A Nation In Mourning Five Years Later

It's hard not to reflect on the fifth anniversary of the largest terrorist attack the world has, and hopefully will ever see. Like many people, I'll never forget where I was when I learned of the attacks. A sophomore in college, we had lost power two of the last three nights as PECO struggled to fix a transformer on fortieth and spruce. We spent much of the night of the 10th playing board games by candlelight and talking to our neighbors on the porches around us. I resolved the following morning to call PECO. I also called my dad and asked him to call me at 10:30 to make sure I got up for class.

At 10:15 or so, I wake up on my own (I didn't have class until noon), and we still don't have power. I try calling PECO and get the "all circuits are busy" message that became so common that day. About half an hour later, the power comes back on and my phone rings about 30 seconds later: it's my sister and she's in tears, but at least she's reached both of my parents and they're alive. I never before considered the possibility of the death of my immediate family members before that day, but as a born and bred Lower Manhattanite (I grew up about a mile from Ground Zero on the lower east side), it was quite real that day.

I was beside myself. Luckily, I lived with a fantastic group of guys who realized that none of us should be alone that day. One of my housemates suggested we go to donate blood, and we walked towards the hospital. This is when the most inspiring part of the day occurred. Everybody was trying to help. Phone banks had already been set up on campus, allowing students to find family. People were being turned away at the blood bank (including us) because they couldn't handle the crowds. Money was raised, and the entire school (it seemed) wore ribbons made of intertwined red, white, and blue threads. We helped as much as we could, sending supplies and volunteers to DC and NY, yet it never felt like enough as our help could only go so far.

I wanted to link to Matt Gelb's piece on the first Mets game post 9/11, as it really resonated with me.

I'm not going to write about my feelings on the current state of the world -- today is a day of reflection (and this is a food blog anyway). But today, like many of you, I will take some time out of my busy day to reflect, mourn, and remember.