noticed that my entire class was staring at me and waiting for my reply. They all had faces and names I knew. They were all destined to become the family leaders of tomorrow and the people that are trained to go into places simply to help other people.
Before I could answer I watched all of their eyes reach toward the television. They watched with their mouths opened and in an attempt to close their minds as the spiked steeples above the burning towers started to spiral in a macabre kind of dance that made them disappear into a dense translucent fog. I knew I didn’t have to answer the question. It was answered for us all.
The rest of my day was filled with the times that will be forever etched in all our minds.
I couldn’t express what I was feeling in words. I still can’t.
