Ten years ago today...

On this day in 2001, I had just gotten off work at 0330 and went home to get a few hours of sleep. It was Dad's birthday, so I took the day off, and planned on getting about 3 or 4 hours of sleep before driving across town to the Walmart to buy him a birthday present (it would be his first DVD player). I woke up around 0830 or so, and - unusual for me - did not turn on the TV. I jumped in the shower, got dressed, and headed out around 0930 or so. As I was driving to the Walmart, the radio DJ was talking about how the Red Cross was mobilizing and that they would be needing blood for the folks in New York. I remember thinking to myself, "Huh, must've had a bad accident up north," and didn't give it much more thought.

As I pulled into the parking lot of the Walmart, I noticed two police cars parked side by side in the parking lot. While not unusual, the Walmart parking lot usually isn't the favored spot to go door to door, since there are a lot of citizen interruptions in such a high-visbility area. I parked and walked inside, and that is when I first realized that something really big was happening. You see, at this time, the Walmart I was in was the only Walmart in Jacksonville, and it was one of the three busiest Walmarts in the entire Eastern US. But on this morning, as I walked in, you could have heard a pin drop. The front security monitor that hangs from the ceiling that lets shoppers see themselves walking in to remind potential shoplifters that they are being videoed was tuned to the news, and people - shoppers and employees - were gathered around it. I watched as the video showed the first tower being hit, and I thought to myself, "Wow, just like the B-25 that hit the Empire State Building. Someone really screwed up." Then I saw the second impact. Holy shit! It couldn't be!! I couldn't believe that America was under attack.

The walk through Walmart was surreal. I went to the electronics section and picked out Dad's DVD player, and I didn't have any problems getting around because everybody in the back area of the store was gathered around the TV's in electronics.

I dropped off Dad's gift, and I went to work.

In the days that followed, people saw terrorists everywhere. I had grown men thank me for being a police officer while tears streamed down their faces. Cars people didn't recognize around various infrastructure locations were suddenly terrorists probing for more targets. We feard for our water supply. We were afraid of a lot of things.

America changed a lot that day. But guess what? Since that day, I've visited many Walmarts, and purchased many things, and I'm still raising and taking care of my family, and as long as I am able to keep doing that, the terrorists haven't won.