REFLECTIONS

Today, September 11, 2011, is the tenth anniversary of one of the most atrocious attacks on America ever.  True, Pearl Harbor was atrocious but at the time it was not part of our country but the attack on the World Trade Center on September 11th was on American soil and not only were innocent Americans killed, but many who came from different parts of the world, so in a way, it was not only on Americans but on the world as a whole.  Only because one man thought he had the power and was doing God's work.  The only problem was he worshiped a false God, one who has the principles of Satan.

It was a beautiful September morning ten years ago.  As I sat in my living room watching TV waiting for the local station to come on with a weather report before my husband and I started our morning gathering of eggs.  We were living on the farm at the time and he had gone to check the poultry houses so I was alone when I heard the first report.  I was watching the Today show and I can remember Matt Lauer saying, "A plane has hit one of the Trade Center towers."  His voice echoed his concern and the curiosity as to why a plane would hit one of the towers.  They went to a film footage taken by someone, I don't even remember who now, as the shock of seeing the plane hit was so overwhelming.  The Today Show managed to get a live shot of the tower and then with horror, not only to me and millions of people watching but to the cast of the Today show itself, we saw the second plane come in and head straight for the second tower. It was like it was a movie and it didn't seem real at first and yet we knew it was.  

My husband came in and I told him what had happened.  We sat there as they replayed it and talked about it while trying to get information.  Just as we were about to leave, they broke in with the news that the Pentagon had been attacked.

We sat there looking at one another and then to the television screen, not saying a word.  I think we were in shock and numb from the visions before us.  How could this be happening?  What was going on?  Were we under attack and by who?  Were we safe?  What about our children and the rest of our families?  The thoughts racing through our heads were limitless and the fear inside us was nothing like we had ever felt before.

It was a feeling of shock and horror.  It was unbelievable.  How could anyone attack us?  I can remember that it wasn't just us who felt this.  We could hear it in the voices that came from the television set.  They were as numbed and shocked as everyone watching.  It was the unspeakable and it was hard to believe that it had happened even as we watched, it just didn't seem real.  But it was.

We had to go to our gather and rushed through it so we could get back to find out what was going on.  Our propane delivery man arrived just as we finished and was going back to the house.  I went on as my husband stopped to talk to him.  He hadn't heard the news as was out on his route.

I turned on the TV to hear about the plane crash in Pennsylvania and that they thought there could be more attacks in our large cities.  I hurried back to tell my husband, breaking down in tears as I thought about my brother and his family in Chicago, my oldest daughter and her family in Tulsa, his family who lived in the Dallas area and Wichita, Ks. area.  Friends we had over the country and the fear was almost more than I could bear.

We stayed in front of our television set as much as we could during that first day and the days following.  We watched in horror again when the towers fell and again the silence as we could find no words to say.  Our hearts were heavy as we thought about all those innocent victims on the planes, those in the towers, the Pentagon and on the plane that went down.  We prayed and hoped that more had survived.  We prayed that there would be no more planes with terrorists who had no regard for life, not even their own.

The days that followed were as numbing as we watched them clear the rubble from where the two towers had stood.  We saw the ground where Flight 93 went down because of the bravery of the passengers who knew they had to do something and gave up their lives in doing so.

It was a time when all America came together as one.  We had been violated and it affected every single one of us whether we had a loved one or not in the tragedy.  It was our fellow Americans so it was a strike on us as well.  The flags flew, people gathered together and prayed and our country was strong as we forged ahead.

The evil man who thought he could bring us down was hunted down and his henchmen were eliminated and it took longer but in the end he was caught and eliminated as well. But the terror does not end as he seeded the hatred in many of his followers so they continue to fight his war.  Yes, it is a war.  As part of his belief, he felt that anyone who didn't believe as he did was an infidel and needed to be killed.  That is not God's way.  But it is Satan's way.

We have been fighting this evil for ten years and will go on fighting it.  The bonds we made immediately after that horrific day have lessened but as we remember today, perhaps some of them will return to us and we can become strong again and continue this fight.  We can't let the devil win.

I sat quietly this morning listening to the quiet outdoors.  No one was moving about and only the birds were signing, as I imagine they were on that fateful day.  The sun was shining and the sky was clear.  It gave me time to reflect on that day and what has happened since then.

