Monday, March 06, 2006

My 9/11 Experience


Anyone who has visited my blog knows that the main issue here is terrorism. I've been a news junkie for about ten years now, but terrorism is the singular issue that drives me to spend a my spare time searching the Internet for the latest news, and posting on my blog. Before starting Amboy I was reading Jihad Watch and posting comments at least once as day. My favorites had an entire folder dedicated to Jihad, dozens of websites and articles to keep me informed of the enemy. I've read three of Robert Spencer's books and two by Craig Winn, and will probably read more on the subject in the future.


Although I was suspicious of Jihad and any kind of terrorism before 9/11, it simply wasn't an issue that concerned me as much as domestic issues of the time. I was sympathetic to Israel, but was more concerned with typical conservative issues. But, like most Americans, my viewpoint would be changed forever on that dreadful day.


Unlike most Americans, I experienced a series of nightmares that predated 9/11 by several months. At the time I couldn't make sense of the dreams that seemed to reveal a little more information with each episode. The first dream I just remember running, everyone was running from something, I was unclear to the nature of the threat, but it was bad enough to frighten me awake. The second dream was worse, there were dozens of planes flying overhead dropping bombs, again the theme of everyone running in panic from the explosions. I was so upset by the second dream that I woke my Wife ( I was still married at the time) up to talk about it. We both agreed that the dream didn't make any sense and was probably better left ignored.


Over the course of several weeks , the second dream repeated with minor variations. The feeling I got from the dreams was fear and confusion, Who was bombing us? While thinking about the dreams in my waking hours, I realized the planes were commercial airliners and not bombers. At first this confused me, but I decided that my unconscious mind had just invented a plane from recent memory, and the bombing must have been symbolic of something traumatic.

Perhaps childhood memories of “The Bomb”.

But there were other things in the dream I just couldn't make sense of. All the dreams took place in a city with tall buildings. I grew up in the suburbs and had lived there all my life, skyscrapers were not part of my environment. In the final dream I realized the planes were flying directly into the buildings, kamikaze style. At this point my conscious mind knew that these dreams were too absurd to be taken seriously and I quickly disregarded them. The feeling of a bad premonition went away and so did the nightmares.


On the morning of 9/11 I was off work, my wife called from her office and told me to turn on the news. I sat glued to the set and watched the first tower in flames. When the second tower was hit, I knew it was no accident, we were at war. The next day was my wedding anniversary and I took my wife out to our favorite restaurant. She was in good spirits and chatted happily until she realized I wasn't really there. When she asked me what was on my mind i recounted my dreams to her and confessed I had difficulty think of anything else.


The days that followed were filled with televised images of the towers collapsing, and the unfolding of Osama's evil plot. I couldn't help but wonder if the nightmares were true premonitions or just a bizarre coincidence. I suppose I'll never know for sure, but I'm happy to report I haven't had any bad dreams since.


6 Comments:

Blogger Always On Watch said...

The Sword of the Prophet is very comprehensive.

See this site for a good list. Some of the books at that site have reviews posted as well.

And let us know if you start having dreams again!

March 06, 2006  
Blogger WomanHonorThyself said...

Stay strong..Sept 11 will always b one of the saddest days of my Life.

March 06, 2006  
Blogger Brooke said...

On 9/11, I had just finished a night shift at the hospital OB floor where I worked at the time, and was at home, sleeping.

My husband had the day off, and my Grandmother had come over to visit with him and our three-month old baby.

They woke me up and told me what happened. I thought it was a mistake, untill the second tower fell.

My Grandmother, God bless her, was a child during WWII, and has seen all the wars since. When the first plane hit the WTC, she wisely said, "That kind of mistake doesn't happen. Someone has attacked us."

I vividly remember holding our sleeping baby and thinking, My God. What kind of future will she have to deal with?

We need to always remember, and viserally remember. We need to crush these Islamofacsists, and now.

March 07, 2006  
Blogger American Crusader said...

I lived in Staten Island New York during the late sixties and early seventies watching the Twin Towers being constructed. I still sometimes look for them. When I watched the Muslim world celebrate their destruction, I knew that we needed to take the war to them. I don't give a damn about nation building..I want to see more nation destruction.

March 07, 2006  
Blogger kevin said...

AOW,
If I do ever have another dream like that, you will hear about it here, but I want to caution against taking them too seriously. In fact, I wasn't even going to write about the dreams until I read another blogger who had a similar experience.

March 07, 2006  
Blogger Always On Watch said...

On 9/11, I became a news junkie.

March 08, 2006  

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