Shame on You Rolling Stone

These are the type of people that should be seen on the cover of magazines...

First Responders are formally trained, compassionate human beings and, in many cases, their presence can mean the difference between life and death. Fire, police and emergency medical personnel are the REAL heroes.  They have to see and do things that the rest of us would not being willing and/or capable of seeing or doing. Their work is physically strenuous and can be highly stressful. First responders put their own lives on the line each and every day for perfect strangers. 

Let's support CVS Pharmacy, Walgreens and other businesses that are taking a stand and not selling the aforementioned magazine in their stores. 

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.