Community Corner

Roswell Remembers 9/11: That Deafening Silence

Joe Duffy remembers the profound silence following the attacks and seeing life differently.

EDITOR'S NOTE: As part of Patch's coverage and commemoration, we are putting together images and human interest stories about how that tragic date has affected us all.

What follows are the thoughts and memories of Joe Duffy, who is a Roswell resident. Looking back to the days following the attack and the silence which seemed to fill them, despite living with an infant.

"At the time, I had just one child, who was one year and nine months old. We would often play on the front lawn. As I’m sure is the case with many kids his age, he was always fascinated by airplanes flying overhead.

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Because my job was affected, I got an unwelcome week off. I spent every waking hour glued to the televisions. And because I had a multiple television set-up for sports, I had four televisions on four channels to watch the 9/11 aftermath.

I would imagine it was Sept. 13 before I finally decided that I needed to pry myself away from the televisions to play outside with my son.

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I even remember dreading that he would look in the sky expecting airplanes to fly over; because as you will remember the [Federal Aviation Administration] suspended all flights.

When he wasn’t looking, I found myself peeking into the empty sky. The term 'deafening silence' truly took on new meaning for me. It was a surreal feeling, like the emptiness and silence of the sky was screaming at me.

Like many, I’m sure I could go on for hours about memories surrounding that day and those which followed.

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Were you in New York at the time? Did you have family or friends who were affected? Do you know of anyone who was deployed to fight in Iraq or Afghanistan?

If your life was in some way changed by the events of 9/11, we're asking for photos or personal accounts to share with our readers. What are your memories of that day that changed your life here in Roswell?

Please send a photo and your story by e-mail to Christine Foster.


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