BLACK.

Today is September 11th since that day, on this day, unless it is a pyjama day, I always wear black when I am out of the house. So, last night I chose what I would wear for work today. I have been to 6 funerals this year, and what I wore to those funerals, I wore today.

The co-worker I worked with today, was eight years old when it happened twenty-four years ago today. I don’t remember much that happened when I was eight. Louisa explained to me, “Our air plane was the last one to take off, after it became news, so they were unable to cancel the flight, and when we landed, my Mum had lots of texts messages telling her to, “Turn on the telly,” The news wasn’t in English.” I told Louisa, “I was just about to leave the house with my young children to go and visit my friend who had just had her son five days before, but we didn’t go, we all stayed in and watched the telly.” The son is now twenty-four years old.

Then later on, another co-worker, who is the same age as myself, when she realized why I was in black, she also talked about where she was, on that day, she said, “It was the worst thing that had happened in our lives,” I said, “Yes, before that, people had the death of Kennedy, but we were able to see the news, as it happened live on telly.”

I said to Lois, “I have watched nearly everything about September 11th including The Falling Man.” I told her about one of my favourite stores, I think the lady is called Precious, she had hurt herself, and was unable to walk, four men who was going down the stairs saw her, and decided they would put her in a blanket type thing and they would each take a corner of it can carry her down. Many rushed past the four men, carrying this woman. I said, to Lois, “There is no way I would have done this, it would have been every man for himself.” Then as they carried her, there was a rumbling and where they were, went pitch dark. The men asked, ‘Precious, are you, OK?’ She replied, ‘Yes,’ And they carried on going down. They found out the rumbling they had felt and heard, had killed some of those, that had run past them, that staying with Precious, has saved all their lives!” I just love that story. I again mentioned those, that had missed the train, couldn’t find their keys, went for a coffee instead, was stuck in traffic and more, and because of that, they were not in the building. I know two people whose birthday it is today, one a friend the other a close family member, but I didn’t know it was their birthdays before September 11th.

It is weird, it doesn’t seem like it was twenty-four years ago, as that is a very long time ago, as it is all still SO fresh in our minds, it just seems like the other day.

Before the twin towers fell, I had never heard of them. It is strange, to see it on old films, like I saw it on Columbo recently, when I watched it with my Mum.

The ripples from that day, is still been felt today.

RIP to all who perished.