9/11, Five Years Later

All the appropriate kinds of memorial remarks and tributes are already being stated by more eloquent persons than I. I think that the events of that day are too great for me to adequately say anything more about them. Like the day JFK was shot, like the Challenger and Columbia accidents, it's certainly a day we'll forever remember where we were and what we were doing when we first were made aware of the tragedy.

It was a day when my own view of the world fundamentally changed. I used to avoid the news and current events, choosing to fully immerse myself in my academic lifestyle and escapist fiction. It was not only selfish, but it was a luxury of ignorance and confidence that was shattered on a bright September morning. Terrorist attacks used to be something that happened somewhere else, to someone else, in places I was barely familar with. Now, whether an attack is in the UK or the Middle East, it's something to which I think we all remain acutely aware. Now, I regularly read news feeds, peruse news websites, listen to news radio. America doesn't feel safe like it used to; but then, my world isn't as small as it used to be.

It's raining today. It feels appropriate.