It was as if I had left one country and come back to a different one.
Monday, Sept.10, 2001, was a happy day for me. I set sail from Camden, Maine, for my annual cruise on the Schooner Lewis French. The sailing trip was a chance to leave my beeper at home (I didn’t have a cell phone) and to detach from stress and news for six days. Televisions and radios were forbidden on board; it was back to the 19th century, except that the food was better! On mid-morning Tuesday, we were happily sailing up Penobscot Bay, when the Captain’s wife called on the ship-to-shore radio. "There has been an attack on our country. The World Trade Center Towers in New York City have been destroyed, and the Pentagon is in flames!" (!!) Some of the other schooner captains held prayer services on their boats. But ours didn’t, so I went down to my cabin and got on my knees. At noon on Saturday the 15th, when we landed in Camden and I loaded my car for the trip back to Vermont, it was as if I had left one country and come back to a different one. Everywhere I looked there were American flags and signs asking for donations for New York and for blood donors. I listened to the radio all the way. All of the news was about the attack and the rescue and recovery operation. Some people who were interviewed were still looking desperately for their missing loved ones and hoping that they had somehow survived. Policemen and Firefighters, dead, injured, or still at the site, were praised by all for their courage. Volunteers with non-profit groups and religious ministries were there, doing anything they could to help. Since I didn't see television until that Saturday night, I had missed the four days during which most Americans were unable to take their eyes off their television sets. I don't regret that. The attack was a vivid reminder to Americans that they need God, and prayer services and church attendance surged. There was also a feeling of empathy across the country, that "We’re all in this together." As a follower of Jesus, I hoped that this would be lasting, but after a year, it was back to "the usual."
Karen Unsworth
