Life before 9/11

When 9/11 occurred, I was still an infant, but my knowledge on the topic is extensive thanks to my
mother who has taught me that the day should never be forgotten, as well as what it meant for this
country. As I was stumped on what topic or subject I should write next, one of my younger friends
texted me. She is only a few years younger and didn't understand the outcome of that day. She was
shocked the most to know that a lot of things were very different before. Therefore, it inspired me to
ask a handful of adults in my life about their own lives before 9/11. I am a liberal with many different
views, and proud, but that does not mean I can forget an event that has defined, not only our country
but also the rest of the world. Every year, I solemnly take time to reflect on the events of this day. To
ask about a world before is only to honor the lives lost, not to forget, to be nostalgic, and to reflect on
how we can try to make the world a better place.

N.V., 43 years old, secretary:

Question: What were airports like?

She smiles fondly, you can see how she is thinking fondly over the question. "Airports, ah, they were
beautiful." I can only assume the hassle of it nowadays makes it a nightmare to anyone who got the
luxury of low security, so to think back to the old ways of it all can only be described as beautiful.
"Everyone could show up, friends family... they could wait with you and walk you up to the gate, say
goodbye. There really was no fear. Not like how it is now."

Question: What was life socially like? For example, concerts, movie theaters, anything of that nature.

"Um, when we went to concerts, when they checked our bags they were checking for cameras." She
chuckled before going on. "Liquor and booze too." I looked up at this comment to see her smugly
smiling at me and I couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah, they checked for weapons, but only things people
could hurt others with. It was simple. Now, everywhere you go, there is a metal detector. Even
Disneyland was easier. People didn't have it on their mind. There was no thought of mass shootings
or anything."

Question: Did you live in an area that was majorly impacted after these events?

Answer not available.

Question: In your own opinion, do you believe technology was advancing on its own or do you think the tragic event ignited a fire to find new ways to be safe?

"As far as technology?" "Yes." "Well, I don't know. When you look at the advancements, it's amazing,
but I don't think it was impacted by 9/11. It wasn't like people were planning on it." I looked up, she's
smiling waiting for the next question and I can't help but smile back.

Question: How did you feel about the security of our nation before?

"As far as security..." I looked up, she's been sitting at her desk while I'm asking the questions, I notice
she's looking down at the bottom right of her sight. She's really thinking. "I didn't think it was an issue.
Biggest threat back then was people coming here illegally, but it was the knowledge that they came
here for work, not to harm anyone." She sits up and sighs. "You see programs like the C.I.A. and the
F.B.I. knew about threats, but didn't let the public know until after."

Question: Is there any final comments you feel should be included?

She shakes her head, "No, I think you did a pretty good job."

E.B., 57, dabbles in psychology:

Question: What were airports like?

He has given me a time limit of 7 minutes, he answers straight away. "Piece of cake. You could walk in
30 minutes ahead of time, still make your flight." I assume he really hates the process of everything
that you have to endure now only because I know I and everyone else should try to make it to the
airport at least four hours ahead of time.

Question: What was life socially like? For example, concerts, movie theatres, anything of that nature.

I specify my question about how there is security at every concert I go to. "Nothing existed like that, it
was easy, they didn't even any significant security."

Question: Did you live in an area that was majorly impacted after these events?

Answer not available.

Question: In your own opinion, do you believe technology was advancing on its own or do you think the tragic event ignited a fire to find new ways to be safe?

"No, it (9/11) was just an event of its own."

Question: How did you feel about the security of our nation before?

He's stroking his beard as he's thinking, and his action reminds me of how I would do that as a child. "It
was fine, not a worry at all."

Question: Is there any final comments you feel should be included?

He sighs, and so I look up, he looks at me seemingly hesitant. This man I interviewed is extremely
political from what I hear and have experienced, so I felt my body tense as I braced for whatever
was about to be spoken. "Americans were ignorant in world events. 9/11 shocked them, and I think
most Americans are unhappy knowing that we are not as highly respected as they would like around
the world."

J.P.U., 51, sings a lot:

Question: What were airports like?

