Looking back, I”m intrigued by how few specifics I remember from Sept. 11, 2001 — though I recall more from that day than probably any other from my 14th year.
Having woken up sometime after 7 a.m., I went downstairs to do what I did every morning before school when I was 13: turn on SportsCenter. Instead, I found ESPN airing live footage of the World Trade Center.
I remember running up to see if my mother knew what was happening. She didn”t and we watched television coverage for a few minutes until I had to get ready for school.
My next vivid memory was sitting in eighth-grade math sometime after 8:15 a.m. and hearing the principal on the loudspeaker. She responded to numerous parent calls and student concerns by letting us know our Benicia school appeared to be in no danger and would go on with the day as planned.
And that”s basically all I remember from that Tuesday.
Of course I know more about the events of that evening and the following weeks, but I really can”t trace that knowledge to specific memories from Sept. 11, 2001.
Now, as I look back nearly a decade later, that doesn”t surprise me. I was 13 years old, having never been to New York City or the Pentagon; none of my family or friends lived in New York City, were directly impacted by the attacks or immediately deployed; and my hometown wasn”t a target.
I wasn”t afraid.
I clearly recall images of fear, along with love, sorrow, American pride and anger, from that day, but those primarily originated from media coverage I consumed in the days, weeks and years following the attacks
The events seemed foreign to me as a teenager growing up in suburban Northern California.
Everything felt so far away, and I felt few personal ramifications at the time (all I really remember was not being able to go to that weekend”s Oakland Raiders-New York Jets game at the Coliseum and of course, the airport-entry changes the next time I flew).
Now as a young adult and a working journalist, I”m almost thankful I have few memories of Sept. 11, 2001 because I feel my perspective on those events is more objective than subjective (and certainly more so than most Americans who lived through the attacks).
Still, I have difficulty analyzing the events because Sept. 11 is perhaps the most significant international event of my lifetime. It”s certainly the single-most important American event of this century.
But where does Sept. 11 belong among all moments in American history?
Of course the natural comparison is Pearl Harbor, another day that shocked the nation, brought Americans to their knees and altered the course of U.S. history.
There are, though, many other types of historically significant events to consider.
For example, I have a hard time believing Sept. 11 had a greater impact on the U.S. than say the Civil Rights Act of 1964, or maybe Watergate, or even the proliferation of the personal computer.
Try taking it beyond the previous 50 years.
Think of moments like the U.S. Supreme Court ruling ending segregation, D-Day, the Stock Market Crash of 1929, the end of World War I, the “separate but equal” ruling, Lincoln”s assassination, the end of slavery, South Carolina seceding from the union, the Louisiana Purchase and the ratification of the U.S. Constitution.
The list goes on and on, and it would be nearly impossible to find where Sept. 11 ranks with those events.
I look forward to reading what future generations write and say about Sept. 11. They”ll certainly be more objective than we can ever be, because no matter how big or small the personal impact, Sept. 11 forever affected every living American.
And though it isn”t the most important event in U.S. history, maybe not even in the top 10, it is the most important event of most of our lifetimes. Memories of the day may not be clear for everyone but the images will never be forgotten.
Jeremy Walsh is a staff reporter for Lake County Publishing. He can be reached at 263-5636 ext. 37 or jwalsh@record-bee.com.
