Sept 11th 2003

[GalvestonDuck]

Ariana Richards, Ludacris, Harry Connick, Jr., Virginia Madsen, Amy Madigan, Kristy McNichol, and Brian DePalma were all born on September 11th. So was Dylan Klebold.

On September 11th,
1985 - Pete Rose got career hit # 4,192, surpassing Ty Cobb's record. Who cares now, but it used to be a milestone.
1977 - Rhoda got divorced. I remember it being a bigger deal when she got married.
1962 - Beatles "Help!" hit #1. I wasn't born yet, so I don't remember that.
1773 - Ben Franklin wrote "There was never a good war or bad peace."

and the most ironic,

1609 - Henry Hudson discovered Manhattan Island
1962 - American Trappist monk Thomas Merton wrote in a letter: 'We have not tasted the things given to us in Christ. Instead, we have built around ourselves walls and cells, and buried ourselves in dust and documents, and now we wonder why we cannot see God, or leap to do his will.'

The last one comes from William D. Blake's Almanac of the Christian Church, 1987. Written before 9/11, so it's not a hoax. Just really bizarre.

[vbhoutex]

For some reason this year 9/11 has been more on my mind than last year. I have no idea why.

That fateful day changed my life forever as it did billions of others. I gained some fast friends from our conversations about it, mostly here on the boards. I've always been a "news hound" and that has just gotten worse. One thing I have done since then is fly several times, including one trip to NYC. Those of you from the TWC boards know about it,
so I won't repeat the whole thing here. For those that don't know about it, long story short-I was given an opportunity to go to NYC with a 150 voice choir taken from 4 different churches here in Houston and a college choir in Tennessee and one from New Jersey. When invited I had no way of paying for the trip and I asked that the Lord's will be done and started practicing with the choir not knowing if I could do it. Obviously the Lord wanted me there, since I did go. We sang a concert at Carnegie Hall-AN AMAZING EXPERIENCE THAT I WILL NEVER FORGET!! I also was privileged to meet one of our board members and spend a day with Raine in the city. We visited Ground Zero and left a message from the PBS and lit a candle and said prayers. I visited the site two different times while there. The first was a heart wrenching, tear jerking experience for me. The second was a heart warming, hopeful experience for me. Why did I go to NYC, besides to sing at Carnegie Hall? To give back to NYC some of the hope that had been taken away-I had no choice. The Lord directed me there.

Enough, I must leave room for others.

[azsnowman]

I remember that trip you made very well David! What a GREAT deed that was Brother, OH and you too raine...I will never forget what you folks did, lighting the candle and leaving a message from the Pot Belly Bunch!

Dennis

[Stephanie]

Ariana Richards, Ludacris, Harry Connick, Jr., Virginia Madsen, Amy Madigan, Kristy McNichol, and Brian DePalma were all born on September 11th. So was Dylan Klebold.

On September 11th,
1985 - Pete Rose got career hit # 4,192, surpassing Ty Cobb's record. Who cares now, but it used to be a milestone.
1977 - Rhoda got divorced. I remember it being a bigger deal when she got married.
1962 - Beatles "Help!" hit #1. I wasn't born yet, so I don't remember that.
1773 - Ben Franklin wrote "There was never a good war or bad peace."

and the most ironic,

1609 - Henry Hudson discovered Manhattan Island
1962 - American Trappist monk Thomas Merton wrote in a letter: 'We have not tasted the things given to us in Christ. Instead, we have built around ourselves walls and cells, and buried ourselves in dust and documents, and now we wonder why we cannot see God, or leap to do his will.'

The last one comes from William D. Blake's Almanac of the Christian Church, 1987. Written before 9/11, so it's not a hoax. Just really bizarre.

Interesting facts!

I remember that trip that David made to NYC and that he met Raine there. I believe I had just started on TWC a few months before and it was a thrill to be apart of that PBS thread back then just like now.

[azskyman]

It's been two years.

I just watched the video again of both planes hitting the towers...as a reminder of why I feel the way I do.

We've done a hundred things to jump start the economy since then. We ran roughshod into Afghanistan on horses and humvees...purging out that nasty feeling in our gut.

We've sent thousands of troops to Iraq...charging through that country much like the cavalry did 150 years ago here in the West. "Shock and Awe" they called it.

But guess what? The pain from that day is so deep in the pit of our stomachs...and so etched in pain in our hearts, that the economy just can't forget. And we discovered that shock and awe can not bring back the more carefree days like September 10, 2001 and before.

Those attacks were personal. Against things we believe to be good, not evil. And they were against people like you and I who were just doing what we do in this country to live out our lives.

This is a long term war on terrorism that we fight. Years, perhaps decades. More to come. More to see. More to feel. More to cry about.

Still...in all this pain and anguish can be found some circles of friends, like those of us here at Storm2k, who because we shared the pain of those days have something in common besides the sky we enjoy.

Seeds of friendship have grown from the ash. And the families of the thousands who perished can take some solace in the fact that friendships are more appreciated these days.

Handshakes are more solid. Hugs more heartfelt.

And laughs, when the come, are more appreciated.

We must never forget, and when the next ugly head rises on this country again, the enemy now knows it is not just contending with the military might of the United States, but the souls of people like us who will simply never let evil perservere on our soil.

azskyman

[vbhoutex]

AMEN AZSKYMAN!!! AMEN!!!!!

[azsnowman]

Steve, no truer words have been spoken......"Thank You!"

You must be talking about the special they aired on MSNBC last night......my God, the feelings it brought back to the surface. The feeling of being lost, the hopelessness, the anger, the pain, the deep sorrow ALL came back to me, rushing like water. They showed different shots that had never been aired until last night......I'm still in shock all over again.

Dennis

[azskyman]

Actually Dennis, I just watched the streaming video available online again. I did see the CNN special earlier in the day, however.

It's one of those kinds of deep sadness that comes back and can seem overwhelming...much like losing a family member.

[OtherHD]

I am going to be honest and say I don't think my life has really changed that much after 9/11. Sure, I will always remember it, but I am going about my life the same way now as I did on 9/10/01. The only thing that has changed is that I am more in tune with current global events. I'm also more interested in political issues as well. But honestly, other than that, nothing has changed for me.