September 11, 2001. 9/11/01. A day that will live in the mind of Americans as the day that was bigger than Pearl Harbor.
Around 8:45 AM, Eastern Daylight Time, a commercial jetliner with enough fuel to fly it from Boston to Los Angeles crashed into one of the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, the symbol of American finance and prosperity. Roughly 20 minutes later, as news crews were focused on the tragedy of that crash, a second commercial jetliner--also loaded with enough fuel to fly it from Boston to Los Angeles--crashed into the second tower in a horriffic fireball. Within about another 30 minutes, a third commercial jetliner--this one scheduled to fly from Washington, DC, to Los Angeles--crashed into the Pentagon, the fortress that stood for America's military strength. Before the morning was over, a fourth commercial jetliner--headed from Newark, New Jersy, to San Francisco--would crash in the Pennsylvania countryside and the Twin Towers would completely collapse.
I am a proud employee of the American Red Cross, Greater Richmond Chapter in Richmond, Virginia. I had been at work for all of maybe 15 minutes, and was at our cash register finishing up a sale when a co-worker came in and asked if I'd heard about the plane crash. I looked at her, confused, and asked, "What plane crash?" As she hurried over to her desk, she told me, "They have the TV on in the EOC [Emergency Operations Center]. Go look." And that's what I did.
The pictures I saw on the screen were horriffic. At first, it felt merely like I was looking at some other crash--a car accident, or a train wreck, something that horrified me but still didn't seem to involve me. After a few minutes, I dragged myself away and went back to my desk to try to get some work done, but the TV kept calling to me, so again I went to check. Then we heard about the plane that crashed into the Pentagon. These were no accidents, and the threat had turned nation-wide. The shock quickly took over as I thought back to six months ago, when I had lived in an apartment just a few miles away from the Pentagon, and then to a discussion I'd had with my mom about how I could be called into work if an emergency, like a hurricane, were to hit our area. Little did I know those few hours ago that the emergency we would be called to help with would be a major attack on America.
When our phone center opened at 11:30--less than three hours after the first plane crashed into the World Trade Center--the only people available to answer were Red Cross employees and one or two volunteers who were already in the building. I was in that first group to begin answering the phones, since I knew that there was no way I would be able to focus on the work sitting on my desk, waiting anxiously for me. At least by answering the phones, giving information, offering support to people trying to locate loved ones in New York and DC, I could do something to help us push through the crisis.
The support has been overwhelming. So many calls I received in those first few hours were from people wanting to know where they could donate blood, wanting to know if there was any way they could help. I talked to so many people who said, "I heard about the plane crashes on TV, and I want to help. Whatever you need me to do--answer phones, give shelter to people stranded at the airport and train station, deliver food--I want to do it."
Today, Thursday, September 13, I've been moved to tears so many times I've lost count. On my way to work this morning, I was listening to a local radio station, and our Vice President of Financial Planning was in their studio talking about what the Red Cross was doing and how much financial donations would help the relief efforts. When she finished, the DJ mentioned a fund raiser the station was helping with at a local mall that morning, and in just an hour and a half they had already raised $1,500. Later today, I took my mom out for lunch at a restaurant in the lobby of a large office building downtown, and when we came out we noticed that another local radio station had set up a table to accept donations to the Red Cross. On my way to my gym after work, while listening to that particular radio station, I heard that they were taking donations at four locations throughout the area, and then heard an ad from a local car dealership stating that they had a $4,000 fundraising goal for today. When I arrived at my gym, I asked the manager there about setting out a can to collect donations, and she couldn't do enough to help me put it in the right spot at the snack bar. She had mentioned that the workers there might be a little upset, as it might take some money away from their tips, but when I went over with the can, the man working behind the counter today gave me the biggest smile and helped set it in a clearly visible location.
An attempt was made to crush America, but it backfired. Never, starting with the American Revolution in 1776, have we been a people to back down in the face of tyrants and terrorists, and September 11, 2001, will not be the day we start. Instead of being weaker, we are stronger. Instead of becoming disjointed, we have banded together in a display of patriotism and determination that I feared I would never be able to see first-hand in my lifetime. Across Richmond, across Virginia, across the nation Americans everywhere are saying, "What can I do to help? Let me do anything I can to help." People are waiting three hours or longer at blood donation centers to give of themselves; a headline in the Washington Post today reported that military enlistments have increased since Tuesday morning.
It's not a question of if we find the people responsible for these attacks, but when. And in that moment, I will feel very sorry for them, because in addition the the suffering their souls will be subjected to for aeons to come, in the present time they will have to deal with the wrath of millions of angry Americans who will not let such evil attacks on their home go unpunished.
In the meantime, what can you do to help, even if you're nowhere near New York or DC? Lots!
The Red Cross and other local blood banks are working fervishly to collect blood donations to be sent to New York and DC. If you don't know if you're eligible to donate blood, even if you meet the age (minimum: 17) and weight (minimum: 110 pounds) requirements, ask! And if you can't donate blood right now for whatever reason, remember that blood will be needed for weeks to come. To donate, call your local blood banking service, or you can reach the American Red Cross national blood services by calling 1-800-GIVE-LIFE.
The Red Cross is also taking monetary donations to help the relief efforts. Rest assured that every penny you donate to the Attack on America relief will not only stay on American soil, but it will be directed to New York and DC. The American Red Cross is taking donations online through their website: http://www.redcross.org. You can also call your local Red Cross chapter to make a donation. If you don't know the phone number for your local chapter, you can find it through the Red Cross website--there's a search right from their home page. The best statistic I've heard since Tuesday morning was when someone told me this afternoon that donations through the Red Cross website were coming in at a rate of one donation per minute. My challenge to you is to increase that number. But please don't spam to meet that challenge!
My thoughts are with all of you, my American brethren, and I will stand tall with you as we prove to every person in the world--friend and foe alike--that NO ONE can ever break the American spirit. Anyone foolish enough to think of attempting that will soon know that rather than crumble in the face of adversity, the American people will band together and become stronger than ever.
~Elisa, webmistress for Anika's Abode and the Muse behind Anika, Centaur Storyteller of Athens
*The normal homepage for Anika's Abode can be found here.