My Thought Provoking Afternoon

It has been 10 years since September 11, 2001 and there is a feeling of reverence in the air. I intended to write an "11 Things" post, as I have on the 11th day of each month this year, but decided against it, knowing that anything I had to say would be insignificant in comparison to commemorating the anniversary of the attack on the Twin Towers.

This afternoon, I went to a special 9/11 Tribute that was part of a Documentary Film Festival. My daughter had an assignment for one of her college classes to attend,
interview students about their opinions and find out if any of them were directly affected by the attacks.

As we watched the films, 'Never Happen Here: The Whitehorse 9/11 Story' and 'Faith and Doubt at Ground Zero', I was glad that my daughter invited me to go with her. Both films were exceptionally thought provoking. 

Never Happen Here: The Whitehorse Story intrigued me the most. The film talked about Whitehorse, a remote town in Canada, and how their peace was shattered on 9/11, when a "hijacked" 747, escorted by U.S and Canadian fighter jets, was instructed to land there.

I'm sure it's because my husband works at an airport as a first responder and I am an employee at a public school, but as this town's emergency responders were called out, their schools evacuated and thousands of parents raced in panic to find their children, I felt an overwhelming sense of compassion for the people of this otherwise quiet community.

If given the opportunity, I would highly recommend that you watch both of these films.

Remember September 12th?

None of us will forget the horror of September 11, 2001. Like many of you, I know exactly where I was and what I was doing that morning.

Of course we remember the victims of that fateful day which forever changed our lives, but I think it might be a good idea to recollect the events and feelings that followed the day after, on September 12th.


Americans came together that day like I had never seen before. We were in shock. We were mourning. We were afraid. We were angry, but we put aside our differences and believed in one another. We were proud to be Americans and we bonded.


Everywhere we looked, the American flag was displayed. It flew in front of homes and businesses. It flew on school flagpoles and government buildings and streets. It flew proudly from car antennas. There were even stickers of the Red, White and Blue displayed on vehicle bumpers and windows.


There was an intense feeling of patriotism in the air as American citizens rallied to defend the country they loved so dearly.


This weekend, as we remember the tragic events of September 11th, let us not forget that we, as a nation, stood strong and united on September 12th.