When I was told what happened yesterday I could scarcely believe what i was hearing. It was almost too incredible to believe, a plot from a Die Hard movie. I watched on in absolute shock as i saw the South tower of the WTC collapse. I felt a sense of numbness as I watched the footage of the 767 collide into the tower.
I sat on a train to Manchester reading the first news reports. I couldn't help but imagine what was going hrough the minds of the passengers on those planes as they called loved ones for the last time knowing that they were about to die. I could not contemplate the sheer terror, horror, and resignation that those souls must have encountered in their final moments. Nor could i imagine what sheer terror and desperation could cause anyone to jump, hand in hand with their loved one, from the 90th floor of a building to certain death.
I lay awake last night thinking of my sister-in-law who having lived in New york until a few months ago has friends in the city. I worried about her boyfriend who still lives and works in Manhatten. The tension of not knowing his whereabouts until this evening was almost unbearable, as was the uncertainty of the friends in DC who could have been too close to the Pentagon for comfort.
This tragedy affects more than the immediate victims of the attacks. It touches the lives of so many Americans, and so many others of us that it is hard to contemplate. It will take a long time to absorb the shock and come to terms with the sheer devistation we have witnessed. We must mourn. We must grieve. More importantly, while bringing justice to bear, we must be merciful.
Requiem aeternam secundam domine. Et lux perpetua luceat eis.