Bethlen Almanac 2001 (Ligonier)
The Hungarian Reformed Federation of America
REMEMBERING SEPTEMBER 11, 2001 September 11, 2001 is etched not only with bloody hands into the history of the United States of America, but also into the hearts of men throughout the world. On this beautiful morning, people started out for work in anticipation of another normal day. These were people pursuing their careers and making a livelihood for themselves and their loved ones. The rays of the sun lit the New York skyline and rested upon the symbols of man’s accomplishments - the pinnacles of the World Trade Center. People, like ants in comparison with these huge buildings, were going about their lives filled with dreams and plans. Then at 8:45 A.M., it seemed that our whole world stopped when the first hijacked airline flew into the restricted airspace around the World Trade Center. Working men and women so used to the noise of the city perhaps never realized what was about to occur. When the first airplane hit the building, it was evident that something big was happening. The building shook as if it wanted to shake off the tremendous strain on its wonderful structural beauty; but instead, the tremendous blow of the plane, which was carrying its passengers to their destinations, became a living bomb that destroyed man’s creation. Everyone looking up at the buildings shook their heads in disbelief, hardly realizing what was really happening. It was like a bad dream when it happened the second time. Even today many of us are awestruck by the happenings of that day. We can hardly remember the chronology of events. No sooner had the tragedy hit New York than our attention was drawn to Washington, D.C., where a hijacked plane crashed into the Pentagon, and to Pennsylvania, where another hijacked plane crashed after its passengers heroically, but in vain, tried to overtake the terrorists. 35
