"We Climb Because They Climbed"

Only today did I become aware of the Dallas, Texas, 9/11 Memorial Climb. There were 343 firefighters participating, one to represent each member of the New York City Fire Department that died in the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center. Each of today's firefighters was given a badge with the name and biographical sketch of an FDNY firefighter who gave their life on September 11th.

I am proud to say that my cousin Dusty was one of the firefighters participating in the memorial today. These firefighters from Dallas and surrounding areas climbed, in full turn-out gear, 110 floors (55 floors twice) of the Renaissance Tower in Dallas.  What a fitting memorial! 

Worthy to note, however, is that today's climbers trained for months in preparation for the memorial climb. They weren't climbing against scores of panicked civilians trying to get down. There was no smoke, no fumes, no screaming, nothing blocking their way. No one was bleeding or injured. There was no hurry. There was no heart-locked knowledge of extreme danger. There was no threat to the lives of the firefighters or to anyone else.

The FDNY didn't have those advantages.

Knowledge of today's climb and seeing a video containing Dusty caused the American Eagle in my soul to raise its head a bit more. I am proud of being part of one nation, UNDER GOD. I am proud of the human spirit. I am an American!

Learn more at www.dallasstairclimb.com and LIKE their Facebook Page, Dallas 9/11 Memorial Climb.

FDNY, those who fell and those who still stand, and those who have joined the ranks since September 11, 2001, I remember you.

And Dusty, I remember you!

9/11 Angel

It was my honor to hear this song and see the video for the first time on the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. The artist is Becky James; she's a friend of my friend Valarie. Becky shares lyrics copyright with Sarah McLachlan. The lyrics are written for the Rescue Personnel from 9/11 and those additional Rescue Personnel who came from other states to assist in the many, many days of toil that followed. It is doubly my honor to share this with you. The song plays through twice, but the video is different. At first she is in New York, then she visits other Fire Companies that served at Ground Zero.

 "Angel -- September 11, 2001, Memorial Rendition"

by Becky James

Spend all my time waiting

for another day

For a day that will make it okay

There must be a reason,

but I don't understand

Why I'm here and you were taken away

No way of knowing

you didn't stand a chance

One's mind cannot fathom such hate

If you can hear me,

I want you to know

I would gladly have taken your place

In the arms of the Angels

Far away from here

In your peaceful surrender

You stood tall in the face of fear

I will never forget you

I salute you my dear friend

In the arms of the Angels

We shall meet someday again

The day's long been over,

but my anger rages on

Images seep from my veins

The world keeps on turning,

but it's not like before

Life will forever be changed

A solemn reminder

that freedom has a price

Makes it easier to believe

This sheer madness,

this immeasurable sadness

That brings me to my knees

In the arms of the Angels

Far away from here

In your peaceful surrender

You stood tall in the face of fear

I will never forget you

I salute you my dear friend

In the arms of the Angels

We shall meet someday again

In the arms of the Angels

We shall meet again.

All gave some, and some gave all. I remember you.

And to Becky James, who brought comfort to so many, putting into words that which many couldn't, I remember you.

Remembering 9/11/2001

It's been ten long years since that horrible day when hate came to us. When death visited our own soil. When innocents and innocence were obliterated. When thousands of Americans died and the rest of us mourned. Well, not all of us. Many Muslims rejoiced. They danced in the streets.

Here are the deaths that day. Read them and weep.

     In New York City, New York:
          World Trade Center Towers -- 2,606
          American Flight 11 -- 87
          United Flight 175 -- 60

     In Arlington, Virginia:
          The Pentagon -- 125
          American Flight 77 -- 59

     In a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania:
          United Flight 93 -- 40

     Total Deaths 09/11/2001 -- 2,996

Of these deaths, included are 411 Rescue Personnel:

     New York Fire Department -- 340 Firefighters
                                                                -- 2 Paramedics
                                                                -- 1 Chaplain

     New York Police Department -- 23 Officers

     New York Port Authority Police -- 37 Officers

     Private Medical Services -- 8 Emergency Medical Technicians
     & Paramedics

Let's not forget these were people, not just numbers:

United States Department of Justice Photo.

