Remembering Sept. 11 in Marlboro and Colts Neck

I was in seventh grade when the World Trade Center was attacked.

By third period, teachers were canceling homework and quietly talking amongst themselves about how they would cope, and help their students cope.

Coming from Westfield, we had so many parents, relatives, neighbors and friends working in New York City. It wasn't until the end of my school day, when my mother stood right at the front of the school waiting for me rather than down the street in her usual spot, that I began to realize something was wrong.

But I don't think, at 13-years-old, I truly understood.

A true death toll began rising the next morning. Something in my second period gym class hit me, as we all stood in the locker room trying to talk through the tragedy. I lost it.

Every year on Sept. 11, I go back to that locker room. I was so young, I had no idea of the foreign policy implications or the long lasting effect of such a terrorist attack.

The words Al Qaeda had never even entered my mind. And when I look back on that day, I don't think I'm any less terrified than I was at 13 when I saw the smoke rising from New York City.

My first try Sept. 11 coverage as a journalist was in Marlboro and Colts Neck, when both townships re-dedicated their memorials to residents tragically lost. I watched as a spectator, as family members gathered to remember their loved ones.

Roses were laid at the base of both memorials, pieces of the World Trade Center were memorialized. I watched with tears through a camera lens as everyone's mind traveled back to that tragic day.

It gets easier, it gets better, but it doesn't make it okay. It won't ever be okay, and every year we remember. But as the years go on, we find ourselves remembering the people, and not the act.

Those names are engraved around the country in memorials, just like the ones in Marlboro and Colts Neck. As important as it is to learn from, if one day Sept. 11 means not hearing the horrific sounds and seeing the terrifying news coverage, and we remember only the names and memories of the wonderful people we lost, I would be okay with that.

Since my first Sept. 11 coverage, I've had the opportunity to speak with heroes, family members, friends and unbelievable Americans. I encourage you to remember those lost, and cherish those in your life today and every day.

Sept. 11 in Marlboro

The lives of 14 Marlboro residents were lost in the attack on the World Trade Center, and the township will again honor those residents at the Sept. 11 Memorial constructed at the Recreation Center.

The ceremony will begin at 8:30 a.m. and will conclude at 9:15 a.m on Wednesday.

Memorial paver bricks are still available in Marlboro Township.

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