Remembering 9/11

Can't get over the fact that it is 10 yrs since 9/11. Every article, every photo, every video that I see about 9/11 and/or the memorial that is being built makes me feel lucky to be alive.

 

I always wanted to try sky-diving at least once, but after seeing the videos of people who plummeted to their death voluntarily from the top floors of the WTC, I dont think i'm gonna ever try it. If I did, I would be insulting all those souls who chose to perish that way. There were people who jumped alone, n then there were those who held hands while jumping, only to be separated before reaching the ground. The irony: At a speed of just less than 150 miles/hr, it wasn't enough to cause unconsciousness during the fall, but just enough to cause instant death on impact. So, those who were falling were very much alive, until they hit the ground. Their falls lasted less than ten seconds, but the time between life and death? A fraction of a second too is an understatement.

I was in second year Engineering when this fateful incident happened that not only shook USA, but the world. I was very naive, and couldn't understand the significance of such perdition. My sister was in the USA then, and she gave me a detailed account of the vicious destruction, the havoc, the aftermath of that disastrous day. I couldnt understand the gravity of the situation. Today, I do understand, but can do nothing but shed tears implacably. I have been living in the USA since four years, keep visiting NY/NJ frequently, but I have never been able to summon the courage to go and see ground zero while the memorial was being construsted. I just couldnt do it. It is too tough to maintain your calm at a place where thousands lie sleeping, forever. Even as I am typing this, I have a lump in my throat, and my eyes are red from crying. This day, in everyone's lives, is to say the least, utmost mournful. That too, as I repeat, is a hyperbole.

The National September 11 Memorial and Museum will be open to public from 09/12/2011, on its 10th anniversary. Please, everyone, do make it a point to visit this memorial, as a mark of respect to all those innocent people who lost their lives in the 9/11 obliteration.