Memories of a time just after 9/11/2001

Today I was remembering 9/11/2001. Below are memories of traveling to a flea market near Pittsburgh in September of 2001 shortly after the tragedy.  The organization that runs the flea market asked people to submit any stories about the flea market or the people that they know from the flea market. No other stories were submitted so mine was the only one published in their monthly flea market handout. 







It is said that occasions that are happy, sad or traumatic can form the most vivid memories.  Such are the memories of our trip to Flea-tique ten years ago in September of 2001. It was shortly after the 
terrible events of September 11thin New York City that this flea market was scheduled.  We were in a quandary about whether or not we should be going to an event like this after the tragedy.  The leaders of our country were telling us to normalize our activities and go on with our lives.  It was a difficult thing to do.

We packed our bags and got ready to go.  We left on Saturday so that we could get a head start on the shopping.  The sights on the turnpike let us know that patriotism abounds in the people of our country.  There were United States flags, large and small, tucked into the dashes and taped to the windows of cars.  One Jeep displayed very large flags that were attached to the bumpers.  They seemed to dwarf his vehicle. 

When we arrived at the market there were other buyers and sellers on the grounds and the only talk going on was about the New York tragedies.  We did some late afternoon shopping and then settled in for the night.  We parked our vehicle in a quiet place under the trees and fell into a fitful sleep. Late in the night we were awakened by the startling sounds of wailing sirens.  We had not stayed on the grounds overnight many times and we did not realize that there was a fire station very close to the market.  The siren seemed to be very loud in the still night air.  Then the sounds of vehicles with their individual sirens could be heard.  We listened and wondered what was going on.  After a time we decided that a local emergency had called in the volunteer force of fire fighters and that it was OK to sleep again. 

Thanks to the wonderful organizers and staff of the flea market we were made to feel welcome.  We will never forget those terrible things that happened that year but going on with our lives as normally as we could under the circumstances was and still is the right thing to do.

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