10 years ago Sunday

Much like the assassination of JFK, I think every one of us alive and able to remember 11 September 2001 knows exactly where they were that day.


I remember getting ready to take my ex-wife to an ultrasound appointment for our then unborn daughter. Right before we left, my ex's mother called.


"Turn on the TV ... my God, you won't believe it."


And there was the WTC ablaze. An accident, they called it. Somehow, tragically, a plane crashed into the Tower.


Then the second hit, right in front of our eyes, and my heart sunk. This was no accident, this was intent.


My heart sunk for two reasons. One, for all the tragic and senseless loss of life. Secondly, I vividly recall thinking, "what have I done, bringing a child into a war zone?"


Remember, to that point, these were heady times. The Cold War was over, the Berlin Wall had come down, we were riding the technology boom wave and had survived the New Millennium. January 1, 2000 hit and the world rocked on, crack me another beer. I had grown up living under the tail end of the Cold War and the threat of global thermonuclear war. At the time, I couldn't fathom bringing a child into that. Then all was right in the world.


Boom.


At time wore on, I grew to accept our new reality, primarily because I, as well as my siblings and friends, were born to loving parents despite the cold war, just like they were born during WWII. We were all fine (more or less, depending on definition) and survived it.


So will my daughter.


And not a day has gone by that I've regretted having her, not a day has gone by that I've not thought of her and smiled, and considered myself the luckiest Dad in the world.