Sunday, September 11, 2011

I remember.

 On this, the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks, we remember those lost

at the Pentagon:



 (from our visit to the Pentagon Memorial, July 10, 2010)

at the World Trade Center:

 (antenna tower from WTC north tower, from our visit to the Newseum in Washington, DC, July 13, 2010)

and aboard United 93:

 (part of United 93 fuselage, from our visit to the Newseum, July 13, 2010)

And as I've done every year since 2006, I'm taking a moment to remember Deepa K. Pakkala:


Five years ago, I signed up with Project 2,996, an effort to memorialize each of the 9/11 victims. The name assigned to me was Deepa's. She was working on the 99th floor of the north tower when the plane hit.

My thoughts from that original post still apply today:


When I think about the 2,996 people who died in the attacks, I'm overwhelmed. It's hard to grasp such a big number. When I scroll through the unbearably long list of victims at the 2996 site, the names begin to blur. The pain represented by those names is enormous. It's too much for me to process--even five years later. 

But today I can pause to feel the enormity of this loss. I can picture a man holding his baby girl, desperately missing his sweet wife. By reading online tributes, I can listen in as Deepa's friends recall her giving spirit. I can imagine the tears of those who loved her. And I can cry right along with them.

I pray that her loved ones have found comfort and peace, and I especially pray that Trish will feel her mother's love every day.


I will never forget September 11, 2001, and I pledge to always remember Deepa K. Pakkala.


1 comment:

Joanna said...

Nicely said. Thanks.