NO ORDINARY DAY

A tragic day in history

We first heard what had taken place in the USA when the clock radio switched itself on at 10 to 7 in the morning (Wednesday NZ time - we're 16 hours ahead of U.S. Eastern time). The images we subsequently saw of the planes crashing into the twin towers of the World Trade Center will live with most of us forever. The events of that day, far removed though we are from them in New Zealand, affected me personally more than any other news event I can recall. So many innocent lives taken in New York City, Washington DC/Virginia and Pennsylvania (although I knew none of them) and the total demolition of those magnificent twin towers which I was privileged to visit on two occasions - I still can hardly believe it.

"Terrorist attacks unprecedented in world history"
- one of the many comments I heard on CNN on the day. Others were:
"An entire society feels itself violated by terror."
"For the first time in US history, all flights (usually 40,000 daily) were grounded."
"The ultimate evil."
"I can't believe this is happening."
"The towers are the very symbol of America's economic power."
"A chilling, surreal, weird sort of day." It truly was, and an incredibly sad one.

Some good may yet come of all this. People are lining up to give blood (so they just said on the TV), there is a greater sense of togetherness and people caring for one another. Americans are finding comfort in prayer and in their flag (sales are shooting through the roof). Okay, it may not last, but perhaps it's a pity that some of these qualities disappear in times of seeming peace and prosperity.

Whatever the future holds (and there is hope - click on "Living forever" to find out more), we will always have pictures of the twin towers as they were.