Don Canney

Prior to the event that both rocked and altered the American way of life in 2001, if we heard the line, “It was 20 years ago today,” most of us would immediately think of the John, Paul, George, and Ringo classic album, “Seargent Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.”

Indeed, the events of twenty years ago resulted in many lonely and unfortunately thousands of broken hearts, and life as we knew it had changed forever.

The attack on the World Trade Center in New York City on Sept. 11, 2001, resulted in a new way of life for all Americans. Although there are still a lot of good people in this world, we began to see proof that there are people who want to do America harm. Terrorism took center stage that day, and for days to come. As one person said, “We were all New Yorkers that day,” and we were certainly all Americans.

For those of a certain age that can remember, such as the days that JFK, MLK and RFK were assassinated, the day Neil Armstrong took one small step for mankind or the day the Challenger exploded, we all distinctly recall what we were doing on the day of September 11, 2001. Many people left work and school or were released to be with family. Many businesses closed.

I remember being at work on a large campus at a medical device manufacturer, attempting to log on to the web, receiving an email from a colleague telling me what he heard had happened and to expect the web to be slow. That was an understatement. With no livestream availability, I happened to have a small radio stashed in a file cabinet and attempted to find a corner of the office with any type of reception. A group of us huddled around the little static box like a family in the 40’s did while listening to reports from the front in World War II. We were, in fact, at war again, but it was a very different type of front line, and we were experiencing an attack on our home front.

Many of us remember thinking what might happen next. The Pentagon and Stonycreek Township, PA attacks hadn’t yet been reported. My first thought was that we may be seeing a series of similar events across the nation, as each major city awoke. Chicago? Houston? Los Angeles? Who knew? But then there was a report of all air traffic being halted and planes being grounded, probably the smartest move of the day. From that point on, any air traffic, beyond Air Force One, was presumed to be the bad guys.

Interest in military and emergency service increased as many felt obligated to do something to help or were simply angry that this could happen. Watching news reports of first responders at ground zero running into the burning towers as people were trying to run out spawned a new era of heroes. And respect for those folks, as it should always be, was at a peak.

Thinking back about how our lives changed on that day, beyond immediate fear and apprehension, it started at the national level. A new cabinet position was established, the Department of Homeland Security, to address the challenge of dealing with terrorism from that day forward. No longer would we be able to simply get to the airport close to take-off time and expect to board. We would now be subject to incredible lines, searching and questioning, even for a short, simple domestic flight. Longer wait times were mandatory for international travel. Even train and bus travel involved added levels of security.

Metal detectors, scanners and x-rays became commonplace. We now had to arrive at certain social events much earlier. Attending a game or a concert involved an additional queue prior to entry. Security screening at such events was much more prevalent and tolerance was limited.

To paraphrase the late Franklin D. Roosevelt, Sept. 11, 2001, is another day that will live in infamy. We must never forget what happened on that day, the day all American lives changed forever and the day that over 3,000 Americans needlessly lost theirs.

Don Canney is a freelance writer and professional voice artist. He was born and raised in downtown Nashua with great interest in Nashua history circa 1950-1970. He now resides in Litchfield.