Although nationally recognized as a somber day, 9/11 will always have a deeper meaning for New Yorkers. (and us New Jerseyians too!) On that terrible Tuesday, I was sitting in my third grade classroom in Englewood, New Jersey. Throughout the day, many kids were picked up by their parents. By the end of the day, my class of 25 had shrunk to 6. Our teacher wouldn’t tell us what was going on. Despite our constant pestering, she insisted that a lot of people simply couldn’t get to work in Manhattan so they wanted to spend the day with their children. I now realize how hard it must have been for her to know what was really happening and go about her day as usual.
Because I was oblivious to the outside world, I got home rather upset at my parents for not picking me up from school. I threw my backpack down and questioned my parents. After complaining about being stuck in school, I was curious why other people were actually allowed to leave. My mom told me that there had been a terrorist attack on the Twin Towers. While I knew that they were important buildings, I had never actually paid attention to them. I sat there trying to visualize in my head what they looked like. (At that point, google was not really an option!) It’s kind of sad, but the skyline I know is the one without the towers in it.
The weeks that followed September 11 got more serious. My teacher spoke a little bit about what actually happened. Everyone was very nervous about the safety of the school. (Despite being in New Jersey, it is only about a 10 minute drive to Manhattan) Large gates were installed and only cars with the special tag given to parents were allowed in. Although the gates were supposed to reassure people, they made me feel worse. If they were putting up these extra safety precautions, we must have actually been in trouble! Mind you, everyone was a bit on edge as the Second Intifada was going on in Israel. We were all too familiar with the amount of damage acts of terror could cause.
In later years, I was able to think about the attacks in a more mature way. Of course there are the amazing stories of people who magically weren’t at work that day. My friend’s father worked in the World Trade Center, but was going to work late that morning because he was at a religious service. My fifth grade teacher’s son had never missed a day of work, but felt sick that morning and stayed home. My neighbor’s friend quit his job the day before. But there are also tons of stories of people who lost family and friends that day.
I think living in New York definitely makes it a more meaningful event. Everyone in the New York area knows at least one person who worked in the World Trade Center. People watched the attacks through their windows, saw the smoke in the streets, and heard the fire trucks. There was no way to escape what had happened. If you lived somewhere else it was simply something you saw on the news.
I don’t think artists can portray September 11 in a meaningful way, but only because I think people reactions were so complex and diverse. I don’t think any piece of art is going to say “I’m mad that my parents didn’t pick me up from school, but I think I’m supposed to be upset by this news,” but that’s what I felt that day. I’m not sure art can fully portray the heart wrenching feeling of not knowing if a loved one is okay. Or the extremely mixed feelings of someone stuck walking home to New Jersey from Manhattan, so exhausted, and yet so thankful that they’re still alive. Or the shock of seeing a building crumble from your window. I think because every person had a different experience that day, every piece of art, although extremely meaningful to the artist, won’t fully encapsulate September 11 for anyone else.
It makes me kind of sad that kids now don’t remember September 11, 2001. I think that art is a great way to start to convey the intensity of the day, to show these kids what was going through everyone’s minds that day. My 13 year old sister knows September 11 as a concept. It’s the day every year that we commemorate a terrible terrorist attack. But for me it’s that one day: September 11, 2001. And I can’t believe it’s been 10 years.
