Very nice Will. You too Donny...
9-11 was a tragic event of the scope that will have me always remembering exactly where I was and the shock and disbelief I felt.
I was coming home from a week's vacation in NH and as is our tradition we stopped at the Bear Notch deli in Bartlett for our final breakfast meal before the 7+ hour trip. We left the deli at about 8:30 am. I almost never turn on the radio on Kancamangus highway because it is a very hilly and mountainous area, and reception is generally poor, but for some reason I had it on and the reception was ok. I was listening to Imus in the Morning when the first plane hit. The reports were unclear at that point as to what happened, but as soon as the secfond plane hit, I, like most of the world, figured out pretty quickly what had happened. The ride home was surreal, and I can't quite describe the feeling I had, except I sensed that many lives were changed forever. I barely noticed the ride home anymore and it seemed like the 7 hours went by in about 15 minutes.
Here in upstate NY, it seems like everyone knows someone who was at the World trade center that day. My wife's best friend lost a cousin there. One of my co-workers lost a firefighter cousin named Doug Miller who responded to help at the scene. Today I saw his name on the back of our local paper along with the names of the other residents of the area who lost their lives that day..
I wish we knew better ways that peoples of different cultures could resolve their differences so that things like 9-11 and wars didn't have to happen. I like many of us, felt and still do feel a sense of anger and a need to bring to justice those responsible for this act of terror, but I also hope that future generations can find better ways to settle differences. It may or not be a realistic expectation, but I can hope....
AJ
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AJ