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Chapter 3

September 11, 2001. I was at home in California when 9/11 took place. The television was off, and I was not aware of what was happening until my daughter who was in the Navy called to inform me. I turned on the television and was dumbstruck when I saw one tower, which was on fire, tumbled to the ground. I watched and saw another plane flew into the other tower. I heard on the news that people were trapped in the buildings which were on fire. I could not believe this was happening in America. This was not one of those countries infested with terrorists, so who would want to do something like this? My first thought was to the families watching this wicked act unfolding. Those who had their loved ones in one of those planes, those who had family and friends in the building. I was going to work at 3 p.m., so I glued myself to the television watching in shock as the events unfolded. I heard hundreds were dead and wounded. I could not believe that something like this was happening, and I felt so afraid. I heard that another plane had crashed into the Pentagon and one in Pennsylvania. We heard acts of bravery in that plane that crashed in Pennsylvania. Children lost parents, wives lost husbands, and husbands lost wives. Mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, and other relatives and friends lost loved ones.

Although I was watching the television, I still could not believe what I was seeing and hearing. I knew that innocent people had lost their lives and others were going to. I thought of kids who would lose their mother or father, and I asked the Lord why. How could anyone or any group be so wicked?

We saw first responders running into the burning and collapsing building to save people inside and losing their lives. Those who survived in New York are to this day still suffering from the effects of contamination resulting in diseases that affected them. To date, the bodies of some who lost their lives have not been identified or found.

At the time of writing, Luis Alvarez, a former NYPD cop, died from cancer as a result of the effect of 9/11. These first responders made the ultimate sacrifice to save lives, yet the government, the ones who should see to it that they get the best treatment and other assistance, “stand aside and look” while they bear their suffering alone. It took almost eighteen years for the government to take action, and I have to ask, “Is this the great America that the citizens of this country are so proud to boast about? Why should the people who sacrifice their lives to save lives have no one to look out for them when they need us? Why do we stand aside and look and allow these people to suffer alone or with their families? How often do we hear, ‘This is not supposed to happen in America’?”

Yes, it is not supposed to happen in the great America, but it is happening and has been happening over the centuries, and yet people continue to use the same words over and over like America is different from every other place on planet earth.