Darrin Drader
Explorer
These days I'm taking a more light hearted approach towards life. This has to do with my newfound freedom (see my post in the D20 publisher's forum), spending more time with my family, and the fact that I really am enjoying my life for the first time in quite a while. September 11th was a day that will haunt this nation because it was horrible, and it represents a dramatic turning point in the consciousness of modern Americans.
That day started for me like any other day. At that time I was working at WotC dueing the graveyard shift for the Star Wars fan club. My job was to make sure the phone was answered if it happened to ring, answer any questions that came up, and otherwise be generally helpful to people that needed to contact us. My day ended at 5:00 AM when I would go home and finally catch some slepp. That morning I was asked to run WotC's head of security to the airport so he could catch a flight. Fortunately his story ended well. He was never in any danger and he arrived safely at his destination.
September 11th falls during the 3 week Western Washington fair in Puyallup, and my wife worked at a booth during that time selling furniture for her company. It was Tuesday and she was taking a much needed day off. You wouldn't believe how much energy working one of those fairs requires.
My daughter turned 4 months old that day. Needless to say, I was still in that perpetually groggy state of new parenthood. I actually was sleeping quite soundly when my wife burst into the room, woke me up, and said that we were under attack. The first thoughts that jumped to my mind were nukes, hostile aircraft, and mass destruction. I was tragically correct about everything except for the nukes.
At first I didn't believe her. Someone was attacking us on our soil? Were they insane? Whoever they are, surely our country would find them and crush them. This is the United States after all. I stumbled out of the bedroom and watched the horror unfold on the Television. When I got up, the twin towers had just come crashing to the ground. They kept replaying those moments on TV from so many different angles, and I just sat there glassy eyed watching the senseless loss of life like so many others around the country.
I was in utter shock. All those people on those planes; all the people trapped in those buildings; all the firefighters and poolice that couldn't get clear in time as they fought to save the innocents trapped there; all dead. It wasn't right. It wasn't fair, but somehow this had happened to us. It happened to us in this country, and like Pearl Harbor, this is something that would would be part of this country's history for the rest of time. Did the people that died that day know that they would be written into such a sad chapter of American history? I know that would have traded that distinction for just another minute with their spouses, their children, their parents, or their friends.
I was lucky. I didn't know anyone who died that day. How is it that the deaths of so many strangers could affect me so deeply? Am I just getting caught up in the collective grief of the nation, or is is there something more to it? I suppose that not losing any of my loved ones on that day is an incredible gift since I can't find many others who can say the same. And yet even me, the guy who is frequently embarrassed by our country's foreign policy, is critical of our leadership, and is constantly irritated at the petty materialism of everyday life in this country - I couldn't help but be moved to tears by the senselessness of the destruction.
On this anniversary of that tragic day, while I try not to dwell too much on the happiness I have acheived in my personal life, I can't help but feel guilty for the people that had no choice but to die that day so that I can continue to enjoy my life. Let's not make the mistake of thinking that we were attacked for no reason. We were attacked because our country enjoys the most comfortable lifestyle on this planet, and there are fanatics who think that we should all pay for the inballance of privilege. Of course they are wrong, misguided, and pathetic examples of humanity, but those are the types of people that tend to influence current events throughout the world.
On this day I plan to go about my business as usual. I'll try not to think about the tragedy, because doing so truly makes me sad, and I'll be thankful in the morning when I have the privilige of seeing my daughter's grinning face. I'll wonder how many children out there won't be able to look at a parent that morning because of 9/11, and then I'll leave the house and go to work.
That day started for me like any other day. At that time I was working at WotC dueing the graveyard shift for the Star Wars fan club. My job was to make sure the phone was answered if it happened to ring, answer any questions that came up, and otherwise be generally helpful to people that needed to contact us. My day ended at 5:00 AM when I would go home and finally catch some slepp. That morning I was asked to run WotC's head of security to the airport so he could catch a flight. Fortunately his story ended well. He was never in any danger and he arrived safely at his destination.
September 11th falls during the 3 week Western Washington fair in Puyallup, and my wife worked at a booth during that time selling furniture for her company. It was Tuesday and she was taking a much needed day off. You wouldn't believe how much energy working one of those fairs requires.
My daughter turned 4 months old that day. Needless to say, I was still in that perpetually groggy state of new parenthood. I actually was sleeping quite soundly when my wife burst into the room, woke me up, and said that we were under attack. The first thoughts that jumped to my mind were nukes, hostile aircraft, and mass destruction. I was tragically correct about everything except for the nukes.
At first I didn't believe her. Someone was attacking us on our soil? Were they insane? Whoever they are, surely our country would find them and crush them. This is the United States after all. I stumbled out of the bedroom and watched the horror unfold on the Television. When I got up, the twin towers had just come crashing to the ground. They kept replaying those moments on TV from so many different angles, and I just sat there glassy eyed watching the senseless loss of life like so many others around the country.
I was in utter shock. All those people on those planes; all the people trapped in those buildings; all the firefighters and poolice that couldn't get clear in time as they fought to save the innocents trapped there; all dead. It wasn't right. It wasn't fair, but somehow this had happened to us. It happened to us in this country, and like Pearl Harbor, this is something that would would be part of this country's history for the rest of time. Did the people that died that day know that they would be written into such a sad chapter of American history? I know that would have traded that distinction for just another minute with their spouses, their children, their parents, or their friends.
I was lucky. I didn't know anyone who died that day. How is it that the deaths of so many strangers could affect me so deeply? Am I just getting caught up in the collective grief of the nation, or is is there something more to it? I suppose that not losing any of my loved ones on that day is an incredible gift since I can't find many others who can say the same. And yet even me, the guy who is frequently embarrassed by our country's foreign policy, is critical of our leadership, and is constantly irritated at the petty materialism of everyday life in this country - I couldn't help but be moved to tears by the senselessness of the destruction.
On this anniversary of that tragic day, while I try not to dwell too much on the happiness I have acheived in my personal life, I can't help but feel guilty for the people that had no choice but to die that day so that I can continue to enjoy my life. Let's not make the mistake of thinking that we were attacked for no reason. We were attacked because our country enjoys the most comfortable lifestyle on this planet, and there are fanatics who think that we should all pay for the inballance of privilege. Of course they are wrong, misguided, and pathetic examples of humanity, but those are the types of people that tend to influence current events throughout the world.
On this day I plan to go about my business as usual. I'll try not to think about the tragedy, because doing so truly makes me sad, and I'll be thankful in the morning when I have the privilige of seeing my daughter's grinning face. I'll wonder how many children out there won't be able to look at a parent that morning because of 9/11, and then I'll leave the house and go to work.
