not if, when

i'm trying to wrap my brain around the need for our government to let us know that a terrorist attack is imminent. within 3 months we can expect to be attacked. al qaeda isn't spending their time on multiple-locations-at-one-time attacks, but on one-off ones. as someone who lived in new york city on 9-11, is that supposed to make me feel better? i don't understand - it's not as if we can prevent it... 

i remember september 11th as if it were yesterday. i remember the weather, the color of the sky, what i was doing, the sounds of the morning and the smell days later. it was zach's second day at dalton's kindergarten. i was at work and had no idea the world was exploding until tanya called me screaming. for those of you who don't know tanya, she is my oldest friend and her scream is utterly terrifying. she told me about the trade center being hit and then called back about the second building.  and once i heard the pentagon was struck, i went to pick up zach.

we took a taxi down park and saw above the pan am (met life) building this incredibly thick, black, horrifying smoke. we all know what happened in the hours, days and weeks that followed. unfortunately or fortunately i remember it all and i hope i always do - at the very least out of respect for those who died for nothing more than going to work, traveling somewhere....being in the wrong place at the wrong time. and one of the other parts i want to remember too is how nice people were in new york city in the weeks after. it was all so surreal.

wwcd: live expecting the world not to end