Phyl:
Thank you for the poignant reminder of what we lost on a beautiful late summer day, 7 years ago.
Although I did not suffer any personal losses that day, I was as shocked as anyone else and still feel the ramifications of that terrible event. I believe we Americans lost some of our innocence (complacency, really) and then were momentarily brought together by the enormous tragedy that we now refer to simply as '9/11'. We were reminded that we, as U.S. citizens, are not immune to suffering and sudden death at the hands of evil people who were willing to die in order to kill Americans. Rational people have a hard time understanding that kind of evil intent. I did. That the horrific acts of 9/11 were fueled by the perpetrator's misguided belief that their deity approved of the mass murder of innocent people and would reward the murderers with some sort of celestial brothel is doubly tragic. Unfortunately, this kind of distorted thinking and self-righteous rationalization for mass murder still exists in many places in the world and could yet be the flame that lights another firestorm here, as it has in too many places around the globe, taking the lives of many innocent people. I pray that won't happen and there will be no more such acts of murderous terrorism on U.S. soil in my lifetime and that of my son (age 29).
As a fellow old enough to have been a young adult (age 20) when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22nd, 1963, I recall exactly where I was when I learned of the death of the president on that tragically memorable day. I also remember exactly where I was when I learned of the airliner crashes into the World Trade Center in Manhattan. Ironically, both times, I heard the news on the radio. In 1963, our TV set was not working and I had only a radio for news. On September 11th, 2001 I was in my car, waiting for my son to emerge from the college building where he was taking a make-up test to pass his science course that would allow him to be awarded his degree, when I turned on the car radio and the news bulletins began coming over the local CBS affiliate. All regular programming was immediately canceled.
When the first plane crash was announced and the FBI claimed it was an accident, I immediately knew it was no accident. A few months before I had been a passenger in a light plane, flown by a friend of mine. We had taken a flight around Manhattan and flew fairly close to the World Trade Center. I recall those towers looking enormous. Because the day (September 11th) was clear and sunny I knew that there was no way an airline pilot could not see these huge structures, much less, crash into them. I didn't understand what had happened at the moment but I knew it was bad. As the day wore on and I returned home (with my son) metaphorically glued to the television as the horror of what happened unfolded, I realized that this county was no longer safe from terrorists and that we had a new kind of enemy, fanatic and willing to die for his perverse convictions, believing that his god would reward him for killing innocents simply because they were Americans, not of his faith and opposed to what he believed in. I knew this was going to be a dark time for America, whether we realized it or not. Time has proven me only partially right. While we have lost thousands of our best young people in a war, since 2001, we've not been attacked again, when, seven years ago, most Americans were sure we would be. I won't attempt to debate the politics of the situation as that would be inimical as to why I post here and to my duties as a moderator. Suffice it to say that I"m grateful for our relative safety these past seven years, even as I fully understand that we can never truly be 'safe' from suicidal terrorists driven by a religious belief that God wants them to kill us.
Phyl, you're correct when you note that memories of 9/11/01 and the tragic losses of that day at the hands of murdering fanatics does put our problems, physical and emotional, in perspective. I find it sad that it sometimes takes a monumental national tragedy to achieve this but at least we were all together for a few days until politics took over and began dividing us, once again.
I share your sacred memory of those who gave their lives on that horrible day in New York City and those who, even now, are still affected by 9/11. The empty chair at the dinner table is a reminder of a tragedy that time may soften but never erase. My heartfelt sympathy goes out to those who live with that loss every single day, not just on each September 11th. I trust that those who perished on that fateful day will never be forgotten while those of us who lived through it - albeit remotely - remember them...and we will.
Jim
