{never forget}

"I'll just catch the news quick before taking Tessa to school" I thought as I clicked on the tiny little TV on top of the hutch in the kitchen.

The local news appeared to be over when the TV came to life and instead of seeing the normal Fox 11 morning news cast, I was watching a live broadcast of the "terrible accident" that had just happened in New York City as an airplane had crashed into one of the Twin Towers just moments before.  I, along with countless others across the nation and the world watched in horror as the reality sunk in that this may have been far more than a "terrible accident" as on live TV, we saw the 2nd plane hit the south tower. I remember in that moment, I whispered, "Lord, come quickly".

I didn't know what was happening, or what would happen, but I knew it just didn't feel right and that 2 planes flying into 2 buildings couldn't be just an accident. I packed up the girls and brought Tessa to school. Having arrived early to start the day, her teacher was still unaware of the events unfolding outside of the quiet little country school Tessa attended and I headed home to watch the news as more events unfolded.

I remember as I grew up, I'd heard stories from my parents about where they were when JFK was shot, when they heard Elvis died {we were on vacation in our little Red VW Beetle and heard it on the radio}.  I remember sitting in PE class hearing that Ronald Reagan had been shot {I was a Freshman in High School} and I remember where I was when the Challenger exploded {2 years out of High School, working the drive up at First National Bank}. It's true that events like this are forever etched into your memory.

I was scheduled to work at the Sub Shop next to the High School that day, so I dropped the "littles" off and went to work where I found my boss, also glued to the little TV in the back prep room/kitchen.  Tammy's good friend was a stewardess and worked flights in the path of those directly affected by the events of the day.Tammy had not been able to make contact with Julie, and we worried about her together as we made mozzarella bread and sub sandwiches for the students who came over on their lunch break. As the day unfolded, I went home from my shift, Rickey arrived home from work and we along with many other families got into our cars and waited in line to fill up with gas {nobody KNEW what was happening, it seemed like the right thing to do "just in case"} and then we headed to church for a prayer vigil.

It is true. Days of tragedy draw people together, they draw a nation together. We saw the best and the worst in human kind on 9/11/2001 and in the days, weeks and months that followed.  Just this morning, I saw a story of Daisy the Golden Retriever who saved over 900 lives that day, going back into the towers time after time, leading emergency personnel to victims needing help. We saw people loving on people, regardless of age, race, gender, religion or sexual orientation.  We saw people loving people and people willing to give their lives for their brothers and sisters, known and unknown. Yes, we saw the "worst" of humanity in the form of the terrorists, but we also saw the best of humanity in so many ways! 

No, we will "Never Forget" the events of 9/11. It is a day that we will remember. We will remember where we were. We will remember what we were doing. We will remember the emotions that we felt. We will remember the stories that riveted us and we will remember the stories that moved us to tears. We will remember the images that are forever in our minds of the unthinkable happening as terrorists hit us on our own home soil, our "safe place". We will remember the changes that took pace in our world following these attacks {remember how easy it was to get on an airplane before 9/11?}. We will remember so many things .... and yet, we have also forgotten ....

Where is the love that we saw exhibited that day? Where is the giving of one's life for their brothers/sisters? Where is the compassion for ALL humankind, regardless of age, race, gender, religion or sexual orientation?

Let us take a moment to remember these lessons, and let us strive to cling to those lessons as well. Let us not forget those who lost lives and gave the ultimate human sacrifice for others that day, but let us also remember what LOVE looked like. Let us remember to love each other, regardless of age, race, gender, religion or sexual orientation. Let us truly "Never Forget"!