Monday, September 11, 2006

9-11-2001

Mine is one of a billion stories and blog entries out there..... but five years ago today I was in Manila sleeping through it all..... I remember waking up from a long and deep sleep..... I had been on call for 36 hrs the "day" before and was dead tired, I didn't even realize that my then gf had dropped by to check up on me.... she was worried, but didn't wake me when she realized I was blissfully unaware......

I made my way to the kitchen, my roomate was watching t.v. in the living room..... the World Trade Center was on fire....."what movie is that" I asked him....."it's no movie!" he replied, "they got the pentagon too"..... as I watched in horror and disbelief, it dawned on me..... my dad lives in NY city and usually gets off at the WTC subway station to get to work.... at that moment, I felt so far from home, and although I was thousands of miles away, I felt personally attacked..... I ran for the phone and immediately called my mom in Toronto.... she had spoken to my godmother in Hackensack and said that my dad had made it to the office (thank you God), but they hadn't heard from him or my godfather since then (he later told me that the subway train he was on was stopped before it reached the WTC because the first plane had already hit the first tower..... all the riders had to get off and walk... he was on the surface when the towers collapsed)..... my thoughts then went to my cousins and family/friends in New York/New Jersey.... my mom told me of my cousin Jing, and how she was scheduled to be at the WTC on 9-12 for work (thank you God).... my Ninong was okay, so was Teng and the rest of the family, Tito Rene was missing (he made his way home eventually).....

Later that day, I was called to the CCU..... a patient was being transferred and I needed to ambo-bag..... as I stood there pumping air into this person's lungs, I caught the CNN coverage on the t.v. that the nurses were glued to..... I thanked God that my family was spared from such tragedy, then my thoughts turned to anger..... as we worked so hard to save people's lives, there were people out there equally dedicated to taking lives..... innocent lives..... then my thoughts turned to sorrow for all those people in those buildings, and the families that would mourn them.....

I watched the 9/11 documentaries last night and the news coverage this morning..... I am still overwhelmed when I watch those towers come down.... the horror of hearing bodies falling from the sky..... the heroism of the rescue workers..... and the spirit that brought New Yorkers together in solidarity and cooperation, which spread to the rest of America and the world......

For the 2996 we all lost that day..... requiem aeternam et lux perpetua luceat eis.... peace to the families they left behind.... as I browsed through this list, I noticed one name (almost) close to my heart, Tu Anh Pham.... she was a vice president and chief financial analyst for Fred Alger Management..... just one letter change, and its the name of my own Tu Anh.... it reminded me again of how close I came to loosing so much more....
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13 comments:

Angelo said...

I continue to hate blogger beta.... if you are a non-beta blogger and can't leave a comment, please choose "other" for your identity and plug in your url....

The Imaginary Diva said...

You know, I did the same thing. Except from Vancouver. Called all my relatives in New York, just to make sure.

It must have been hell trying to get through the phonelines to anywhere in North America from the Philippines.

Thanks for passing by my blog... I guess it's all over the Filipino community about the judge. Tried to understand one of the tv newscast. But my tagalog is non-existent.... Just gave myself a very big headache.

Enjoy.

Anonymous said...

Wow you are right about the millions of posts written about 9/11 which is exaclty why I chose to keep away from the topic.

You on the other hand, have written something thats truly heartfelt,touching, and very REAL.
Im glad your family was safe and sound.
god bless.

(hope this post actually goes through)

Tigersan said...

Such a tragic event and so many stories... all important and all so touching. Thanks for sharing yours.

Angelo said...

Hi Sharon, actually I had never heard of the judge until I came upon your blog....thanks for the good chuckle :)

Hi Sdit, glad to see your comment come through this time, thanks for bringing it to my attention.... God bless you too :)

Domo arigato tigersan....

Anonymous said...

You are fortunate that you hadnt any loss,Angelo..

I watched the 9 11 documentaries here last night,too..and I couldnt help myself to be so affected by it..

But it reminded us and still reminds us that we should treasure our family and friends.

P.S.

i didnt use "other" the last time coz i thought i cud automatically leave u a comment coz were both beta user.sigh..

lets see...

ghee

Muhammad said...

9/11 was a horrible act and I pray that those responsible (who harbour such evil intention) are cursed in this world and the next.

And I wish the same on those responsible for the loss of innocent lives in Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine, Sudan, Rwanda, Somalia, Chechnya, Kashmir and all the other places inthe world which have to endure oppression, tyranny, dictatorship and injustice.

Thanks for the blog post, it really is one-in-a-billion.

Peace,

Muhammad.

Angelo said...

Hi Ghee, glad to see you got through this time :).... yes, we should never take each other for granted.... I think that's when I really started to fear losing my parents to even just old age.... some mild post-traumatic stress I guess...

Hi Muhammad, thanks for dropping by.... we live in a crazy world.... too many innocent lives are caught in the crossfire of greed and ideologies.... I recognize, five years after the fact how dangerous it is to get caught up in the cycle of revenge.... when the United States government linked Iraq to those responsibe for 9/11, it was easier to see the invasion as justice being served.... but it was not.... it was more of the US military-indurtrial complex at work.... like you, I pray for justice, but I do not pray that these people be cursed....I leave that up to God, for He knows better than my human understanding of things.... I ask God for a change in the hearts of those who do, and who would do evil.... and I pray that we do not destroy each other in the never ending cycle of revenge.... peace to us all....

Muhammad said...

Better said than I angelo:) and I agree, the curse thing was taking my latent anger too far I guess.

I heard an interesting thing today, where this guy told me, each of us alone can't change the world, but we can change all the sphere's we have influence over, for example, our homes, our families, our friends, the people we meet, the places we live in, etc. and if each of us try and spread this peace in our own spheres, the logical conclusion is that the world will become a better place.

However, YOU need to start in your own little circle of influence.

And I like that, I think it's empowering.

Peace,

Muhammad.

Angelo said...

Hi Muhammad, thanks, very true.... I like that too.... it makes the daunting task of changing the world much more do-able....

it reminds me of something a professor of mine used to quote to illustrate that in order to take the vast amount of knowledge we need to learn, we need to make it feel smaller....."To see the world in a grain of sand, and to see heaven in a wild flower, hold infinity in the palm of your hands, and eternity in an hour" (Blake)....

I hope that moderate hearts and minds like ours will prevail.... good luck and Godspeed to you Mohammud! Peace.

Anonymous said...

HI Pomdla,

Nice blog and great pictures:)

Your first greenlandic visitor greets you:)

Thomas

Angelo said...

Hey Thomas! Thanks for the visit and the flag! Cheers to Greenland from Canada :)

Girlie said...

I was pregnant with child #3 at that time. He was born 12 days later. I don't think I truly understood the tragedy until huors later. I had false labor, and my back was killing me.

I feel the tragedy more now that I don't have my own little drama.

Good post Angelo.