Remember

This is not easy to start. Actually I just wanted to do a short post 'Remember and don't forget', because it happens so easily when time passes by. But then I thought why shouldn't I write something more personal?

Most of you know that I'm not from the USA, I'm from Germany. I wasn't close to New York or D.C. at 9/11, I didn't have to deal with personal lost like so many of the US people, I didn't rush to World Trade Center or Pentagon to help...a little side note, go to Cate's blog, she made a wonderful post and created a great video in memory of some of her friends and colleagues. http://cattehouse.blogspot.com/2009/09/remembering-our-heroes.html ...I was one of those million people sitting stunned and shocked in front of a TV.

I just turned 18 a couple weeks ago and we were just back from a three week family vacation in the USA. A three week tour to the Western states. I remember that the school had started again, it was the first week and for what ever reason my last two lessons that day were cancelled. I went home and probably like every teenager turned on the TV to watch a little bit before my mom would return from work and would tell me to start with my homework. Well, that day was different.

Every channel was showing pics of New York. The first plane had just crashed into the North Tower of the  World Trade Center. I couldn't move, I was just staring at the screen, thought that it was a horrible accident and that all those people need to get out of the tower. Then the second plane crashed into the South Tower and I realized this isn't an accident. Someone is doing this on purpose.

Shortly after that my mother arrived and told me with disgust: "I just heard on the radio that there's a new movie coming out, it's about planes crashing into the World Trade Center. How irresponsible, they just give people stupid ideas!" I told her that it wasn't a movie, but that it was happening right now. She stared at the TV screen and when the first Tower collapsed just minutes later she screamed!!! I never heard my mother screaming like that! It shocked me she wouldn't stop! A couple years ago, she spent two weeks before christmas in New York City and she went up to the World Trade Center observation deck. She remembered how huge the building was, how many people were working in it and I think she realized that it was nearly impossible that all of them were in safety somewhere outside the building.

Honestly, I can't remember the next couple weeks. I felt like living in a bubble and I still don't know exactly why. As I said before I didn't lose family members or close friends, but I felt like it. And I have to admit I was scared when two good friends I grew up with told me two years ago that they would go with their Army Units to Afghanistan. Don't get me wrong, I admire the men and women who are in the Army and risked their lifes for their Countries, for us and we can't never thank them enough for that. They are heroes!!!

But these two brothers grew up with me. They are 10 and 24 months younger than me. I remember they were too clumsy to ride a bicycle as kids and now they would go to Afghanistan!! I'm not a religious person, but I prayed every night that they would come home and I know their mother did too.

They both came home, but they changed. Especially the younger one. He was in an incident that was all over the TV here in Germany, because it was the first time German Soldiers were directly attacked in Afghanistan. The car in front of his hit a mine and his friends died in that car. He was the driver of the second car, he wasn't allowed to get out, every minute another mine could have exploded. He said he will never forget the screams and the smell. That's all he said, nothing more and then you can see the horror in his eyes.

When he came home last Christmas we all met and walked around in our hometown, but we had to stop soon. He was going crazy, facing every person who we were passing and as our cities are much more crowded as those small villages they checked in Afghanistan, he couldn't face all the people. After half an hour he was sweating like hell, despite the 14°F we had outside.

Those people are going through hell for us! Honor them, don't forget them and don't forget why they are doing it! Please take a minute to remember them!