"It's interesting, I worked in a San Francisco airport at the time, and it was calmer, security really was
not as visible, you could have stuff in your carry on before that you can not now." He pauses, and I'm
grateful, he talks quickly and so now I can catch up on writing down his words. "You didn't have to take
off your shoes or take your computer out of your bag, and there was this thing called a gate pass. So if
you had to help your child or someone disabled get onto the plane, you could go through and do that.
As soon as 9/11 happened, they took it away, you must have an actual ticket to get onto the plane now.
Before there was no T.S.A., all airports had different ways of running their security." I knew there was no
T.S.A. prior to 9/11, but I had no idea it was all different security protocols at EVERY airport, and that was
probably the most astonishing thing to learn, so far. "Also it was way faster. If you didn't have a bag and
had your ticket, you could go straight onto the plane, you didn't have to wait like now. Also, people
were allowed to wait on the curb for someone, and wait for someone one to pick them up. You didn't
have to have them park in another lot, you could just go there and wait.

Question: What was life socially like? For example, concerts, movie theaters, anything of that nature?

"I think, let's see, probably the only thing (that was different) was that, you didn't think terrorism was
here (in the U.S.), it wasn't on our mind, it was much more relaxed." I'm really struggling to keep up at
this point, but I know if I say anything, the energy will be lost. I say nothing about it the whole time.  

Question: Did you live in an area that was majorly impacted after these events?

"Absolutely," he shakes his head fervently for a moment at this. "In San Francisco, at the airport, it was
impacted. The airport was closed for 2 days after. I had a friend who was supposed to leave on the
11th, we went to dinner the night before and talked about it, and the next day when it happened,
everything was closed. No hotels were open, the airport was closed, and she ended up hitching a ride
to Sacramento, getting a rental car, and driving home to Wisconsin. The B.A.R.T. system was shut
down, there was traffic on the bridge... I don't want to say it full chaos, but no one knew what was
happening, it was a frightening experience.”

Question: In your own opinion, do you believe technology was advancing on its own or do you think the tragic event ignited a fire to find new ways to be safe?

"I think absolutely, yes, it did." This answer shocked me only because my previous interviewees had
both thought no or just didn't know about it or how to answer. "Before, your carry on bags were only
checked if you looked suspicious or if there was anything funny, and I know from talking to security
officers that 9/11 really drove for the security. Now there's body scanners and x-ray scanners for your
bag, which were there before, but have improved a lot, and now all bags go through."

Question: How did you feel about the security of our nation before?

"I didn't think about it. It didn't occur to me (terrorism in our country), but I saw it in other countries on
the news. And I was never a big fan of homeland security, mainly because it's a juggernaut of money
and not everything was successful. But before 9/11, instructors at flight schools didn't say anything
about students saying 'I want to learn how to fly a plane, but not how to land it.'" What he means by
that is that before 9/11, we did not know who to tell, neither did we think to tell anyone about anything
like that, and now, people know to report that. "You don't know anything is wrong until it happens is
where I stood."

Question: Is there any final comments you feel should be included?

"Only thing to come to mind is the reality of it. A month after 9/11, I had to take a flight, and what really
freaked me out was that there were armed soldiers with their guns ready to go. They were members
of the national guard. It was very uncomfortable." He pauses for a bit and exclaims an "oh." "Before
(9/11), any airport employee had a finger scanner to bypass security, but after what happened, it
changed immediately. It has relaxed a lot since then, but right away it was frightening.”

A.C., 54, guiding mentor to many:

Question: What were airports like?

She smiles at this question, like all people I have talked to before her have. I'm starting to believe
airports really were a blast back then. "It was definitely easier to travel. For example, I took two
hundred students of mine to New York for a parade, which of course, was not the easiest, but it would
definitely not be easy now, going through security. It was always long, but before it was not as intense.
Here in the U.S., it was not as overt (the security). One of the most shocking things was going to
Europe and seeing armed officers with guns in their arms at all times. You just didn't notice security
like that here as much.”

Question: What was life socially like? For example, concerts, movie theaters, anything of that nature?

