September 11, 2001 started off like any other Tuesday. That morning I arrived at my office in Canton, Georgia and got ready to go to court. A few minutes before nine o’clock I slung the strap of my brief case over my shoulder and started my walk over to the Cherokee County Justice Center for a hearing before the Honorable Frank C. Mills, III. When I came to the intersection of North Street and Elizabeth Street my friend Charles Robertson came to the stop sign and lowered his window to speak. Aside from our usual greetings he asked me if I had heard that an airplane had just struck the World Trade Center Tower. I had not.
I continued to walk to the court and did not really think that much about what I was told. In my mind, some idiot flew his Cessna into the big tall building. Interesting news but just some byline for a news story way off in New York City. Shortly after I got to the courtroom I found out that not only was it a jetliner that crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center but another jetliner crashed into the South Tower from the opposite direction. The news was disturbing and even scary. Nonetheless we carried on with our hearing. It was actually the only thing scheduled in that courtroom that day.
Once the hearing was over, the news had spread through the Cherokee County Justice Center. The news of another jetliner crashing into the Pentagon and another crashed in a field in Pennsylvania had hit by then and it was clear that the United States of America was under attack. Every television in the courthouse was turned on as staff, clerks, law enforcement officers, lawyers and judges watched in disbelief as the smoke billowed from two iconic American landmarks. The unspoken question from us all that morning was, “what’s next”?
Not that anyone was going to be able to go back to business as usual but out of an abundance of caution government buildings were being closed and and the employees sent home. Schools let out and parents went home to explain to them what happened and let them know that they were safe. Churches held services asking for God’s grace and protection. Most of us were glued to our television sets. We watched as two of the tallest buildings in the world just collapsed. We saw the victims flee from the chaos, debris and ashes. We watched as the fire fighters and the police officers ran into the same chaos, debris and ash to save those they could.
By nightfall it was clear that the attacks of the day were over as the televisions news began to replay the scenes and tell the stories of those who survived and those who were lost. The number of people who died was staggering. There are counties in the State of Georgia with as many people who died on that day. I was just overcome that night by a disbelief that it could happen here in America. I could not imagine that many people could all die at once.
In the days and weeks to come, the stories would unfold. The stories about the ones who lost their lives and the people who lived them. There were also the stories of the incredible bravery and sacrifice made by many of the victims as well as law enforcement officers and fire fighters. Many ran into the face of the danger and never returned. They gave their lives so that others might live. The passengers of United flight 93 exemplified this they overpowered their hijackers knowing that they could not change their own fate but could save thousands of other people.
After 9/11 I saw this Country pull together as one nation and one people. The heroes of that day and the weeks to come serve as an inspiration. Those who hate our way of life, our freedom and what we stand for soon learned that while they hurt us, they brought us together and incurred the wrath of one nation united. The way we came together as a country, helping one another and standing strong still makes me proud to be an American.
CantonLawyer 