I was not in New York City; western Pennsylvania; or Washington, D.C., on that day, but like most Americans, I remember exactly where I was when I found out about it. I had a doctor's appointment that morning to have my wrist checked out, and while I sat in the waiting room, I watched speechlessly along with a handful of other patients as the events unfolded on the TV set in the corner.
Something that few people know about me is that while I was not a witness to the events on 9-11, I have been a witness - an earwitness, anyway - to a terrorist attack. On a warm December night in 1996, my companion and I were in the San Isidro borough of Lima, Peru, trying to hail a taxi on the side of the road, when we heard an extremely loud explosion. The taxi driver who pulled up shortly afterward said that it had come from less than a mile away. How grateful we were that we were not any closer.
Through the news and such, we learned that the explosion had taken place at the Japanese embassy and that it was caused by a terrorist group that went on to hold most of the people inside, who were attending a Christmas party that night, as hostages for the next several months.
Well, that's another story. But it will suffice me to say that I'm glad I live in a country where we don't have to worry about those kinds of things happening. I'm grateful for those who are abroad defending those freedoms and for those who have made the ultimate sacrifice.
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