"I don't know that 9/11 had an impact on that. If anything, it made us love our country. A couple weeks
before, a friend of mine had been saying how we take it (the country) for granted. After it happened
people really showed pride in being American, you saw flags everywhere, on cars, houses, buildings.
I think before, there just was not as much pride."

Question: Did you live in an area that was majorly impacted after these events?

"I had friends who lived in New York at the time, who still live in New York," she went on to tell me a
story of a friend, who was as close as a brother, was supposed to meet in lower Manhattan for
business, and before he could make it, the meeting was canceled. When she told me, chills went up
to my whole body. Maybe, if he had gone, he would have been fine, but you don't know what that
outcome could have been. "I lived in Orange County, but worked in Anaheim, only a mile from
Disneyland, and the whole area was on a yellow alert for a month because of Disneyland being
such a big probable target.”

Question: In your own opinion, do you believe technology was advancing on its own or do you think the tragic event ignited a fire to find new ways to be safe?

"I think it did, but I think it was made for a more apparent sense of security for the public. Before it
wasn't apparent, but in the news, it was brought up more how it was getting better for the safety."

Question: How did you feel about the security of our nation before?

"Before, I didn't think about it. Because the news, post 9/11 was good, don't get me wrong it was
still scary, but after, they did a good job to say we'll be okay and safe now, so I didn't think too much
after either."

Question: Is there any final comments you feel should be included?

"Life felt simpler. I know it's kind of a weird statement about it, but ignorance is bliss." She was
stating about how we, as Americans, didn't know what was going to hit us and that, when you
don't feel like you're in the middle of a war, life really can be simple. "Side story, I had a picture
of me with my two hundred students on Ellis Island with the twin towers in the background on
my desk, but after 9/11 it was hard to look at. That day, we had gone to the Statue of Liberty,
Ellis Island, and then to the top of the twin towers. It's well taken care of, and somewhere safe,
but I can't look at it. It scares me. It reminds me of mortality." With that being her final sentence,
I sat there in her office, noticing the classical music that has been playing the whole time, and
that there's a scent of cinnamon and lemon. I look up, and she's smiling at me, and that's when
I have to start holding back tears.

O.B., 46, takes calls to fix cars:

Question: What were airports like?

"When you would wait for your family to board, you could wait to watch them and wait in a room
to see them board the plane. There were restaurants, so you could go eat with your family before
they go. Security was very 'lax."

Question: What was life socially like? For example, concerts, movie theaters, anything of that nature?

I explain the question to her, as she isn't too sure what my question really entails. I tell her how any
time I go to a concert or out to see a movie, I know where all exits are at, and if at any point I see
anything suspicious, I have a plan. That I have a general sense of awareness. "We were more
oblivious to everything. We knew where fire exits were, but we never felt in danger going out."

Question: Did you live in an area that was majorly impacted after these events?

"Well, I think the nation changed as a whole. Not just New York. I didn't know anyone in New York,
but I still felt a loss, I was shocked... vulnerable. For the first time, I felt unsafe. The events of that
day are something I will never forget. I never do. We have to remember, or else we don't have a
chance. We'll have no hope. It changed our way of thinking. We thought we were untouchable, but
we weren't."

Question: In your own opinion, do you believe technology was advancing on its own or do you think the tragic event ignited a fire to find new ways to be safe?

"Yeah, I think that- I mean we already had cell phones, but I'm sure it did help in a lot of ways so we
could have a way to get information faster." I look up at my interviewee, I'm doing this at a later time
with her, she's tired from work but is still managing this conversation.

Question: How did you feel about the security of our nation before?

"I didn't. It was not something you really thought about. You thought it only happened in other
countries, you'd see it on T.V., but it really emphasized that ignorance is bliss."

Question: Is there any final comments you feel should be included?

"No, I can't think of anything at the moment."

C.S., 35, knows a lot about things that happened in the past:

Question: What were airports like?

She sighs, "very easily accessible. I remember I could watch planes take off and land."
She tells me it was how it is shown in older movies; a big glass wall that you were allowed to
look out of. "There were metal detectors, just not full body scanners."

Question: What was life socially like? For example, concerts, movie theaters, anything of that nature?

