Here in rural ( in the boonies) Minnesota not much has changed since 9/11/2001. The local fire hall got some new fire trucks and equipment with Homeland Security dollars.
Of course I haven’t flown anywhere so I have not been subject to the pats downs or feel ups or whatever you perceive them as. I have not seen any bomb sniffing dogs. I have not seen any armed guards or Military men anywhere. I did see a security cop walking the perimeter of the hospital/clinic one day..I said Hi and Chance wagged his tail.
I don’t have any radical neighbors..of course I am related to many of my neighbors and most of the rest of them I have known my entire life.
Was I scared during the 911 attacks..of course I was..scared of the unknown. ( I was pretty sure in the boonies Minnesota was not a huge target.) Not much has changed for me in the past ten years. I am lucky.
I heard one day on the news that one in five Americans knew someone who was killed or injured in the 911 attacks. I knew no one.
I feel sorry for the children. The children that lost their Mothers or Fathers that day. I feel sadness for the soldiers that have died fighting terror and terrorists. I wonder if we can ever feel as free or as safe as we did on 9/10/2001:(
I to never new anyone in the 9/11 ! It was a devistating time, a time for saddness a time of disbelief ! I just hope all who lost loved ones in the 9/11 has been able to move on ! Have a good Sunday !
ReplyDeleteWe always seem to take stock on anniversaries, and especially after ten or fifty or a hundred years. I just hope that love and light can prevail in a world filled with such sadness. Blessings to you, Connie. I always feel a connection with you after reading one of your posts.
ReplyDeleteThe children haunt me. Both those who lost parents, friends or family and those who saw the TV coverage and were haunted by it. I'm sure many children had/have nightmares because of what they saw. Yesterday I heard a report that many young children thought hundreds of buildings fell. They couldn't comprehend that the images, shown over and over, were just repeated. How terrifying!
ReplyDeleteGreat post!
ReplyDeleteIt's still such a raw subject, and a fear...it most likely will always be.
ReplyDeleteI did not personally know anyone, just through a connection to other people, but it still effected us here in Canada just as intensely.
I think it shook the world to the core, making all of us realize that evil lurks everywhere, no matter where you live.
But somehow there is a small thread going through blogs, that love will prevail. Love and hope will mend this broken world, it may take time.....but we have hope.
Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams
Thoughtful post, Far Side. :)
ReplyDeleteThat number seems high - 1 in 5 Americans.....and then I remember how many people live on the East Coast and I suppose it could be true.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know anyone either. Besides a couple distant cousins - I only know ONE person who served in Afghanistan. (my best friend's brother - who came home with a brain injury). So, sometimes, the whole thing seems so remote....but I keep praying for everyone.
We were quite scared that day ten years ago since we are two hours from an international airport in Atlanta- - - near many nuclear plants and three hours from another major airport in Nashville. We could see those areas being very likely targets. However, like you, we feel relatively secure in our city. I have traveled out of the country once since then and see many friends travel. Security has gotten like OTC medicines after the Tylenol problem - - many, many safeguards.
ReplyDeleteI praise God we are still one country under God and pray our faith will increase more and more to the point it honors HIM internationally.
Did you ever talk to my brother about 9/11? He was supposed to be at a meeting there. Every time I talk to my kids about their dad, I think of those kids of 9/11...some losing both parents. It's very hard on children to lose parents. Nice Tribute!
ReplyDeleteI don't know whether "1 in 5" can be true, but I have a couple "friend of a friend" linkages to people who died and other links to people who were affected in other ways. One was about to get into an elevator in the first tower but stopped to buy coffee and thus saved his own life. It was a shocking and eerie time.
ReplyDeleteSad to say probably not. I was in front of my 1st hour class that morning when the principals secretary called me to turn on the TV in my room. I did....
ReplyDeleteThe overall impact was hard on all who were exposed to it. Our daughter and her family lived on Long Island at the time and it was frightening. We live in Western New York and were very fortunate. Just unbelievable.
ReplyDeleteIt was a traumatic time in our history...hopefully, we will soon put it in the same context as Pearl Harbor and make movies and remember, but not live our lives thinking of it...
ReplyDeleteA different perspective to many of the New York based posts I am reading today. Hopefully, the answer to your question is "yes". Within an historical context, the world is still probably safer today than it has ever been in history.
ReplyDeleteIt's the children and the young wives that I think about. Most had wonderful lives ahead of them and there lives will be much different. The country lost a lot of talent too. I am distrubed by the people who think there was another reason for the attacks.
ReplyDeleteI knew 4 people that were in the the twin towers - and 3 people that "just missed" being there, as their train was late getting into NYC.
ReplyDeleteThere are memorial benches and gardens all over here - many of the people there... commuted via train every day from here. People as far as Washington DC and Boston work in NYC (some perhaps only a day a week) so the loss was spread over 500 miles in Megalopolis.
I didn't know those 4 people that well - just quiet neighbors living quiet lives...
...until that day when they didn't come home again.
Reality of it all seems to fade as history continues to be made but those who live in New York City will be scarred just like the veterans of all of the wars have been. When evil is disguising itself as a martyr, we need to take notice and be sure it isn't glorified or ignored.
ReplyDeleteThings were a changing in 2010 and we didn't even know it. After watching nearly 3 days of remembrance's from nearly every channel I was touched by the many survivors stories told. We lost a lot that day - not just human lives but we lost our security. The world is a scary place sometime with so much meanness going on even in our own backyards. We have to be vigilant. I personally did not know anyone nor do I know anyone who new anyone but still it hits home to me.
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