A collage of photographs of almost 3,000 victims,

nearly all of those who were killed

during the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001

(missing are 92 of the victims and all of the terrorists).

And remember also the thousands of loved ones left behind. The pain represented here is beyond comprehension and will continue into the next generations. People from over 70 countries were murdered that day.

From the rubble of the World Trade Centers appeared a Cross. It was a simple crossbeam of a demolished building, but it was a Cross. And it was standing. No one assembled it. No one erected it. It became a symbol of hope from the Hands of God. And now it has become a point of controversy from those who are suing to prevent the inclusion of the Cross in the 9/11 Memorial Museum, because "it's a religious symbol."

In June of 2007, now-president Barack Obama proclaimed, "Whatever we once were, we're no longer a Christian nation. At least not just. We are also a Jewish nation, a Muslim nation, and a Buddhist nation, and a Hindu nation, and a nation of nonbelievers." At the speech, Obama also blasted the Christians for hijacking religion and using it to divide the nation: "Somehow, somewhere along the way, faith stopped being used to bring us together and started being used to drive us apart. It got hijacked. Part of it's because of the so-called leaders of the Christian Right, who've been all too eager to exploit what divides us," he said.

And in 2010, he officially gave his stamp of approval, as President of the United States, for the construction of a mosque near Ground Zero. I'm not always certain how I feel about that.

Yes, I'm aware of the many 9/11 conspiracy theories, most of which blame our American government for the plan and execution of the atrocities of that day. War is good for the economy. Some say war makes good politics. There are those still living today who vehemently proscribe that President Kennedy would have soon stopped the Vietnam War, but after his assassination, President Johnson ensured it would continue for many years so there would continue to be jobs and export and a solid economy.

I don't believe myself to be an extremist, but I do believe that we are becoming a Muslim nation with a Socialist government. Check out this video with clips prior to Barack Obama's election as President.

I intended this blog entry to be a memorial for human devastation on and after 09/11/2001. I did NOT intend it to turn anti-Obama or anti-Muslim. But somehow my fingers kept typing, so somewhere in my mind I must be convinced that it's all connected. I give President Obama the respect due his office, and I treat Muslims whom I meet with the respect and kindness that Jesus Christ demands and I willingly obey.

"If My people, which are called by My Name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." II Chronicles 7:14, King James Version

And to the 2,996 people who died on 09/11/2001, and to their families, and to their following generations, I remember you.

For my own memories of that infamous day, please read my blog entry Osama/Obama.

First Responders & Clergy Unwelcome at Ground Zero

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Tomorrow is the 10th anniversary of the terror that was 9/11. An entire day of memorial ceremonies has been planned at Ground Zero. And current New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has stated that first responders are not welcome. Due to "space constraints."

I kept hearing the rumors. I even re-posted on Facebook. But I don't think I really believed it. So I went to my ever-present source of rumor validity: www.snopes.com

And it's true.

Quoting CNN, Snopes has written: "...It's a painful insult for many of the approximately 3000 men and women who risked their lives, limbs, and lungs on that monumental day, puncturing another hole in a still searing wound..."

Funny. Firefighters, emergency medical technicians, paramedics, nurses, and police officers, to name only some of the first responders, weren't invited on that Tuesday morning, 09/11/2001, either. But they rushed to the scene as others were rushing away, and due to their efforts, many people survived the attacks. And 411 of the first responders didn't. By all means, let's exclude them from the memorial services.

Spiritual leaders are also excluded, as they have been from every 9/11 anniversary commemoration. The mayor says these exclusions are "to focus on the families."

Yes, the families. But CNN reported on September 6 that many "9/11 families" were confused, appalled, irritated, and anxious because they still had not received an invitation. Family members have made numerous attempts calling the Office of the Mayor. Most of those calls have not been returned. Some families were told, "Don't worry, you'll get your invitation next week," but have yet to receive an invitation. With the enormous crowds, how do they get in without an invitation? How can they prove they're a "9/11 family?"