"I always remember talking to my mom after 9/11, telling me how people thought the U.S. was
in this bubble, that it was untouchable. But people weren't alive to see Pearl Harbor, to see how
vulnerable we were until after (9/11). And, even if they did remember, it was in Hawaii, so it was
far from the mainland, not like what happened." I had never sat there to think about how Pearl Harbor
was an event that was just as shocking as 9/11. The fear and anxiety of not knowing what could
happen, how much worse it could get, or the thoughts of 'are we going to war' and just not having
an idea as to what would happen. "I- for me, I remember the Oklahoma City bombing and the
bombing at the Atlanta Olympics, but after 9/11, because was older then, I was more aware."

Question: Did you live in an area that was majorly impacted after these events?

"No, I lived in California, but because I was a college student, the biggest talk for days after was
if there was going to be a war, would there be a draft, who would be drafted."

Question: In your own opinion, do you believe technology was advancing on its own or do you think the tragic event ignited a fire to find new ways to be safe?

"I think it was already advancing as far as the internet, and cell phones were becoming more
accessible, so the government always has to find ways to keep people safe. Like before, certain
websites, if you went on, would be flagged. You would have to be careful with certain words or
else the government would flag you, but I don't know how true that claim is."

Question: How did you feel about the security of our nation before?

"Because I was younger, I didn't necessarily think about global security. I grew up in the nineties, so
there were gangs and gang violence, so I thought more about my surroundings. I think 9/11 made
everyone think more about global security."

Question: Is there any final comments you feel should be included?

She was eating a Babybel Cheese and had just finished it. She sucks air in through her teeth and is
obviously pondering for a few moments. "I think, when you're looking at 9/11, even though there may
be similarities between all of your interviews, it depends on your age, where you were living, and if
you have any connections to that day. I remember going to the Pentagon Ground Zero before they
made a memorial, and I knew that if it had happened here (California) it would have been different.
9/11 happened my first week of college, and I had always been interested in political science and
history, they were my strong points in high school, and I always wonder what college life would have
been like had 9/11 not happened. I went to Washington twice, for six weeks at a time, and I think that
event impacted my studies. And if I had been studying a different major, I don't know how that event
would have shaped it, if I wasn't studying what I studied."

If you have made it this far, thank you. I understand it was a lot of writing, but to take the time to read it
all, I have nothing else to say, but thanks. I chose this topic for reasons I discussed at the beginning of
this writing, for people who aren't taught to know or aren't told to remember this day. I am a very
emotional person, and I would love to think of myself as passionate; so the reason I'm a millennial
and care is that of the fact that three thousand people died, and countless others in the war that was
a result of that day. When thinking about this day, I choose to not acknowledge anything other than
the loss and the damage that was done to us. And yes, we should all pay respect to it, but we should
also remember the unity it brought to us. No matter who you are, what you look like, what you believe
in, if you're an American and were old enough to understand that day, you should know how tightly it
brought the country together. In these interviews, a similarity I found in each was that, in most
questions, almost every interviewee had gone and talked within a stream of consciousness. What I
mean by bringing this up is that what happened that day left everyone with a sort of shock, and it has
probably affected the way they think. So for all of my interviewees to have brought up other specks of
information really shows the results of that. The similarities that were in all questions between all
people was something I supposed would happen, but to hear the other little details that set them apart
really is a beautiful thing, in my own opinion. This song was one I performed while still playing on the
bass clarinet. One of my favorite flutists and inspiration had told the entire ensemble once that it
reminded her of 9/11, and how the next day, everywhere you went, you saw flags; American flags.
A few weeks later, she spoke to me about it. She remembered the flags on cars, homes, shirts, in
stores, and it brought this heavy sense of unity within the whole country. I love what she told me
and am grateful she gave me something beautiful to think about while I played. I thank everyone
who allowed me the time of day to talk to them and ask them questions that relate to such a heavy
topic. Something everyone should take away is that ignorance is bliss, but perseverance is powerful.

Disclaimer: This publication does not reflect the views of me or any of these adults. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, especially these interviewees as this is their own stories, and how they knew life. This is not to attack, or upset anyone, it is just to share a few answers to question that I believe to be frequently asked. Thank you.