Mismatched Shoes And Memories of September 11th

We all have them: Memories of September 11th. Where were we? What were we doing? We remember the exact moment that we stood transfixed, eyes wide open as the comforts of home, of our nation ~ our United States of America, exploded before our very eyes.

We remember the television images we couldn't quite believe in our shell-shock, the words we couldn't quite comprehend, and the instinct of knowing that things would never again be as they once were.

Six years ago today, I woke up in Seattle, Washington ~ where I was staying with my good friend, Kristen , a month before taking my chances in L.A. That day, I dreaded a one-day temp job working inventory at the Bon Marche department store.

When much more important events began to unfold, my eyes glued to the TV screen, I wondered about a lot of things...least of all inventory. But I reported to work. For about an hour, I sat in the shoe department of the Bon Marche, counting and collecting mismatched shoes and lining them up, in hopes of eventually finding their mates ~ as the world as we knew it, as Americans, collapsed around us.

The mall closed shortly thereafter. No one knew what was happening, but we knew that nothing was safe. The real world proved to be far scarier than we ever imagined it could be. Planes were grounded nationwide and for days I stared up into the silent sky, so eery in its calmness.

As the years of 9/11's go by, increasingly swifter in the coming years, I will always think of those mismatched shoes and how, on that day in 2001, many lost souls wandered the streets of Manhattan ( and Washington D.C.) searching in vain for their "mates", their loved ones, and the heroes ~ that would not be coming home.

In honor of those who lost loved ones in the tragic events of 9/11/2001.

Mismatched Shoes ~ I will remember.

*Photo credit: Hannah Howze