09/11/2026
Sorry this is so long winded, but I believe it is important for our country to remember this day.
I wrote this 2 years ago, and don't think I can say this any better today.
September 11, 2024:
Today is a day in our history that should remind all of us why we need to stand as one country. As a divided nation, our enemies can gain unfettered access to us in the interest of doing us harm. This date stands as a dark example of that. It has been 23 years since that very dark day in our history, and I remember it like it was yesterday. That day could have been incredibly, and personally, tragic for my family. By God's Grace, it wasn't. On September 10, 2001, Chris was in her 7th month of being a flight attendant. She was in New York City. After a very long day of flying and dealing with the typical traffic delays around NYC, she and her crew had 1 more flight to work from LaGuardia to Indianapolis. The day had been so long they, as a crew, were in danger of timing out and being forced to stay overnight to get required rest. Luckily for us, that didn't happen, she made it home. Had she been forced to stay, she would have been in NYC for the next 5 days without her family, and dealing with the most emotionally tragic moment in her life. You see, the flight community is a family. They share a bond that a lot of us will never understand. That day, she lost family in the most tragic of ways. Victims of an attack on our country. The mental anguish she suffered that day and beyond was something I could only try to understand. I did everything I could to help her deal with it. I can only imagine, with a great amount of horror, what it would have been like for her if she had not been home with me and our boys. We did not personally know any of the victims that day, or any of the brave first responders that gave their lives in an effort to save others. But we felt the pain, just the same. And, for Chris, guilt. She felt guilty that she made it home the night before, and so many of her flight family never made it home.
Ours is but 1 minor story, and a far less tragic one, than most have of that day. But, I can promise you, we still feel the pain of that day even now, 23 years later. The positive of that day is that, for a short time anyway, this country stood as one. Politics did not matter. All the divisiveness that existed at that time disappeared, if only for a short time. We were reminded that, no matter our politics, we were one nation that needed to stand together to repel those that would do us harm.
So remember, not just today, but every day, what this day means to our country. Remember the horror, the fear, and the anger we felt toward our enemies that day.
Remember, too, the pride we felt watching the heroes of that day doing their duty at great personal sacrifice. Remember why they made those sacrifices. It was for the love and respect of their fellow Americans.
Remember the respect we had for one another. Remember the unity we felt.
Remember the love we felt for all Americans.
Let's do our damnedest to get back to that. It may be the only way to save our country.
Remember the heroes and victims of that day. Remember what they and their families sacrificed for this country, and let's try to make them proud of that sacrifice.
Peace to all.
