Patriot Day

Six years have passed since terrorists attacked the world trade center, pentagon, and the attempted attack on the white house or other symbolic target. Many people died that day. I can't even imagine the horror they faced. I do have a friend that experienced it. He wasn't lucky that day as his plane was torpedoed into the pentagon. He left behind a wife and two young children. He wasn't even 40 yet. It was horrific for all Americans to witness, but when you have a loved one that was involved, it becomes even more personal. It is one of those events where you remember where you were or what you were doing when you heard about the attacks. I was living and working in Louisiana. I hadn't left for work yet. When I saw the second plane hit the towers, I knew it wasn't an accident. I watched for awhile and then had to drive to work, which took me about an hour to get to from my house. I heard the towers fall while I was on the road. I just about cried. I wouldn't know about Chris being on the plane for another 24 hours. Page was substitute teaching that day in Bossier City and they wouldn't let them leave the classrooms all day. She had no idea why until she got home from work and by then so much had already happened. The President of the United States flew into Barksdale Airforce Base in Bossier City that day. You could see his plane coming in with fighter jets on all sides protecting his plane. He was a surreal day. We were all nervous because we didn't know if the terrorists would try to kill the President while he was in our town, or if they would bomb the base since he holds our largest fleet of B-52 bombers. The next week I would fly from Shreveport to Long Beach to attend and sing at Chris' memorial service. It was crazy. When I landed in Dallas, there were armed military personnel with assault rifles, in uniform, walking through the terminals. It was so different from the country I knew just weeks before. We all did seem united during that time.

Today, I feel we couldn't be more disunited. Everything is so political now. We just recently heard tapes from Osama Bin Laden. General Patreaus is before congress now discribing the war's progress. There are factions calling him a liar. The President's poll numbers are at an all time low. There is just a lot of political turmoil in the country. We have had more soldiers die in the war that followed the attacks than the numbers that died on that day.

But today is a day of rememberance for all those who perished that day. May God bless the families and the people who have been touched by these events. May God bless this land of freedom. May we find peace and be safe. I am truly thankful for the men and women who are serving in the armed forces that are sacrificing everything to protect our liberty.

I'm sure we all have our own stories from September 11, 2001.