I still remember the day as if it were yesterday.
My roommate Justin and I were leaving our pad in Squamish to head to work at the Squamish Chief.
I flipped on the radio and heard something I still to this day can't forget. The United States was under attack, and the twin towers in New York City were gone.
We both did a double take and figured it was just some cruel hoax. This couldn't be happening, right?
I thought this was just a dream and I was still tucked away in my bed. Wrong. We rushed into the office and our fears were confirmed when I logged onto CNN.com. The pictures told the story. The twin towers were nothing but a tangled mess of steel and rubble.
The Pentagon in Washington was on fire as a plane had crashed into the side of the building. Another plane had crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. Hundreds were killed or injured and the world as we knew it had changed forever.
The rest of the day was pretty surreal. We had a newspaper to put out, but it was hard to concentrate on our own jobs knowing what was going on. I was constantly flipping on the radio and television and surfing the web looking for updates. I just could not believe it.
It was a far cry from what I remembered about New York City.
Only a year before my folks and I were in New York City. It was my first trip to the Big Apple, and I instantly fell in love with the city and its people.
We went up the World Trade Center and toured the top platform. I still have the pictures taken of me overlooking the city from the top of one of the towers. I figure I was one of the last people who got to experience New York from high above. It's still a chilling memory.
The world is certainly different three years later.
New York has recovered, but the memories still linger.
The U.S. and other countries are fighting the war on terrorism in Iraq, and whether you approve or disapprove of what's going on there, it's something that is now a part of our lives.
Sure, this was an attack on the United States, but I feel it was an attack on us all. It was an attack on our way of life.
Today is the third anniversary of that fateful date. There will most likely be several memorial services held throughout the world marking the occasion. News programs will re-run footage from the attacks, the stories of survival and those who lost their lives.
While you are out and about today, take time to reflect on this event and remember. This is a part of our history that I know I won't forget.
