9/11: Our work is not done

Here it is. September 11, 2005, five years to the day of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and the foiled attempt that ended in Shanksville, PA.

So much has been said, analyzed and commented on over the years that one is truly left with trying to come up with something original. I guess my whereabouts were not as dramatic or fortuitous as others but that just points to the ordinariness of a day in the life of a healthcare worker. I was out and about earlier than usual that day. I had to drop my dog off at a new groomer I wanted to try across town. And that was fine...the dog lived to tell his tale. As I was returning to south Medford, coming down the main north-south arterial, I was sort of listening to the morning DJ's on the soft rock station I listen to and thought that they had crossed the line of good taste by giving us this "story" about a terrorist attack on our own soil. Now, I knew it wasn't impossible because of the Oklahoma City bombing years before, but c'mon, the World Trade Center? Give me a break already. As I came through town I had to stop by the local BMW dealership to pick up a part for my car but when I got inside the building, everyone was crowded around the large TV's in the waiting area of the showroom. And there it was. No sick joke by any DJ. This was for real.

As I pulled up in my driveway, my mom opened the front door, weeping. We stood there , after I had gotten inside, and at that moment we watched the first tower collapse in disbelief. It was going to be a very long day...

Practically on that very day, people began thinking of a memorial to those who died innocently that fateful hour, in the various buildings and on the planes. There is now a concerted effort underway to fund and build this much needed memorial. Please go to http://www.buildthememorial.org/site and see what is being planned, how you can help and also hear the stories, and see the names...so that those who died that day will not be forgotten in the rebuilding of that area of Lower Manhattan.

In the comment section of this article, please feel free to share where you were on that day five years ago, and your thoughts then and now...as our own way of remembering those 3000 plus individuals--business men and women, service workers, police, fire, and rescue workers, children, clergy, and the many others who were simply on the ground walking to work or taking the subway. And let's do it for us, the living, and for America, and all the nations that were adversely affected by these acts of hate and unconscionable slaughter. As for the American spirit, long may she wave...