Gather Ye Rosebuds

Every year, on this anniversary, I want to write something profound. Something that makes people feel sad but gives them life, too. Something that makes people remember AND gives them motivation. Something that celebrates the lives lost and something that leads the people that remain to live life to the absolute fullest.

I have yet to find a way to do that... So I have found some videos to do it. First one-- from Dead Poet's Society-- is a great snippet. A reminder that you should do whatever you can to make the life that you live the most extraordinary piece of art that you can put together.




For the lives that we lost before September 11, 2001, on that fateful day, and after, we will always remember you. You are always in our hearts and on our minds... and we are here to continue your dreams, keeping you alive through our good works. People, tell your loved ones how you feel about them. Lay it out for the people in your lives. You never know when it will be the last time.


**Lyrics**
Sorry, I've never told you, all I wanted to say

And now it's too late to hold you
'Cause you've flown away
So far away

Never had I imagined
Living without your smile
Feelin' and knowing you, hear me
It keeps me alive, alive

And I know you're shining down on me from Heaven
Like so many friends we've lost along the way
And I know eventually we'll be together
One sweet day
Eventually I'll see you in Heaven

Darling, I never showed you

Assumed you'd always be there
I, I took your presence for granted
But I always cared
And I miss the love we shared

I know you're shining down on me from Heaven
Like so many friends we've lost along the way
And I know eventually we'll be together
One sweet day one sweet day

Picture a little scene from Heaven

Although, the sun will never shine the same
I'll always look to a brighter day
Yeah, Lord, I know, when I lay me down to sleep
You will always listen as I pray

And I know you're shining down on me from heaven
Like so many friends we've lost along the way
And I know eventually we'll be together
One sweet day

And I know you're shining down on me from Heaven
Like so many friends we've lost along the way
And I know eventually we'll be together
One sweet day

Sorry, I never told you
All I wanted to say

A Decade of Sorrow

Today is September 11. This date is etched in the minds of all Americans old enough to realize that the life we had a decade ago will never resurface in the same way again. I've written about the sorrow and the pain that we all undoubtedly felt as we watched the twin towers crumble, along with our faith in mankind a decade ago. I've written about my feelings, what I was doing, and that fact that I, like most of my peers, will never forget exactly what I was doing on that fateful day. As I watched a morning full of tribute shows, interviews with military strategists, family members of those who perished and children who were born on the now most infamous day in recent American history, I knew that this year's September 11 post would be different.

This year, I am still sad... of course. I am still praying for the family members that were left to put the pieces back together. I still feel pain when I see the accident site in Pennsylvania, when I look at the memorials at the Pentagon and Ground Zero. A decade later, it is still upsetting to see the playback of smoke billowing from both towers, faces covered in ash, people running for their lives down the streets of New York City, photos of posters of family members that would never be seen again. Even a toughy like me has problems processing that kind of hurt. But, my question this year is: we know what happened a decade ago... what have you done in the last decade?

So many times we allow years to just fly by. We graduate from college, get jobs and get stuck in a routine. A routine where we breathe but don't live. Do you know what I mean? We do responsible things like pay bills, go to work, etc. Those things are necessary and commendable but don't always allow for us to be passionate. Don't allow for us to make spur of the moment plans, or do what we really love- even if it is just on the weekends. Routines allow for us to stay in positions that may be stifling (read: jobs, relationships, etc.) That should change!

I don't know why someone would have enough hate in their lives to orchestrate something like those terrorist attacks. I am not sure what would ever motivate a person to commit suicide in order to punish/kill people that they don't even know. I don't know why anyone would feel the need to kill someone that has never done wrong to them. The one thing that I do know from September 11, 2001 is that you never know what could happen. You never know when your end is coming. So you should live the best life you can every day. You like photography? Take some classes, or get outside and take pictures. You want to travel-- do it! You want to go back to school? Do that. Love with all your heart; say everything that you really believe; tell all the people that you love how you feel-- not just on birthdays, or anniversaries-- every day. We should all have a sense of urgency. Life is so short and we should do everything that we are passionate about before our candles of life are blown out. Live the dreams that you have. Love people. Do not become complacent-- we are all here for a reason, therefore, we all have work to do. Get after it.

