I will never forget.
I cannot imagine any event that affected me as deeply as September 11, 2001. I was in Tampa on business in the middle of a presentation. I ended up stuck there all week as the planes were grounded. I sat in my room watching MSNBC horrified. In awe. Scared. Sad.
I continued to follow the news and the videos will never leave me, and I don't WANT them to leave me. We should NEVER go back to feeling so safe and comfortable in this country.
I think about all the people - men and women- that went to work that day. I have no doubt that many of them fought that morning or the night before with each other, with their parents or a friend or sibling. And you know what? I bet all the money in the world- anyone would TAKE ANYTHING BACK for another second with someone they lost that day.
When I get really angry at something- really upset at someone, I think- what if THIS happened again and I never had the chance to see them again or to say I'm sorry- what REALLY MATTERS THAT MUCH??
It's hard to forgive. It's hard to take the high road. It's hard to be kind when you want revenge. But we would ALL take it all back if someone we loved was in one of those buildings.
I remember the story of a dad who was talking to his son- in the second building above where the planes struck. He was assuring his son that help was on the way. As he was talking to his son, he was watching the footage and saw the building collapse, right after his son said something like, "Dad..there's something crashing..." Can you imagine??
Life is precious. Life is a GIFT. Relationships are a gift. People - CHERISH each day. CHERISH the ones you love, even when they drive you crazy. None of us are guaranteed another hour.
What I think is REALLY sad is that I went to YouTube to find some of the older tribute videos- they used the song by Enya called "Only Time" and all those videos now have had the audio removed due to "WMG copyright laws". YOU THINK FOR A TRIBUTE TO AN AMERICAN TRADGEDY YOU COULD GET OVER YOUR NEED TO MAKE A BUCK??? Unreal.
9/11