Over Thanksgiving break I went to NYC with my girlfriend. Before we even left, we both decided not to make any effort to visit "ground zero". The atmosphere in the city was...unexpected. I expected New York to be different after 9-11. Other than the occasional American flag in a window, and the multitude of red, white and blue items for sale in Chinatown, I really noticed little difference. At times, I forgot that it even happened...That is until we tried to put our bags in a locker at Port Authority bus station. Normally, this would not be a problem. Of course they have lockers at Port Authority we thought...that's where the muppets lived in the classic film "Muppets Take Manhattan". After several minutes of searching, we were informed by an employee that, "Aint nobody in the city gonna take your bags". Oh yeah, terrorism. After carrying a sixty pound backpack around Manhattan, with one of my girlfriend's size ten shoes jabbing my spine at every step, my sense of surreal peace had been crushed. It seems that we can only truely come to grips with something as terrible as 9-11 until it personally effects us. As trivial as having my morning in my favorite city in the world ruined by a backpack is, it actually brought terrorism home for me. I know that the events of 9-11 have brought about a great resurgence of national pride. But the truth is, those American flag stickers on everyones' cars will fade, and eventually be replaced by something beginning with "Proud Parent of..." I just hope that everyone in our country will be effected. I hope we all are inconvenienced, bothered, angered, and pissed off by the changes in our once comfortable lives. If it helps us remember what happened, and more importantly, what can happen, it will be worth the trouble.