9-11

Over a lifetime there are a lot of moments and many days you remember clearly.  There are good times and bad times, but there are only a few times that people will never ever forget.  Certainly the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1944 and President Kennedy's assassination on November 22, 1963 are two of those days and the most recent unforgettable day was September 11, 2001.

On the 18th anniversary of the terrorist attack on our country, it is impossible to avoid thinking about that day and that particular week.  The shock, anger, horror, and sadness that we experienced was unlike anything I had ever experienced. (I was only 3 in 1963) 

A couple things stick out in my mind from that week.  I was on the road that day and heard what happened in a deli when two guys were talking about a plane going into a building.  I was a distance from them and it sounded like they were telling a joke or talking about a television show.

As I drove around I listened to news reports and also music stations playing patriotic music.  When I hear Ray Charles singing, "America the Beautiful", I still think about the events of 9-11.  A short time after 9-11, I took my youngest daughter to a McDonald's and I clearly remember seeing all the American flags inside the store, which was very moving.

Living in the south on 9-11 is different than living in New Jersey.  Newspapers and radio stations do not cover 9-11 the same way down here.  However, driving to work this morning I was reminded of 9-11.  As I crossed over an overpass, I saw two men with very large American flags.  They were walking on each side of the overpass very slowly and displaying the flag for the cars below them.  I heard a number of cars honking and moments later I heard Ray Charles singing "American the Beautiful."

The events of 9-11 will never be forgotten.