Please join the 2996 project (Updated)

Next month will be the 5th anniversary of 9/11. 5 years ago on that day, I was driving to work at about 8:30 or 9am (west coast time) and turned on my radio. Immediately I was confused. Why was the station replaying an old news broadcast of the bombing of the World Trade Center from 8 years ago? And why were they playing an erroneous report about the World Trade Center collapsing? I remember having a hard time comprehending what the phrases, “…both towers completely gone…” and “…reports of just rubble where the Towers once stood…” meant.

Before I could figure it out, I had found a parking space and begun making the trek through campus to my lab. I was still confused, trying to make sense of the snippet of news I just heard and at the same time realizing how eerily quiet campus was. The quarter had not started yet, but the undergrads had begun to move in and normally at this time of day there are a lot more people out and about.

As I made my way up the stairs and down the hallway, I realized every lab and office had their radios on. Everyone was sitting at their desk or next to the radios, listening intently. Everyone seemed to have a stunned expression on their face.

When I got to my lab, the same thing. Radio on, but everyone else just silent. It was only then that it sunk in, that I realized something else, something different than the 1993 bombing had happened to the World Trade Center. But “completely gone?” The meaning of that phrase was still incomprehensible.

I went into the common office where we kept our computers. Someone was there and had the page of the local newspaper up on the screen. That was when I saw my first image of 9/11. It was a picture of one of the towers on fire after one of the planes hit. So, much like a picture from the latest summer blockbluster I thought. So, unreal. What is happening?

The rest of the day was hazy. We learned only a little bit more as the day went on. I still couldn’t fathom how two tall buildings could be completely gone. And the people, oh, the numbers of people who were killed. I think the first reports were that the possibility was 4-5,000. Then the reports of the Pentagon. Then of a plane crash in Pennsylvania. It seemed like the deaths would never end.

When I finally got home, I saw the videos of the plane actually hitting one of the towers. That was the only time I ever saw that video. I had to look away anytime it was replayed. To this day, I still cry when I think about what happened on that day or of the hijacked planes.

About a month later, I had to get on a plane to Chicago. I remember seeing the National Guard with their rifles in their hands patrolling the airport and realizing the rules were changed now. We would never go back to the way it was. I would tell my grandchildren about how it used to be that we could hug and kiss people at the gate right as they got off the plane. And how we were able, once, to spend time with our loved ones up until the very moment they had to board the plane.

The effects of 9/11 are wider than that, of course, and I can only hope that whatever our world becomes because of the events of that day, it is for the better. Unfortunately, it is too soon to tell.

Please consider getting involved in the 2996 project. It is a 9/11 memorial project, blogger-style. If you sign up, you are assigned a name of someone who perished on 9/11, you gather as much information about them as you can and then post a memorial to them on 9/11 of this year, the five year anniversary.

The traffic to my blog is small compared to many of yours who are readers here, so even if you don’t wish to participate, please consider putting the word out on your blog. It would be a shame if we are short the 2996 bloggers needed to pay tribute to each person on the list.

Update: If you are having a hard time finding information for the person you are writing a tribute for, try clicking on the "Research" link under Categories on the 2996 project page for resources. Unfortunately, some people will have very limited information, but relatives, friends and coworkers have submitted their thoughts and feelings to some of the sites listed on the Research page.