[LukeA]

I had just moved to Chicago a month prior.. living in a 30 story apartment building a few blocks away from the then-named Sears Tower..

My then-girlfriend called me and woke me up at approximately (going by memory) 9AM Central to tell me what was going on. I turned the TV on, and immediately called my mother, who's in Arizona- who also had no clue until I filled her in. I clearly remember watching ABC's coverage on mute as Tower 1 collapsed- I thought at the time it was the other Tower on tape delay, but realized later I had witnessed it live.

I remember being very concerned and uncertain while that extra hijacked plane was in the air, as it was widely speculated that the Sears Tower was a likely target. Who knows if it ever was.. but it was still enough for me to be shaken. I'm a pretty independent, strong willed person... but when this happened- well, I was 19, and on my own for the first time. Pretty jarring.

That Friday, I read about a non-denominational (non-religious, really) gathering at Buckingham Fountain in Grant Park, which was set up by Jesse Jackson. I took a walk down to the park for the event, and I found the communal atmosphere to be comforting. One person spoke- without a microphone- this was all informal, even though there were a couple thousand people there- before Jesse appeared. I don't remember what he said exactly, but I remember it being very thoughtful and heartfelt- it stuck with me. I learned shortly afterwards that this person was, in fact, our State Senator, Barack Obama.

I later learned that a handful (forgive me for not remembering the exact number) of firefighters from my hometown's (Holbrook, NY) fire department died that day- the memorial is at the entrance to my old subdivision, as all but one lived there. This day- the day I went back to Holbrook for the first time since- was also the same day that Pat Tillman, the former Arizona Cardinals/Arizona State Sun Devil football athlete (who gave up his successful career & multimillion dollar paycheck to fight in this war) was needlessly killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan. The same Pat Tillman I had met years before, who made a profound impact upon me (which is a whole other post, really). Make no mistake- he was NOT a meathead, dumbass, war hawk Republican jock looking for blood out of some form of blind patriotism- he had genuine reasons, a genuine belief, and an implicit trust in our country & its leaders. Its a human tragedy that I'll forever be trying to come to terms with.

All of it.