September 11th

Interesting that this morning dawned with weather very similar to September 11, 2001. The blue sky, the fresh crisp air, and the bright sunshine. In some ways it is hard to believe that seven years have passed, and in others it seems so long ago. Gone are the multitude of American flags. I can remember every car, mailbox and house had a flag on it just after the towers fell.

Abby and Nathalie remember what happened. Hannah was just three and Samantha wouldn't be born for another 2 weeks. Sam was actually home that day. His brother called to tell us that a plane had crashed into the Trade Center in New York. We turned on the TV and watched the second plane hit.

When the first tower fell, I remember turning to Sam and saying, "How many guys were in there?" We both knew those towers would be full of firefighters and cops. We both knew guys, who were our friends, who would be in there.

Towards evening Sam go the call from the firehouse that he was to report to work on Wednesday morning. Due to the fact that I was due with Samantha any day, they told him he would be covering Waterbury firehouses while other guys went into New York City. He needed to bring a week's worth of clothes because they didn't know when he would get to come home. Thankfully, he only spent three days there before he was relieved.

Sadly, a good friend of Sam's, Brian Sweeney, was killed when the towers fell. He and Sam had come on the job for the City of Waterbury at the same time. They had gone through Probie school together for 6 months. Shortly after graduation, Brian got the call that he had been hired by the New York Fire Department. Sam attended Brian's funeral many weeks after Sept 11.

May we never forget the impact that 9/11 had on our lives.