I don't think I was alone in my thoughts and even my prayers for those who died and the families they left behind as it was later when I first heard a vehicle and then the sound of children's voices as they came out to play.  For two hours, the quiet was a time for reflection, for prayer and for a renewed hope that our country would be safe and we would never face such horrors again.

Sometimes I think television has opened up a whole new way we see the world.  During WWII, we didn't have that option.  We relied on the radio and newspapers with reporters who were on the front lines giving us details and descriptions.  The news reels we saw in the movie houses showed the horrors of war too.

But then television made it possible for them to be there and record the events, good and bad.  The assassination of John Kennedy.  People were horrified and again when we watched the shooting of the assassin.  All from the comfort of our living rooms.  How could this be happening?  We asked ourselves then just as we did ten years ago.  We watched the funeral procession of the beloved president.

We watched the news every night about the war in Viet Nam and the demonstrations against it.  We watched as the Trade Center was hit before, the embassies around the world, the ships, the planes.  It was all there before us.

But on September 11, 2001, it was a horror beyond horror and we need to find that strength and courage we had following that attack on our country and stand together as Americans to defend our freedoms and our way of life or those who died on September 11 died in vain.  Our soldiers who have been fighting this battle on foreign lands and who have given their lives because of this atrocity have given them in vain if we do not stand together.

I saw something this morning that I want to end with.  GOD BLESS AMERICA -- AMERICA BLESS GOD!

Septembers of the Past

I think I like September the most of all the months.  It is the only month with so many changes but they are usually subtle and most enjoyable.

As a young girl, it always meant that school would start the day after Labor Day.  I always looked forward to that first day of school so I could wear my new dress and shoes and socks and carry my tablet and pencils and crayons in a sack.  We didn't have backpacks and a plain brown sack worked just as well for all that we needed.  As I got older, I remember adding a ruler, a compass and eraser to the supplies.

And we never knew what the first day would bring.  It could be a warm day, the lingering of the summer as fall peeked around the corner.  Or it might be cool so that a sweater was needed for early in the day.  I don't remember a rainy day but I'm sure there was one or two.

But the excitement and just the feeling that summer was over made September a welcome month.  I could even smell the difference in the air.  It was crisper and seemed fresher.  The cooler temperature made the days pleasant even though it was sad not to have the long evenings of summer.  It seemed that as soon as September arrived, the sun wanted to set early so the time we had after school was really the only play time we had.  Once supper was over and chores done, it was dusk so we seldom went out plus the evenings were effecting a chill with just a touch of dampness.

It wasn't just the start of school and the end of summer, but it was the beginning of the change between summer and winter.  Fall.  That beautiful time of the year when the trees display an array of color and the grasses turn from green to beige, the Mums burst forth in multiple blooms and the best of all, the smell of burning leaves as the smoke curls upward and hovers over the neighborhood.

September is the month that brings these changes and allows us to make that transition from those hot lazy days of summer to the pleasant days of fall and before the hibernation of winter.

To this day when I rake up a pile of leaves, I can hardly resist that temptation to run and jump right into the middle of them.  I can laugh about it now but when I was young, I can remember being told to help rake up the leaves and then either my brother or me would immediately jump into the middle of the pile scattering them again with our laughter and glee until our parents called out to quit playing and start working.

There is no spookier sound than to be walking alone with a wind blowing making the leaves travel down the road with their swishing sound.  You can almost hear the footsteps of the unknown and the heart quickens and the breathing becomes labored until you reach your safe destination and feel the relief that you have escaped the unknown whisperer out there.

But my biggest memory is the burning of the leaves. All the color has disappeared leaving the dry brown leaves littering the ground waiting to be raked up into piles. The crackling of the flames as they devour the dry leaves along with the smoke rising from the burning piles signal fall is here.  And by the end of September as we look forward to October, the air was always heavy with the smoke from the numerous piles of leaves.

The cool mornings and evenings are like a sandwich for the warm day in between allowing us to get out and enjoy long walks, children playing or just sitting on the porch watching, listening and smelling the scents of the approaching fall.  September will always be my favorite month and bring back those many memories of childhood and the innocence it held.  September, the gateway from summer to fall.