Do you remember where you were between 0803 and 0915 six years ago?
I do... I know this should be my "welcome or joining IN" to the blogging world, but today just so happens to be the infamous 9/11. At the time I was still on active duty in the Air Force, and I was on my way to work. Security was so tight for everyone getting on the base, we where stuck waiting to drive on for about 3 hours! I honestly hope that you will take a few moments out of your day this morning to sit in silence for all the innocent lives that perished that horrific day of nation-wide tragedy and grief. Isn't it simply amazing how Americans as a nation separate ourselves from fighting and bombings when it comes to other countries... normally 3rd world countries, and we offer our support, but to us... oh let them fight... But notice how things changed when it was brought on our soil; does it really always have to be something so disastrous for us to open our eyes and realize that just because we're in America, we're not invincible? I was on the other side of this hiatus crime... at that time, I was a "warrior" not only for God, but also for all American citizens; did I react differently to this situation? You bet I did! I honestly went into fight or flight mode, even though I was just as terrified as any other American, I couldn't show it; not with that uniform on! My single mission that day was to "get the right information to the right place/people, and get it there on time all the time!" I had stepped up to the plate to fill in where ever I was needed. This one day was a very huge catalyst in my life...
This was the day I became sick.
For the first time in my career, I saw a lot of people looking at the big picture. Everyone was pulling their weight and working as a team. I designed all kinds of tracking databases for 100 percent accountability at all times, and I had started working anywhere from 12-16 hours each day, without complaining about it, or not getting a lunch! Within 48 hours we were deploying a lot of people that normally wouldn't have. This is when reality set in again! So I worked harder, we were going to be short staffed and I had been there a while... So, I may not have been in Tower I, II or the Pentagon that day, but a part of me died that day... as it did with other co-workers. When the heavy dust settled almost 8 months later, I was diagnosed with Graves' Disease, co-workers were coming back from deployment sites practically devastated, and with a completely different attitude, and the city of New York no longer had that beautiful architectural icon that once stood so proudly...
So, today, I charge you with taking a moment of silence, go out of your way today to smile at someone you've never met and just say "Hello"... Maybe if we stop living in a closed society, we may have been a little more aware of our surroundings!
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