America: land of the free and home of the brave

It has been a couple years since I commented on September 11, what it means to me and what it means to this country. I think that with all that is going on and being proposed this year, I should take the time to add my two cents to the conversation. As I sit at my friend's computer, trying to wrap my head around these feelings that I have had 9 years to try to absorb, I find that again- I am speechless. Face it- we all know that is not usual. A lack of words flowing from my head, to fingers, to computer screen. If nothing else I have an opinion, right? If nothing else I will call someone a dumbass, or talk about how their decisions will not be ok with me, my budget, my life, my neighborhood... right?
The unspeakable acts that happened on THAT day, while I was getting ready for my very first Property class in law school- those acts leave me breathless, wordless; the ability to put sentences together is gone. To watch the coverage of it in my small rented house in Lansing, Michigan, seeing soot covered faces of ordinary people searching for their loved ones, crying as they recounted their last moments with their missing person. It is almost unbearable to write about 9 years later. It is just as unbelievable, just as hurtful, and I am just as wordless as I was in 2001. May God look upon favorably and hold in his arms those affected by the attack.

What has happened in the last nine years?

As seen by current news stories... a lot has happened to America, our state of mind and our intolerance. As stated above, I hate what happened in NYC nine years ago. God forgive me, I hate the people that did it. Nine years later, I hate those people. Those specific people whose selfish act brought pain to the doorsteps of every red-blooded American- I have no love in my heart for them. Zero. But you know what warmed my heart? The sight of ALL those American flags during the weeks and months after the attack. The camaraderie that everyone picked up. I loved how, even for a half of a second, being neighborly didn't just mean that you lived and got along with the people next door. We all came together and showed a united front. I venture to say that united front is gone.

In nine years everyone has settled back into the comfortable niches that they are accustomed to. Only on days like this do we bother with each other's stories of overcoming. We are quick- a little too quick- to step on someone to get ahead. I see it every day with this crazy economy that we are living with. The hate that I feel for those who brought this pain is shared with those who feed an intolerance that has engulfed some of my fellow Americans. The friendliness has started to diminish; the helpfulness is hard to find; there are Americans that feed the flame of hatred that is beginning to eat away at our country. The camaraderie is not 100% gone... often we show it to other nations, but, as a whole, we are not showing it to your neighbors. Too often I see that personal prejudices are getting in the way. This week in the news was full of ignorant people- unfortunately. That kind of thinking gets us no where, and I am saddened that around this day of remembrance that type of hatred even made news. If you follow me on Twitter, you know exactly where I stand in reference to the mosque and the "pastor"...

As noted above, I (as an outsider, meaning I had no immediate family or friends that died in the attack) still feel the pain of September 11, 2001. I feel it like it happened yesterday- not 9 years ago. What I wish for America is that we not only remember the pain but we remember and hold tightly to the hope that we shared after the attack. Remember the determination to show why America is such a great country; the bonds that we shared with those in our neighborhood, our city, state, region. Remember the pride you felt when honoring all the first responders, that hope that gave you butterflies when you saw the firemen from your city packing up food and supplies and driving to NYC to help anyway they could. Remember those tears you cried when all news stations played the National Anthem, while panning out on New York neighborhoods with flags on every doorstep. Remember that something horrendous happened and our country banded together and got through it. Remember that it was (and is) our similar qualities that makes us a working unit and our differences that make us unstoppable. Remember. Remember. Remember.

On this day of remembrance

As I think back to this date seven years ago, I can see very clearly where I was and what I was doing. When the events of September 11, 2001 began to unfold, I was sitting on my very small couch (loveseat) in my very small living room, in my very small rented house in Lansing, Michigan. September 11, 2001 was the beginning of my second week of law school. I woke up early that morning to look over my Property I homework (because if you have ever taken a property course you know that once is never enough). I turned on the TV for background noise and an hour later it happened.



Words cannot express the feelings that ran through my body that day. The panic stricken phone calls to my parent's house; the calls to my friends; the excessive news watching. I have never seen something like that before. In every movie you could ever find the depiction of NYC and its inhabitants is always the same: the city never sleeps, it will eat you alive, so will the people... To look up and see those people running in the street and crying; firefighters and police running into buildings; people hugging in the street or trekking across the Brooklyn Bridge... that sticks with you. That stuck with me. The aftermath of posters of missing people and searches sticks with me also. September 11th will never (should never) leave out consciousness. We should never forget that we are susceptible. We should never forget those we lost. We should never forget the bravery that was shown on that day and the weeks and months to follow. We should never confuse things that are happening now- most notably the war- with the things that happened on that day. On that day we all grew up a bit; there was a feeling lost that morning that we will never get back.



I remember so clearly on September 12, 2001 there was a news anchor reporting on the happenings of the day before. He said that September 11th was going to be written into history and on our minds like Pearl Harbor and the assiassination of JFK. We would always be able to look back and remember what we were doing and how our lives were affected by this terrorism. He was right. With that said, I am going to enjoy this pleasant fall day. I am going to call my parents and tell them I love them. I am going to go home and bake treats for my dogs and give them extra hugs and kisses, because as Horace says "Rejoice while you are alive; enjoy the day; live life to the fullest; make the most of what you have. It is later than you think." It is later than you think.