"September 11th, 2001, something serious happened and it wasn't any fun"

The quote comes from my junior year in high school. My english teacher had us form groups and do a presentation in memory of 9/11. The one year mark. My best friend, Kayse, and I made a rap. I wish I could remember the rest of it.
Yesterday was weird. I didn't see or hear much about the attack. To me, Katrina kind of took the spot light. But after all, four years ago, we were mourning victims of the Twin Towers and Pentagon. Presently, we care for victims of Katrina. Where will we be four years from now?
I don't understand Katrina the way I did 9/11. My dad was on a flight in to New York City the morning of the 11th. He missed his first flight, making him late to his meeting, located in the target zone. Half way through his flight, an attendant got on the PA system and said that there was a catastrophe that has occured in NYC and we will turn the plane around and land in DFW. I was really nervous. I went to school that morning and hadn't heard anything about my dad till lunch time. But my mom came up to school and pulled me out of class to update me. He was fine. My family was safe. My dad wouldn't talk about that day for a long time. I think it made him realize how close he could have been.
As I watch families torn apart on TV because of Katrina, I just see it. I mean, you see everything on TV and stuff like the horrible hurricane happens in movies. Not that this would be possible, but if I actually got to go to New Orleans and see the damage and hurt, I think I would understand it more. This morning, while working out, I watched an MTV News Report, Stories of Survival: After the Storm. It helped me see and learn more on my level. But I think it's amazing how much help efforts I have seen. In Tyler, Tx, over labor day weekend, I was bike riding with my cousins and saw little kids selling lemonade. They were giving the money they made to aide funds for the hurricane victims. They were four or five! And while I was babysitting last Saturday, these 8 year olds from down the street came by, explaining that they were walking dogs for money, and donating the money to Hurricane Katrina funds. I see all this help and I'm like, "damn", the USA really comes together in times of need.
Anyway, not that Katrina shouldn't overshadow 9/11, but I think we should remember our past. It's times of tragedy that the nation really pulls together.