September 11th. I hate to be cynical, but this is sort of "The Prom" for the blogosphere - all those writers who normally deliver shorthand bits of linkage and wisdom are expected to bear down and write a brilliant, moving piece. Lileks will probably have a great piece, while some folks like CapLion (good job, BTW) have sort of jumped the gun on their posts. This is my first Sept 11th as an internet writer (not a true blogger), so I don't think I've relayed my thoughts yet.

I was somewhat affected by the actual events of 9/11. I work a couple blocks from the Capitol, and I was driving to work when the first plane hit. I was sure it was some sort of accident, and proceeded normally. By the time I walked from my car to my building, the second plane had hit, though many of us denied the possibility at first. "Are you sure? You're not talking about the first one?" Not long after that, we could see the smoke from the Pentagon, and our HR people came through and told everyone to go home.

Thank god I had my car. I hopped in and took off, beating the DC exodus. I used to alternate between the Metro and driving, but I haven't taken the Metro to work since that day - too much risk of being caught without transport. I remember driving, listening to the folks on NPR try to relay the breaking news. As I hit the BW parkway, entering Maryland and away from the city, the second tower (hit) collapsed, and I just wept. It was too terrible. Until then, I thought they would withstand the damage. I have a pretty active imagination for disaster, and I imagined that perhaps 50,000 lives had been lost. In almost any other country, there would have been.

When I got home, I turned on the TV, and that was my first visual of the events. Everyone has seen the clips, and they're terrible. Thinking back does certainly bring back the emotion, and I can feel my stomach trembling just remembering the whole thing.

But it does take some effort to remember. I'm not ashamed to say that, by now, I'm over it. In five years, I probably won't be able to relive the experience as I can today - I just wasn't as close as those who were in New York or near the Pentagon, or who lost loved ones. I thought I would be. I kept waiting, dreading to hear who I knew that was at the Trade Center - if not a loved one, then an acquaintance. But it didn't happen. The death toll dropped, and dropped, and kept falling until it was an almost unbelievable 3,000. I don't mean to be flippant, but for the amount of destruction that occurred, to lose only 3,000 people is amazing. To those who lost loved ones, the total count doesn't matter. From a national perspective, it is impressive that people were so efficient, so effective in getting out of the towers. Even the Pentagon, which had to be nearly full at 9 in the morning, lost under 100 people. And though those on flight 97 died, they were essentially successful in thwarting the intentions of the terrorists. As a people, our first response was instantaneous and effective - a testament to the underlying strength and success of our way of life.

But that was then - now, I hardly think about it. Weeks go by when Sept. 11th doesn't enter my mind - even media references slide by. And, I think that's fine. Of course I would be much more concerned if our government weren't doing something about it. But even though some of the methods are stupid (e.g. silly airport security) or ineffective, the main action - taking the fight to the terrorists and West-haters in the Middle East - is going well. I trust our military to do the job there, and that's the most important thing at this point. So, I'll do my home improvements, take my daughter for evening walks on perfect days in September, and go on living the good life we have here, now. There's never been a better time to be alive, and if terrorists and dictators had their way, it would be downhill from here. But that won't happen, because we, the victims of 9/11 - Americans - won't let it happen.

Next year, I'll probably write about my daughter, or football. My best hope is that we can continue to remember Sept 11th, as opposed to suffering another national tragedy - that's the best measure of our success and resilience. Never again.