I’m remembering the events of 9/11/2001 today (I wrote this on 9/11/2024) and thinking about how so many of us have those “I remember exactly what I was doing when I found out” stories about that horrible day. I’m thinking that it might be important to the future generations in my family for me to write those down while they are still fairly fresh in my mind. If you have time for a short story of my own, here’s why I think that.
In the fall of 1977, I was a freelance instrumental music teacher with several band programs in middle and high schools in the suburbs of Dallas, TX. In one school, even though my expertise was with woodwinds, a band director asked if I would do some work with a group of boys who were just learning to play the snare drum. They were most likely in the 6th grade.
I had studied percussion along with all the other band instruments to get my college degree, so I agreed. What followed was generally pretty crazy, but my takeaway wasn’t whether they learned the rudiments of drumming but rather the conversations we had each day. I was teaching these boys on November 22 which many of us know as the day president John F. Kennedy, Jr. was assassinated in Dallas. And with us being just outside that city, of course it was in the news that morning. One of the boys mentioned it, and without even thinking I said, “I remember that day so well.”
To my surprise, one of the boys said, “Wait, you were alive then?” To my 22-year-old self this was so startling to hear. But the boys then asked me to talk about what it was like to hear that our president had died.
So I told those boys my memories from my third grade classroom on what was another horrible day for our nation. You know, there’s simply no replacement for our valuable memories – what we experienced, how we felt, how others in our family grieved and processed the shocking news.
When you’re ready to start writing down those unique memories along with other stories from your extraordinary/ordinary life, I’ve got a book to get you started. It’s super affordable, not too long, and will give you the support you need.
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