Nineteen years

And you still remember it.

The anniversary of September 11th passed and was filled with remembrances and thoughts of a country post-crisis (oddly amid several crises currently underway).

Nineteen years ago, I was in my English class. The teacher, an amiable old fellow with a doctorate (we called him Doc) was lecturing on, I believe, Heart of Darkness. When the class was dismissed, we ran into other students in the hall who told us what happened. The rest of the day was spent watching the television footage and news reports coming in from New York, Pennsylvania, and DC.

It was my first understanding of the frailty of the world on that level. Generations have defining moments, and at the time I was sure that was it.

While we know more now than we did then, we still have a lot to learn. I remember a call to unity, and one that, for a time, was heeded. I guess it’s encouraging that, even then, the world can go back to a state of normalcy, no matter the catastrophe proceeding it. We’re just waiting now for normalcy to reemerge this year.