We will never forget

I've met a few famous people in my life and I'm probably forgetting a few... Tony Bennett, the guy who played Beau Brady on The Days of our Lives, Anderson Cooper from CNN 360, I walked and talked with Lyle Lovett while I was trying to find him some soap at an Inn where I worked. But today I nearly bumped into the ex-mayor of New York City, Rudy Giuliani. We were both getting ready to go through the medal detector before we entered the courtroom of the Moussaoui trial. He was testifying, I was merely watching from the gallery. Of course I was a little star struck, but I smiled, and went on into the courtroom.

September 11th is a day in every American's life that will always be remembered. Everyone, somehow or through someone was affected. I remember that day very clearly. I was in Las Vegas, by myself in a hotel room when I found out. I had rose fairly early that morning and went for a run. I watched the sun rise, and the haze burn away and it was a very clear, beautiful morning in Nevada. When I came back into the room I turned on the television and poured myself a glass of water. I wasn't facing the tv and I heard Katie Curic's voice of the today show, "What you are seeing right now, is smoke and fire billowing out of a tower in the World Trade Center. This is real." I ran to the front of the television and just stood there in horror. Panic set in and I started calling whoever I could reach. Anyone.

Mr. Giuliana was eating breakfast with two of his good friends when the news reached the table. Rudy stood up, said good-bye and got into his van and rushed down to the World Trade Center, the most historic parts of the city, where the city orginated from, where the first Capital of the United States was and where President George Washington was sworn in. Before getting in the van, the mayor looked up at the clear blue New York sky and said, "The sky is too clear for an accident." He couldn't believe what the Police Commisioner had told him, that people were diving and jumping out of the buildings, until he saw it himself. He said he watched 2 people appear to be holding hands and jump out of the burning building ultimately falling to their death. The North tower was struck first followed by the South Tower. When the second plane hit the South Tower, Rudy Giuliani said, "This was war. This was a battle."

It was now certain in everyone's minds that this was no freak accident, that this was an attack, the United States was under attack. September 11th was the deadliest attack on Americans on American soil ever. Almost 3000 men, woman, children, the youngest was 2 and a half on flight 93, lost their lives. A few minutes later, the speculation that it was Al Queda, an Islamic militant jihad group had carried out this attack was confirmed and Osama bin Laden was on everyone's minds. The days and weeks that followed were hazy and the pieces of the puzzle of who hijacked the planes were, where they came from, how long that they had planned this attack and where they trained to carry it out began to be pieced together, all the while thousands of stories emerged.

When I was in Las Vegas watching everything on tv in my hotel room, I never dreamed that I would be a part of the team that would bring Moussaui to trial. When I started at the new job, I sifted through thousands of pictures and read hundreds of letters from families victimized by the tragic events of September 11th.

A fireman was standing outside of one of the towers and one of his fellow firefighters that was standing beside him was killed by a person who had jumped.

A husband lost his wife when one of the towers collapsed. She was a police woman and there are pictures of her carrying burned and bloody bodies out of the tower. She went back in and that's when the tower collapsed.

On September 10th, a father went into his 16 year old son's bedroom to hug and kiss him goodnight, which he did faithfully everynight. This night however, his son stuck out his hand. "I am a man now dad." His father said to him, "I will hug and kiss you everynight for the rest of my life." His father, a NYC fireman died the next morning.

A flight attendant on Flight 93 called home and left a message on the answering machine, "I'm on a plane that has been hijcked...I hope that I get to see your face again baby. take care of my kids for me. I love you baby."

A office worker on the 80th something floor of one of the towers, Emily Doye, called 911. She described how the floor was engulfed and they couldn't see anything but smoke. They were choking. "I'm going to die, aren't I?"

A friend of mine from college, her mother was working underneath the World Trade Center. She had heard the news and called her mother to see if she was safe. "Mom get out of the building. You have to get out of the building." They were telling everyone to stay in their office, never dreaming that the towers would collapse. The debris and people falling from the builings was dangerous.

That same friend described to me the mass exodus of people walking from Manhattan, over the bridges, as far away as they could go. Mass transit had stopped, it was like time had stopped.

And today, in that courtroom, all those awful memories, the deepest emotional wounds, were felt again. The same emotions, anger and fear...

We will never forget.