Remembering September 11, 2001

“Why I Could Never and Will Never Vote for Obama”

By Sister Rosetta

I was teaching in Jackson Heights, Queens on September 11^th, 2001. They don’t call it Jackson Heights for nothing. And my classroom was on the top floor.

Suffice it to say that I and my students had a bird’s eye view of the towers on a day that one could literally see forever.

I had received instructions to close my blinds, but I had always had trouble with one blind. I could never get it to stay closed. After several fruitless attempts, I decided to open all the blinds on our bank of windows.

I happened to have my own 6^th grade homeroom with me, and they had a right to witness history in the making.

Even today, the memory is such a surreal one.

I was busy watching my students, trying to comfort them. So I didn’t actually watch. They kept me informed.

More than one student came up to me and told me that they had dreamed this was going to happen just the night before.

More than one student came up to me crying that one or both of their parents worked at the WTC or nearby.

Then, “There’s a plane flying into the other tower.”

Then, “One of the towers is falling down.” “It’s gone.”

Then, “The other tower is gone, too.”

Then my husband called from Shea Stadium, where he and his staff ended up housing and feeding the first responders.

He, too, was in tears. He, too, could see everything from way up high in the stadium. And he’d heard the initial reports of 50,000 dead.

One of my brightest and tallest students, Giselle, stuck close to me. I remember saying to her, “For the rest of your life, you’ll never see anything like this again.” I hope I was right.

Even though I was teaching science at the time, I made sure I had a “Social Studies” discussion with all of my 6^th 7^th and 8^th students.

You see, I knew what was to come. I knew that some would say that we the people deserved this.

And I told them point blank, don’t believe them. We did not deserve this. Yes, we’ve made mistakes. But the people of the United States of America are the most generous on earth.

And also the bravest. Our men and women literally put their lives on the line every day to save their fellow human beings, even when it is not in our own best interest.

It’s easy to be a Monday morning quarterback about our decision to invade Iraq. My prayer then was the same as it is today. “Father, if we’re wrong, please stop us. But, if we’re right, please help us.”

Only time will tell.

Today, seven years later, I am thinking about those 6^th graders and I am wondering how they are remembering that day.

Some of them would have just started their first year of college.