Today marks the 25th Anniversary of the 9/11 (2001) Attack on the World Trade Center two towers, the United States Pentagon and the attempted attack on Washington D.C I wasn’t in NY at the time, I was living in California. However, I have my own wounds suffered on that day. I will never forget.

It was a normal mild morning in Southern California on Tuesday, September 11, 2001 or so I thought. I was on my usual drive to work in Santa Ana at American Express Business Finance located in a business park just a few minutes from the John Wayne, Orange County Airport. Though it was a 18 mile drive, it took almost an hour to get to work either down the Santa Ana (5) Freeway or through city streets. Traffic was always horrible. But this day as I just got on the 5 freeway, everything literally stopped abruptly. The music stopped with someone coming on the air saying that a plane had struck a building at the World Trade Center.

I literally had two exits. Since people were taking the emergency lane to exit, I did so too. Nothing more at the time was reported on the radio. I got to the parking garage at work, walked to the office building in downtown Santa Ana and went up to the eighth floor. As I went to get my morning coffee from the breakroom, the TV was one – a frightening image of the North Tower on fire. Everyone was glued to the TV. As the camera panned around, we saw the second plane hit the South Tower. It was just time to start work 7am PST. Many people were really upset. American Express had their own offices right there in the American Express Tower. As more information was trickling in through the TV and other people on the phone, there were many who said, “I’m just going home. I’m not staying here!” Fear was written on many peoples faces as we looked out the south west windows to see an airplane taking off from John Wayne Airport. We were told to go home and to call in tomorrow to see if we were required to work.

I didn’t bother with the freeway home. I took my time navigating the city. Wasn’t sure what I was going to do all day and there was these attacks. Over the radio as I was pulling into my apartment complex I heard, “We are getting reports that the Pentagon has been hit….” I rushed into my apartment to not find my mother up yet. She was just finishing getting dressed asking, “What are you doing home?”. I began to explain what was happening. We both were stuck to the TV for the next two hours. I remember going to the grocery store later in the day down the street. It was as if I lived in a ghost town. There were only a few cars doing down the street. Even the grocery store was almost empty. As I went to the checkout, the cashiers were discussing going home themselves. My thought, “Why? We’re in California. Everything is happening on the East Coast.” Everyone was just in shock and confused, no matter where they were. The world felt like it had come to a stop.

That day forever changed our history. Despite the world’s efforts to thwart such attacks, others have happened over and over again in various magnitudes. It’s a shame that we still have live in a world where such acts of violence still happen, I feel sorry for future generations and what they will have to endure in their lifetime. If we have a world to live in to begin with in the next decade. We can holy hope but NEVER forget!

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