So it seems that the 10th Anniversary Commemoration of 09/11/2001 may only be a forum for the politicians.

Meanwhile, two blocks away, preparation for the construction of a mosque continues.

9/11 first responders, I remember you.

Osama / Obama

It was early, and I was still asleep. My mother, who lived with me at the time, knocked on my bedroom door and said, "A plane just crashed into the World Trade Center!" My feet hit the floor and I ran down the hall after her to see the television. They were replaying the footage, which of course did not include the actual impact since cameras weren't aimed at the top of the World Trade Center on an average Tuesday morning.

My mother left the room to get dressed. I was staring at the television when the second plane crashed into the second tower. I froze in place, then yelled, "Another plane just hit the other tower!" Mother hurried into the room, exclaiming "You're kidding!" as her eyes fastened on the television. Neither of us sat down. We weren't even near the TV, as if distance from that machine could make it all untrue.

Up to that moment, I had a picture in my head of the small private plane that hit the Empire State Building back in 1945. Before my time, but not before my mother's. I imagine, though I never asked, that she was reminded of that event, as well. Then the new thought slammed into me, and I looked at her in horror. I said, "You don't think those were passenger planes, do you?" and our eyes locked for a brief moment.

We stood there for a little while, I don't know how long, watching the coverage. Time was standing still. Then she left the room again to finish dressing. I never moved.

When the news anchor broke in and said a plane had just crashed into the Pentagon, my knees buckled and I grabbed for the counter. My mother, now fully dressed, re-entered the room. I turned my head toward her. Somehow I got the words out. I whispered, "Another plane just hit the Pentagon!"

I'll never forget the look on her face; I can't even find the words to describe it. The noise from the television slowly faded into oblivion and there was dead silence in our house. Then she whispered, "We're under attack!" 

My mother had lived through World War II as one of the many who could do little but watch and wait: Hitler, the Holocaust, the nuclear bomb tests, Pearl Harbor, the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Her world included the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the assassinations of President John Kennedy, Martin Luther King, and Bobby Kennedy. It also included the Jonestown mass murders and suicides, the attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan, Operation Desert Storm, the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center, the Waco Branch Davidian siege, and the bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building. And now, just as in 1941, the fight had really come to us.

We finally sat down because we were incapable of standing. The South Tower collapsed. By the time the fourth plane crashed in a Pennsylvania field (instead of, presumably, the U.S. Capitol), shock had numbed us. The North Tower collapsed. We didn't look at each other. We didn't speak.

Finally I ran to my bedroom, threw on some clothes, and drove to work; I was already late. When I entered the quilt shop, I saw a television sitting on the front counter. The owner had brought it from home, and she and the employees were gathered around it. I just joined them. There was nothing we could do.

As I recall, we only had two or three customers that day. Everyone was at home. Watching. Crying. Filled with fear. Soon the enemy had a name: Osama bin Laden. America started sharpening her claws. And so began our War on Terror.

Then late yesterday, we got the word that was so long in coming. Thanks to our American military, Osama bin Laden is dead. The relief in this country is palpable. My mother didn't live to see it.

But I'm a skeptic. I support and believe in our armed forces, but I can't say the same for our current president. Less than a month ago, he officially announced his campaign for re-election. That announcement came on the fourth day of the fourth month for the 44th president. And now, after all these years, we've suddenly found bin Laden and killed him. And immediately buried him at sea.

Like I said, I'm a skeptic.

September 11, 2001: World Trade Center Towers I and II, the Pentagon, and Shanksville, Pennsylvania. I remember you.

"Where Were You When The World Stopped Turning?" by Alan Jackson

9/11 Tribute Commercial by Budweiser
"Have You Forgotten?" by Darryl Worley

(Drawing from http://www.dcs-media.com/Archive/remembrance-of-9-11-D2)