A Tragedy Out of Mind's Reach

By: Aimee Adams

(Josh Grimes, Keiana Moyer, Beringia Zen)

            On September 11, 2001 Nineteen Al Qaeda terrorists hijacked four U.S. commercial jetliners, intentionally crashing two of the planes into the North and South Towers of the World Trade Center and a third into the Pentagon. America lost nearly 3,000 lives to terrorist attacks that day; a hard statistic to swallow. Watching people plunge into death’s arms on National television is a surreal experience. When a tragedy of this depth occurs what emotions are brought to the surface? The feeling one gets when being jolted awake in the midst of sleep- What is happening? Where am I? -Confusion.

                Josh Grimes, a senior at Avila University used the words shocked and astonished to describe how he felt during the 9/11 attacks. Eleven years ago Grimes was a seventh grader at Monticello Trails Middle School. His teachers were instructed to go about the school day in an ordinary manner, but Grime’s History teacher refused to disregard the chaos. Grimes sat alongside his classmates and watched one of history’s biggest calamities that class period. “I didn’t know what it was, but it seemed important so I went home and watched it the rest of the day” said Grimes. The news stories consumed most of America that day.

                Keiana Moyer, a junior at Avila University said “The thing that sticks out most to me about 9/11 is the vivid images I watched on TV. It was on every channel for the longest time.” Moyer was a fourth grader at Open Door Christian School in 2001. On the day of the attacks the school nurse walked into Moyer’s classroom and whispered into the teacher’s ear. Moyer noticed the look of distraught on the nurse’s face and immediately knew something was wrong. The teacher proceeded to tell the class that someone had crashed a plane into the World Trade Center. Moyer’s classmates made snide remarks towards the hijackers; Moyer raised her hand and asked, “Why is everyone so mad at them? They didn’t mean to crash the plane.” Once Moyer’s teacher explained the act was purposeful and the hijackers had wrong intentions, Moyer was, in her words “mind blown.”

                Like Grimes and Moyer, America’s youth couldn’t begin to understand such a barbaric act. Yet the intentions of this crime were out of mind’s reach for even the Adults of America. Beringia Zen, a Religious Studies teacher at Avila University was potty training her two-year-old daughter (Darby Zen) when word struck that a plane crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center. Zen’s first instinct was the same as Moyer’s, the crash was an accident. Zen called her husband to relay the news. As she was making the call, news struck that the South Tower had been hit. Zen realized this was not an accident at all. When asked what emotions Zen felt after the realization that the events of 9/11 were an attack Zen said, “I don’t think I can articulate it.” Confusion flooded the minds of Americans across the U.S.

                Eleven Years ago today, Emotions ran high; America was bombarded with a whirlwind of heartache. The plethora of emotions consuming the individuals of this nation united Americans everywhere. Zen’s final words were, “It’s the first time in my life I felt patriotic.” America turned pain, anger, and fear, into unity. Through patriotism, America found their way out of confusion.