RE: 9/11
It was a few years ago. I had been terminated from my job in June, while I was on vacation. I was very depressed. I was in our upstairs room, on the computer. I was looking at monster.com, oregonlive.com, and any othe rwebsite I could think of that would have job opportunities. Sweet Baboo calls me downstairs saying, “You’ll want to see this.”
What I saw still brings a tear to my eyes. Our country was under attack. I had friends that worked for AON, floor 110 I believe. not close friends, but business acquaintances. I saw people jumping of the buildings. When the TV-journalistas finally realized that’s what it was (they thought it was some kind of debris falling from the buildings) they eventually moved the cameras away. People jumping to certain death. On-air arguments that this was a sane, and even relatively proper choice. Avoid awful death by fire(and, as it would turn out, collapsing building) OR chose to die, and how to die, by jumping.
The Firefighters (and police?) and other brave souls, rushing IN to guide people out. Firefighters aware of the 60-minute rule. Any structure burning for 60 minutes of more will collapse. You don’t know exactly when, but it will collapse.
Then the towers fell. First one, then the other a short while later.
…
Six years later. There have been other national and personal tragedies since, but that one will be ingrained in our memories like Pearl Harbor, the Kennedy’s and Martin Luther King Jr’s assassinations. We spoiled boomers have never seen our nation attacked in such a way. We hope to never see such a thing again. Some of us act like we’ve forgotten. like he holocost of World War II, we should Never Forget.
This September 11th, where ever you are, fly the United States flag. It was not just US citizens that lost their lives that horrific day, there were many from other countries that were murdered. Heroes that had rushed in, uncertain they could save their own lives, to save the lives of others.
Honor those heroes. Honor the victims. Honor those who have gone overseas to fight for our freedom. Disagree with the need for war, or this war. Disagree with our leaders. honor the heroes that are putting themselves in harm’s way so you, and hopefully they, can live in a country with the freedoms we cherish, and the freedoms most of the world envies.
Fly the flag.
