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Rebel · (09-11-2013)

September 11, 2013
9/11 Remembrance Ceremony
Ground Zero, New York City

The warmth of the morning sun warms Jonny Rebel's skin as he sits a few rows from the front of the ceremony. A somber mood resonates from the crowd of soldiers, law enforcement, fire fighters and civilians. A stage, layered in red, white and blue, stands in front of the close to 1000 people in attendance. New York City mayor, Michael Bloomberg, stands on the stage talking about the happenings on this morning, 12 years ago.
At 8:46 am, the entire ceremony has a moment of silence. This is when Flight 11 crashed into the North face of the North Tower of the World Trade Center.
You can hear a pin drop at the silence. It seems that the whole world has acknowledged this moment and gone silent. It's as though time itself has stopped.
But alas, the moment passes and another speaker walks up onto the stage to cry, or give their opinion.
Jonny sits with his eyes closed. He showed up here because he was invited by the mayor. Apparently Mike Bloomberg is a fan of the XWF and a Jonny Rebel fan. He even wore his military dress cloths for the occasion. The brisk breeze from the Hudson River gives Jonny a reprieve from sweat that is being compiled under the Marine dress cloths. Jonny thinks to himself while the ceremony continues.

Rebel

12 long years ago I made the decision that would control my life for the next 10 years. As I sat in shop class, goofing off with my fellow juniors, we had no clue what was about to happen.
I was pouring break fluid on my hand and lighting it. The fire burned blue, but didn't burn your hand as long as you shook it off in time. Occasional, someone would get a slight burn, but nothing bad.
All of a sudden, the alarms in the school went off. Since Columbine school shootings, my high school upgraded all the rooms to lock in case of a similar emergency.
The doors locked shut and the principle announced what was going on and instructed the teachers to not turn on the TV's. My shop teacher, whose name I have long since forgotten, said screw that. He explained that we were living through history and he turned on the TV. The first tower had just been hit. No one knew what was going on. The kids in my shop class kept saying all kinds of things, but I think we all had a feeling about what was happening.

Jonny opens his eyes as Mayor Bloomberg gets back on stage. He asks for another moment of silence. At 9:03 am, Flight 175 crashes into the south face of the South Tower of the World Trade Center. Again, the world and time seems to freeze as the world reflects what happened 12 years ago. No birds are chirping, no dogs barking, nothing. After a moment, Mayor Bloomberg address the crowd and announces the next speaker. Some wife of a lawyer that worked in the South tower. Jonny closes his eyes again.

Rebel

So, after the second plane hit the second tower, my principle told us to stay in our current classes. So as I sat in shop class, people were rushing away from the Trade Towers. But for as many people that were rushing away, many were headed towards the chaos. My teacher was speechless and sat at his desk crying. I was still unsure about what was happening. It can't be a coincidence that two planes hit two buildings so close to each other. At the time, the news kept repeating the word terrorism. My classmates and I had no clue what that meant. Our teacher explained and we were slowly understanding what was going on.
In my world, at that time, I would have never thought this could happen to America. We were the United States of America. People loved us and wanted to be like us.......not so much is what our teacher went on to tell us. It was a harsh reality.

The ceremony would go on. Jonny sits quietly and listens to the various tales and stories. Everyone has one, but Jonny has heard all forms of them, one way or the other. The time would go by slowly.
At 9:37am, there is another moment of silence because this is when Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon.

Rebel

As we sat watching the news, they cut in to tell us that another plane crashed into the Pentagon in Washington DC. That's when it hit me that all of this was deliberate. It took a little longer to snap in me, but I understood what was going on now. We were under attack. The country that I loved and was growing up in was under attack.
The rest of my classmates were talking about what was going on. I sat by myself and took in everything.
As I sat there thinking, watching the news, the worst thing happened. The South Tower collapsed. It looked like a bomb had went off and people were running away from it, but still, a select few ran towards it. As crazy as it might seem, people were running to help.

Jonny opened his eyes to the present moment. At 10:03am, Bloomberg called for another moment of silence as this is when United Airlines Flight 93 crashed in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. Bloomberg called the people on that plane heroes. They were. They prevented that plane from causing so much more harm.

Rebel

I started to cry because I had family in Somerset County, Pa. I didn't know if they were safe or not. As I sat there thinking, the North Tower collapsed and cause further chaos. In my mind, I kept asking myself the same thing. Had we, as Americans, really pissed someone off that much. So much death and chaos being caused all because someone is mad at the United States.
Well, after a few hours, school closed early and I got home. My family was distraught. I watched the news all evening and the next day. School had been closed. I called a friend and both he and I went to the local recruiter. We signed up to join the military. We both signed up for the Marine Corp.

As I open my eyes, Mayor Bloomberg had gotten back on stage.

Mayor Bloomberg

The tragic events of 9/11 did bring some good for our country. A renewed sense of patriotism, and a new generation of men and women to fight for our country. This next gentleman is among those that I speak of. He served his country and saw first hand the horrors of the world. He is a hero, a soldier, a future King of the XWF, Jonny Rebel.

Jonny walks up on stage to some cheering.

Rebel

I don't know for sure what Mayor Bloomberg wants me to say while I'm up here. Um, the tragic events of 9/11 caused many people to do many things. Some people prayed, other cried. Some collected money and gave money to those who needed it. Me, I did what I thought I should do. I took up arms. I joined the Marines. Right after I finished high school, I left for training.
I was good at my job and I loved it. But I did see the worst that this world has to offer. Many of you know my story, so I won't bore you with it. If you don't know it, there are some books that recount the story, though they aren't entirely accurate.
Anyways, this is a day to remember those who died for this country, both on 9/11 and the days and months following it. America is the greatest country on the planet, and as much as people say they hate us, they want to be like us. They want what we have. That's why they hate us. And to those people that hate us, I say fuck them all. I don't know if I can cuss, but I did because I could. The last thing we as a country should do is stop doing what we do. We need to be who we are. Arrogant, loud, and proud to be Americans. Thank you! And for the XWF fans out there, Mayor Bloomberg, I'll be winning my match for the people of the United States of American.

Jonny salutes the crowd and gets a huge ovation. He walks off stage and the scene fades watching Jonny walk away towards the remains of the World Trade Center monuments.

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