Title says it all.
Appropriate since it will have been an astounding 525 days since the season 4 finale.
Oh and Don Draper himself, Jon Hamm, directs the first episode.
[Flash 10 is required to watch video]
10 Years Ago
I can’t believe it’s been 10 years.
I remember I was in Spanish class when I heard the first rumblings that something had happened. Nobody really knew what was going on and the class continued despite pleas from students to turn on the TV. At this point I was under the impression that it was more of a freak accident than an attack. I ducked out to “go to the bathroom” finding another class with the T.V. on. I glanced in and saw smoke pouring out of the Towers but as I recall they had not collapsed yet.
When the period ended the students flooded the hallways and bits and pieces of information became patched together. There were rumours that the towers had collapsed and that planes had hit the pentagon and white house. There was also talk that there were many more planes in the air after they grounded all flights and that they were being shot down.
Feelings of uncertainty quickly turned to fear. We were under attack and the scope of the attacks were unknown. I don’t recall fearing for my life as Potomac was not a likely target however there was a panic among the students for the safety of the parents who worked in D.C.
They sent us home early. My parents were waiting for me in the kitchen and the T.V. was on. Sitting at the kitchen table I was surprised to see our family friend from New York whose house we had Thanksgiving at every year. It was really during these Thanksgivings that I learned to love New York and came to think of it as a second home. I could not recall him ever at our house before and don’t think he’s been back since.
We spent the rest of the day glued to the T.V. The people jumping from the burning towers was the most sobering footage. Ash covered survivors were interviewed. For some reason I specifically remember one of them being Ron Insana from CNBC. I think it’s because at this moment stocks and all the things that normally seemed so serious did not matter. As the rest of the week unfolded this became true of other things, particularly sports which seemed ridiculously trivial.
I couldn’t sleep well during the following weeks. I found this strange at the time as things had settled and day to day life returned to normal as we went back to school. Everything was the same on the surface but there was a pervading dread in the back of my mind. Before the attacks we had enjoyed such prosperity and peace that the idea of our nation having an army to protect us seemed dated. But now we were vulnerable and helpless against a nationless enemy. Terrorism was something that happened far away, not in our back yard. Deep down I knew that things would never be the same.
This decade has been a challenging one on a number of fronts. Here is to the hopes of a prosperous and peaceful ten years ahead.
