A lot has
happened...
As we all know a lot has happened since the
last update here at MasonLand.com. I guess
the big thing on all our minds are the tragic
events of Sept. 11th, that day will forever rest
in the back of my mind for the remainder of my
life.
My brain is crowded, full of lots of
"stuff", the day I jumped off a wall
in forth grade screaming with glee as I flew
thru the air, I hit the ground and bit a hole
clean through my tongue... the day I saw STAR
WARS for the first time, standing in line a Grauman's Chinese Theatre...
the day I got my first paycheck... the day I
first laid eyes on HYDEE... the day Benjamin was
born... the day Hannah was born... These days
are as fresh in my mind as the day they
happened.
I was up early that morning, Sept 11th. Hannah
was having a rough time sleeping, I walked her
around the house in the morning hours around
4am... she was calm but still not sleeping, she
would put her tiny head on my shoulder and pat
me on the arm with her tiny fingers as she
always does in this position. Finally we
came to rest on the couch, she in my lap sleeping
on my stomach in the worst possible position, her head hanging over one side of my gut and her feet the other side, how
could anyone sleep in that position? I was afraid
to move for fear of waking her, so I did what
any DAD would do, I turned on the TV. I
was watching an old episode of Lois & Clark, Superman saving the day,
when I decided to switch over to the
news...
I was stunned to see the chyron on the screen
read "World Trade Center in Flames" at
this time the news had just broken and no one
had any idea what had happened, there were
reports of an explosion, reports of a small
private plane hitting the skyscraper. Nobody was
sure what was really going on that is until... I
watched "LIVE" as most of America did
the second plane suddenly appear in frame and
explode in a burst of red fire into the second
tower. It was suddenly clear, we were
under attack.
I stroked Hannah's sleeping head, as my eyes
swelled up... It just wasn't real. I Hydee
telling her "they just blew World Trade
Center" - "WHAT?" she said, as
she sleepily rose out of bed.
We both spent the new few hours glued to the TV,
trying to make sense out of what was
happening... maybe it was a good thing that
Hydee was getting ready for work, and I was
getting the Kiddies ready for the morning,
Hannah had oatmeal with apple sauce, Benjamin
had Kashi cereal (his favorite). I gave
Hydee a long hug goodbye and watched as she
drove off to work... I then went about trying to
convince Benjamin that the underwear goes on the
inside of his pants, not on the outside. I
drove Benjamin to school, it was short quite
drive. Hannah & I kissed him and gave
him a hug, he said "Love you Daddy" -
I chocked back tears... Something inside of me
didn't want to leave him, I wanted to stay with
him and protect him from an evil he was totally
unaware of.
Needless to say I spent the rest of the day
glued to the TV, the news that day didn't get
much better... Thankfully Hannah took a couple
of long naps. I called Hydee at work a
dozen times, I'm sure she didn't mind that I had
really nothing to say, I just needed to hear her
voice.
The week of Sept. 11th also marked Hannah's
first birthday, (actually Sept. 10th is her
birthday) and all the milestones of that week
will sit in my memory, her first steps, walking,
that tiny mouth so full of teeth, the party with
friends and family.
Our lives as we know it have forever changed due
to the events of September 11, 2001 and the
thoughts of those who lost their lives will
hopefully never be far from our memories.
In the end I only need to look in the eyes of my
children to remind me of what life is truly
about...
Chris Mason
10-02-2001
