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Saturday, September 11, 2004
Today’s post will be different from most. Perhaps it will touch you, perhaps it will anger you, perhaps it will make you fall to your knees and praise the Heavens for your blessings. I don’t know. I can only tell you that I am writing what is on my heart and will continue to do so for as long as I am able. I will do another post this weekend. For now . . . take care. Three years ago, our lives changed in a manner we never dreamed of. Three years ago, our nation was attacked, our citizens killed, our future was uncertain. We all have those moments from 9/11 that we remember . . . where we were, who we were with, what we were doing when we first heard the news, and what happened to us in those first moments. September 11th, 2001 will go down in history just as the assignation of President Kennedy, the start of the Gulf War, and Dr. M.L. King’s assignations did, moments and days that are forever branded within our souls. Those of us that are able - will look back on that day in 20, 40, 60 years and tell our children/grandchildren about it, how much our hearts hurt, how frightened we were. We all have those images of 9/11 that we can’t forget. For some, it is the image of NYFD firefighters standing upon the rubble of the Twin Towers. For some, it may be the image of the crash site in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Perhaps it is a vocal image that you remember . . . maybe hearing the operator who relayed Todd Beamer’s heroic words "Let’s Roll." Words that the nation remembers from 9/11: "...apparent terrorist attacks" "...a national tragedy . . . " "...coordinated acts of terrorism . . . " "Terrorism against our nation will not stand . . . " "I'm afraid we can only imagine the terror and the carnage." "May God bless the victims, their families and America . . . May God bless the victims." Words my family remembers from that day: "I believe Karen was on Flight 77. I don’t know what to do next." Three years ago, unbeknownst to us, our daughter Karen took an earlier flight in order to file a motion and surprise her father for his birthday on the 13th. The last I heard from her was on the 10th when she told me she would be in Boston on the 13th to surprise Ben. At the last moment, she decided to take an earlier flight, file a motion, and arrive at our house one day earlier than expected, therefore surprising us both. Her story ends there. I had no idea she was on that flight, nor did I have any reason to worry about it because she wasn’t due on a flight for two more days. So many things left unsaid, so many questions left unanswered. Did she know she was about to die? Did she make peace with God before it happened? What were her last thoughts? Did she know we loved her? Did she know we were proud of her? What was the purpose to her death? Will we ever have that answer? Today our nation mourns the loss that occurred on 9/11 among the three crash sites. Our nation prays together, strangers weep together, and in general we pull together to support each other today. For our family, today is no different from the previous 1095 days. Our hearts grieve for the loss that occurred, our loss, your loss, they are all heartbreaking. Today . . . my prayers are with you, our extended family, as we remember what we will never forget. |